Duck soup

[Jewls2u]

When we were kids my dad used to read my sister and me stories from "The
Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin". The book was published in 1966
and the dedication reads:
 "Mulla Nasrudin, Chief of the Dervishes and Master of a hidden treasure, a
perfect man... Many say: I wanted to learn, but here I have found only
maddness. Yet, should they seek deep wisdom elsewhere, they may not find
it." From Teachings of Nasrudin, Bokharan ms. of 1617 by Ablahi Mutlaq, "The
Utter Idiot".

Duck Soup

A kinsman came to see Nasrudin from the country, and brought a duck.
Nasrudin was grateful, had the bird cooked and shared it with his guest.

Presently another visitor arrived. He was a friend, as he said, "of the man
who gave you the duck". Nasrudin fed him as well.

This happened several times. Nasrudin's home had become like a restaurant
for out-of-town visitors. Everyone was a friend at some removes of the
original donor of the duck.

Finally Nasrudin was exasperated. One Day there was a knock at the door and
a stranger appeared. "I am the friend of the friend of the friend of the man
who brought you the duck from the country," he said.

"Come in," said Nasrudin.

They seated themselves at the table, and Nasrudin asked his wife to bring
the soup.

When the guest tasted it, it seemed to be nothing more than warm water.
"What sort of soup is this?" he asked the Mulla.

"That," said Nasrudin, "is the soup of the soup of the soup of the duck."

Julienne

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Douglas G. Wilson
Sent: Sunday, September 01, 2002 5:44 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Duck soup


There is a humorous "duck soup" story from Turkish tradition, which can be
found at several Web sites today (e.g., by searching under "Nasreddin
Hodja", the name of the principal character), but which is quite old.

Here it is as quoted from Harper's (at MoA Cornell) from 1852 ["Khojah" =
"Hodja" = "Khoja", meaning an Islamic teacher I guess, perhaps used also as
a nonspecific title like "Sensei"?]:

<<"The Khojah one day saw a flock of ducks swimming in a lake; he ran
toward them, and they immediately flew away. Taking some bread he sat down,
and dipping it into the water, began to eat.

"'What are you doing there, Khojah?' said someone from the opposite side.

"'I am trying the flavor of duck-soup,' was the reply.">>

I don't know whether there's any connection between this "duck soup" and
the one in question; perhaps there could be, especially if the sense of
"duck soup" was originally not exactly "easy" but rather "cheap"/"readily
available" ("duck soup" = plain water). How did the expression appear in
the Dorgan cartoon?

-- Doug Wilson