For many years the great Emir of Bukhara has not known happiness - he has lost the taste to delightful khalva, and now life is as sour as a lemon for him. The house of poor pot-maker Shir-Mamed, however, is full of happiness - his little son Hodzha Nasreddin has been born. Rumours have spread about his unusual abilities - maybe he will be able to make the Emir happy again?

Old Husan Ata has been waiting for a meeting with his son all through the war, hoping and believing that he is alive. He hasn't received any letters for a year now. Every day, an old man goes to the railway station, where trains arrive from the front, hoping to learn something about his Mansur. One day, a funeral arrives, but the postman Gulyam does not dare to convey this sad news to a friend. The young man Haidarali, who helped Husan Ata in the search, finally seeks to be sent to the front. And then the old man starts receiving letters. The war is over, and the letters are still coming. In them, the son informs that he got married and had a child. A father goes to visit his son in distant Riga. Here he is met by Haidarali and his son Mansur, who has been sending letters all this time to support the old man.