Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's, and perhaps Islam's, best-known trickster. His legendary wit and droll trickery are said to be based on the exploits and words of a 13th century Imam. Over 350 anecdotes have been attributed to him. Nasreddin Hodja stories were spread by word of mouth. Today, these stories are told over a vast geographic area extending from East Turkmenistan to Hungary and from Southern Siberia to North Africa, and have been translated into many languages. This book contains a selection of his best-known stories, including tales about how Hodja deals with his wife's hot soup, a thirsty village, and a thief in the night. Nasreddin Hodja is a wise man. But he does things quite differently. Is he riding his donkey seated back-to-front? Then he wants you to believe that it's the donkey that's walking backwards. And thus, Nasreddin Hodja finds a solution to every problem.