22. A Talking Goat

A peddler named Uncle Jarda (K. Mām Jarda) went to Erbil with a caravan. He bought some goods, such as grape syrup and dried cherries, from Shaqlawa to trade them for other goods in Erbil. On his way back to Shaqlawa, Uncle Jarda came across a young goat abandoned in the countryside. As it was getting dark, Uncle Jarda put the goat on his shoulders and headed towards Shaqlawa. The goat wanted Uncle Jarda to put it down. It did not want to speak to him, however, so as not to frighten him. Instead, the goat put more pressure on Uncle Jarda’s shoulders to make him tired of carrying it, but Uncle Jarda did not realise. Instead, he complained that the goat was being arrogant. Finally, the goat decided to speak, ‘Hey Jarda! Hey Jarda! Hey Jarda! How much do my testicles weigh?’ On hearing this, Uncle Jarda dropped the goat and returned to the village alone. He had lost his mind because of this incident with the talking goat.