Turkey-Tale


 * [[image:betül-keloglan.jpg]]

General characteristics of Keloğlan’s personality ** Keloğlan is the most famous and the favourite person of the Turkish children’s tale.It has great significance among the Anatolian tales. Keloğlan is a hero who lives with his poor mother and who works in order to earn his living,He is careless and chaste but a ready reply boy.Also he is a hero who finds practical solutions to the problems and who achieves his goal in the end.By playing word games, he achieves his goal sometimes thanks to his cunningness,sometimes thanks to his chastity.Keloğlan is a clever public hero who has big dreams.Sometimes he is coward but at the same time he is brave enough to have a wish of marrying the sultan’s daughter.

Keloğlan is hardworking,determined,decisive,active,strong,sworn enemy of injustice and the powerful defender of nature.He can have an optimistic point of view even in the hardest situations.He can smile ,he never stops laughing and singing.By his intelligence,his working and efforts,he manages to get rid of the adventure where the tale takes him to.He never forgets about his mother,always helps his friends.He treats the monsters he struggles very well after he defeats them.Keloğlan’s goal is not only to reach the children who know him,but also to reach the whole world’s children and to be a universal hero.

Once there was and twice there wasn't, in that old time when the sieve was in the straw, there was a Keloğlan. This poor boy was walikng along the street one day when he found a chickpea. Picking up the chickpea, Keloğlan went to the nearest house and knocked on the door. When a woman opened the door, he said to her, "Mother, will you keep this chickpea for me until I can return for it?" When the woman agreed to this, Keloğlan handed her the chickpea and left. That evening Keloğlan returned to the same house and again knocked on the door. When the woman opened it, he said, "mother, I have come for my chickpea. Give it to me." "O-h-h! A chicken ate your chickpea while you were gone." "Well, if you cannot give me back my chickpea, you must give me the chicken that ate it. I shall not leave this door until you do!" shouted Keloğlan. "All right! Thake this chicken and go away!" Keloğlan took the chicken and went to a nearby house, where he knocked on the door. "Who is it?" a woman called from inside. "It is I, Keloğlan. Mother, will you keep this chicken for a while for me? I shall return it later." Opening the door, the woman said, "Very well, my son. Give it to me." Taking the chicken from him, she put it in her stable. Now, it happened that there was a type of oven called a tandır. The chicken fell into the an tandır and eventually became kebab, which the people of the household ate. When Keloğlan returned, he asked, "Mother, where is my chicken?' "My son, your chicken fell into a tandır and became kebab. It was then eaten by the children." "Well, if you cannot give me back my chicken, then you must give me the tandır. Until you do, I shall not leave this door," said Keloğlan. He stood there before the door, making the sound "Dombudu, lak, lak, lak. Dombudu, lak, lak, lak." The woman said, "Let us give him the tandır in order to make him leave." Pulling the oven out of the ground, she handed it to Keloğlan. Without saying another word, the boy took the tandır and left. He went to another house and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" called a woman from inside. "It is Keloğlan. Mother, will you keep this tandır here for me until I return for it?" Taking the tandır, the woman put it in their stable. In that part of the stable there was a cow, and as the cow was walking about, it kicked the tandır. The earthenware tandır was in this way broken into several pieces. After a while Keloğlan returned and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" called the woman. Where is my tandır? I have come for it." "Oh, my son, the cow kicked it and broke it." "Don't tell me that! Give me either my tandır or the cow that broke it. Until you do, I shall never leave your door." Then he began to drum upon the door, "Dombudu, lak, lak, lak. Dombudu, lak, lak, lak." When the people of that house could not stand any longer the noise he was making, they gave Keloğlan the cow. Leading the cow a short distance away, he knocked on still another door. "Who is it?" a woman inside asked. "It is Keloğlan. Mother, please keep my cow for a while. I shall come back later for it." "All right, son. You may leave it here," said the woman. She took the animal to her stable and tied it there. That woman had a son who was being married that day, and many people had been invited to the wedding feast. In order to have enough food to feed all of the guests, they slaughtered Keloğlan's cow and cooked the meat. That evening while the feast was going on, Keloğlan returned. "Where is my cow?" he asked. The woman said, "My son, we had such a large crowd of people to celebrate the wedding of my son and his bride that we had to kill your cow in order to feed everybody." "Well, then, if you cannot give me back my cow, you must give me the bride. Otherwise I shall never leave your door." As before, he began beating upon the door,, "Dombudu, lak, lak, lak. Dombudu, lak, lak, lak." "Aman! Aman!" said the people of that house. "We cannot stand that noise! We don't really need this bride!" And so they gave the bride to Keloğlan. "I got a bride for a chickpea! said Keloğlan. "Let us now arrange a wedding celebration!" Drums were beaten and zurnas were played. Then Keloğlan was married to the bride he had gained for a chickpea. We ate and drank with the rest of the guests, and it was a very nice wedding.
 * How Keloğlan Got a Bride for a Chickpea**