One day, Nasreddin Hodja was getting ready to go to the market.
Hearing this, the neighborhood children quickly gathered around him.

One said,
— “Hodja, can you buy me a whistle from the market?”
Another added,
— “Me too!”
And yet another,
— “Don’t forget mine!”

All the children started asking for whistles.
But only one child actually gave Hodja some money.

Hodja took the coin and went to the market.

That evening, he returned with just one whistle in hand.
The children ran up to him, excited:

— “Where’s my whistle, Hodja?”
— “Did you bring mine?”
— “You promised to get one for me!”

Hodja calmly took the whistle out of his pocket and handed it only to the child who had paid.

Then he smiled and said:

“He who pays, plays the whistle!”

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Explanation:

This is one of the most famous and insightful Nasreddin Hodja stories.
The moral of the story is simple and powerful:

“You don’t get something for nothing.”

The Turkish phrase “Parayı veren düdüğü çalar” is still widely used today.
It means: Only those who contribute or pay their share can expect to receive something in return.

Hodja, in his clever way, gives a timeless lesson—not just to children, but to everyone.