Book Review: "Donkeys donkeys donkeys and Nesreddin"

Burros burros burros y Nasrudín
(Donkeys donkeys donkeys and Nasreddin)
Adaptation: Carmen Romano
Illustrations: Eloisa Torres

47 pages

A significant number of humorous stories have been attributed to Nasreddin, a 13th century Sufi philosopher; in the centuries since his death, these stories have been passed on, adapted and added to, forming a rich and deep tradition. Generally just a paragraph or a most two or three long, in these stories Nasreddin takes on various roles, from a sage, to a common man, to a fool; generally the tales contain a moral, or universal truth, in some more directly stated than others.

The wonderful little collection Donkeys donkeys donkeys and Nasreddin (in the original Spanish Burros burros burros y Nasrudín) consists of twenty-three such stories, involving Nasreddin with his donkey. In these brief tales, we find the broad variety of characterizations that Nasreddin can take on. For example, in No One Escapes, Not Even the Donkey (No se salva, ni el burro), Nasreddin teaches his son an important life lesson:

Nasreddin traveled together with his son. The father walked, while the son rode on the donkey. Along the road they crossed paths with several peasants who gossiped:
— What an inconsiderate kid, riding the donkey while the poor old man walks!
The son got off the donkey, and the father climbed on. A short while later, they came across several villagers,
— What a heartless type! they said — leaving the kid to walk in this heat, while he so comfortably rides the donkey.
Hearing them, Nasreddin and his son continued on riding the donkey together.
Soon they again crossed paths with other perolesople who gossiped:
— How inconsiderate. Don’t they understand that that is too much weight for the poor animal?
Then Nasreddin and his son got off the donkey and walked along next to it.
After a time the met other peasants who said:
— What fools, the donkey walks by himself, while those two walk at its side.
Nasreddin said to his son:
— Have you noticed? Each one said something different.
In this world you can’t please anyone nor save oneself from criticism.
Therefore, the best thing to do is to faithfully follow your own will my son.

Nasreddin as the simpleton makes an appearance in Helping my Donkey:

One day, Nasreddin rode on his donkey, while carrying a sack full of flour on his shoulders. — Hey, Master — they asked him — why are you carrying the sack on your shoulders?
— What would you like? — he answered — my poor donkey is old and barely able to carry me, and so I took pity on it and decided to help it a little, by carrying the sack on my shoulders.

In Contraband Donkeys we find another view of Nasreddin, as a shrewd operator, who again points out human short-sightedness:

Nasreddin crossed the border every day with baskets of his donkey filled with straw. Since he admitted to being a smuggler, the border guards searched him over and over again. Hoping to discover the hidden merchandise, they looked through the straw, soaked it in water and even burned it on occasion. Despite all this, Nasreddin continued to become richer with his earnings from the contraband.
Eventually he retired and went to live in another country, where, several years later, one of the border guards came across him.
— Now you can tell me, Nasreddin, what contraband where you taking through, that we could never manage to discover?
— It was clear: The Donkeys! — answered Nasreddin.

Each of the stories in this beautiful collection is accompanied by a lovely illustration composed of a simply presented scene featuring Nasreddin and one or more donkeys. The illustrator has used cloth to create puppet-like cloth figures, and then placed photographs of them onto simply drawn backgrounds to create the final images. The cover illustration shown at the top of this review provides an example of the artwork in the book.

Taken together, the anecdotes in this collection provide pointed commentaries on the human condition, presented as humorous anecdotes. The stories and images create an engaging book for adults, but one that will also appeal to and intrigue children.

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Other reviews / information:

Included below are the original Spanish versions of the stories translated for the review:

No se salva, ni el burro

Nasrudín viajaba acompañado de su hijo. El padre caminaba mientras el hijo iba montado en el burro. En el camino se cruzaron con unos campesinos que murmuraron:
— Qué muchacho más desconsiderado,
¡Va montado en el burro mientras que el pobre viejo camina!
El hijo bajo del burro y subió el padre. Al poco tiempo, se encontraron con unos aldeanos
— ¡Qué tipo más desalmado! — dijeron — deja al muchacho caminar con tanto calor, mientras él va tan tranquillo en el burro.
Al oírlo, Nasrudín y su hijo montaron los dos en el burro.
Al rato se volvieron a cruzar con otra gente que murmuraron:
— Qué desconsiderados ¿Es que no comprenden qué esa es una carga exagerada para el pobre animal?
Entonces Nasrudín y su hijo desmontaron y caminaron al lado del burro.
Después de un rato se encontraron a otros campesinos que dijeron:
&mdash Qué tontos, el burro camina solo, mientras que esos dos caminan al lado.
Nasrudín le dijo a su hijo:
— ¿Te has dado cuenta? Cada uno ha dicho algo diferente.
En el mundo no se puede dar gusto a nadie y tampoco se puede uno salvar de la crítica.
Así que, lo mejor es seguir fiel a tu propia voluntad hijo mío.


Ayudando a mi burro

Un dia, Nasrudín iba montado en su burro, levando un saco lleno de harina sobre sus hombros. — Oye maestro — le preguntaron — ¿por qué llevas el saco en tus propios hombros?
— ¿Qué quereis? — contestó — mi pobre burro es viejo y apenas puede cargar conmigo, así que me dió pena y he decidido ayudarle un poco, cargando el saco sobre mis propios hombres.


Contrabando de burros

Nasrudín cruzaba la frontera todos los días con las cestas de su burro cargadas de paja. Como admitía ser un contrabandista, los guardias fronterizos lo registraban una y otra vez. Esperando encontrar la mercancía escondida, cernían la paja, la sumergían en agua e incluso la quemaban de vez en cuando. Mientras tanto, Nasrudín se enriquecía cada vez más con las ganancias del contrabando.
Por fin se jubiló y fue a vivir a otro país, donde, unos años más tarde, lo encontró uno de los aduaneros.
— Ahora me lo puedes decir, Nasrudín, ¿Qué pasabas de contrabando, que nunca pudimos describirlo?
— Estaba clarísimo: ¡los burros! — Contestó Nasrudín.

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Have you read this book, others by this author, or even similar ones by other authors? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Other of my book reviews: FICTION Bookshelf and NON-FICTION Bookshelf