A Donkey Knows Best

kha-yuma malla berrekhshele kes-kha-nasha. o-nasha bekhzayele kat malla b-dave tavlele, atkha tavulele biyye. o-nasha bitayele mara mallele, khmarele mut-yatte dava muile, sima muile, berrench muile. li-yatte. kemen azen shaklen mennu-an-dave.

One day the mullah goes to the home of a certain man. The man sees that the mullah is playing with gold coins, playing with them like this. The man comes and says ‘He is a mullah, he is an ass. He does not know what gold is, what silver is, what rice is. He does not know. I shall go and take from him the gold coins.’

mara malla, anne tla dane dave en-kati yavvetle, ana emma dinare kakh-zuyze b-yavven. men-khmara bakurele mara en-aten tla gahe hurhemlakh, ana b-yatten kat-at duz maret, la avva.

He says ‘Mullah, if you give me those three gold coins, I shall give you one hundred dinars of money.’ He asks the donkey saying ‘If you bray three times, I shall know that you are speaking the truth, not him.’

khmara tla gahe harhumele. beddarel ka-do-nasha marele khmara b-khmaruytu beddayele dava mudile, berrench mudile. ina aten b-dayya kerkeptukh khmarta let bedda muina anne? aha davele an-diyyukh berrenchna. at bayyet dava men-idi shakletle. ina si-baker men-khmarti. khmarti ka-diyyukh malpa.

The donkey brays three times. He returns to the man and says ‘The donkey in its asinine state knows what gold is and what rice is. But don’t you with your asinine skull know what they are? This is gold but those of yours are rice. You want to take the gold from my hand. But go and ask my jenny. My jenny will teach you.’