It has been a long time since the peasants of Aksehir had a good feast. Neighbours of Nasreddin Hodja came up with a ploy to make him treat them to a big meal.

`Hodja Effendi, they said, `tomorrow it is the doomsday. Why dont we all go for a picnic, roast your lamb and have one final great meal?

`But, my lamb! Hodja objected. `It is the apple of my eye. I cant kill my lamb. The neighbours werent about to give up so easily.

`Hodja Effendi, it is the doomsday. We are all going to die anyway. Whats wrong with a final feast? At the end they convinced Nasreddin Hodja to give up his lamb. They all packed up and headed to the river bank for a joyful picnic. First they put the lamb over the fire to roast. Then they took off their over clothes and got into the river for a good swim. While everyone was splashing in the water, having fun and working up an appetite, Nasreddin Hodja took all the clothes lying on the ground and threw them into the fire. By the time others got out of the water, the lamb was deliciously roasted and all the over clothes were burnt. Hodjas friends were shocked.

`What happened to our clothes? they questioned the Hodja.

`Ah, the clothes, Hodja started to explain serenely, `I used them to fortify the fire. Since tomorrow is the doomsday, you wont be needing them any more.