A translation of a Turkish fable about a very forgetful man tasked with buying some “hik”
In Turkey there was a farmer. He had a servant. The servant’s name was Hasan.
Hasan was a very good man. He was very good indeed, but there was a small problem. Hasan was very forgetful. Here he hears, over there he forgets.
One day the farmer gave Hasan money and said, “Go to the shops and buy ‘hik.’”
In Turkey they call salt hik, and hik also means “nothing.”
Hasan thought, Is there some way to not forget . . . ? Aha! I know! I’m going to keep on repeating “Hik! Hik!” Now I’m not going to forget.
Hasan was loudly saying “hik hik” and going straight to the shops. On the way to the shops there was a river. Under the bridge was a man fishing. Hasan really liked fishing. When Hasan was walking on the bridge saying “hik, hik hik,” the fisherman thought he was saying “nothing, nothing.” The fisherman was angry. “Why are you saying ‘hik’!” shouted the man.
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
“Say, ‘May God give you ten or twelve.’”
Now Hasan forgot the word hik and loudly said, “May God give you ten or twelve! May God give you ten or twelve!”
When Hasan walked for a bit longer, he found a funeral prayer. At the funeral, there were lots of ladies and gentlemen crying. Hasan was still saying, “May God give you ten or twelve! May God give you ten or twelve!”
People became very angry. A man said, “What are you saying? Get away from here!”
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
“Say, ‘May God forgive him,’” said the man.
Now Hasan was saying that.
After a while, Hasan saw a dead fish on the road. Hasan was staring at the fish. He was still saying, “May God forgive him!”
Then another man came. He said to Hasan, “Silly, what are you saying?”
“Then what should I say?” Hasan asked.
“Say, ‘Eww! It smells bad,’” said the man.
Now Hasan was saying that.
A bit further along, there were three ladies walking. The ladies were wearing fancy clothes. Hasan was walking behind them and he was also loudly saying, ‘Eww! It smells bad!’”
The ladies were cross and gave him a good beating. Then they said, “Where’s the bad smell coming from?”
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
“Say, ‘Wow! Very good!’” said the ladies.
“I will say that,” said Hasan, and kept on repeating it.
A bit further along, Hasan saw two men fighting. The first man punched the second man and Hasan said, “Wow.” Then the second man kicked the first man, and Hasan said, “Very good.”
When the men heard that, they said, “What are you saying?”
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
“Say, ‘Brothers, don’t fight!” said the men.
“Okay,” Hasan said, and he started saying that.
Hasan saw two dogs fighting. He said, “Brothers, don’t fight.”
An old man was passing by. He started laughing. He said, “Son, what are you saying?”
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
“Say, ‘Run away, dogs.’”
Now Hasan was repeating that. Hasan came to the shops, and there was a cobbler. Hasan was also saying, “Run away, dogs.”
The cobbler said, “How dare you call me a dog!”
“Then what should I say?” asked Hasan.
The cobbler said, “Hik!” (“Nothing!”).
When Hasan heard this, he said, “Cobbler, thank you very much. You reminded me why I’m here!”
Hasan quickly went to the shop and said, “Hello, can I have hik, please?”
Hasan bought the salt and went happily home.
