Goha Tries to Buy a Cow

Goha Tries to Buy a Cow
Editor's Note: Some call him Goha or Joha, the Turks call him Hodja, while the Perisans call him Mollah or Nasrullah. Regardless of what you call him, this wise, mysterious and sarcastic figure has been a fixture of Middle Eastern stories for centuries.




Goha was walking along and met a few friends.

"Where are you going, Goha? they asked him.

"I'm going to the market to buy a cow."

"Say Insha'Allah," his friends advised him.

"Why?" Goha replied. "I have plenty of money in my pocket, and the cow is at the market waiting for me. What could go wrong?

Of course something did go wrong. Goha's pocket was picked at the market and he had to return home empty handed. It was a large sum of money and he was very upset with himself for not saying "Insha'Allah." He encountered his friends again on the road and they said, "Goha, where's the cow?"

Goha replied, "The - Insha'Allah - money - Insha'Allah - was - Insha'Allah - stolen - Insha'Allah