But since he couldn't hear, he decided to predict his conversation with his friend in advance and get ready for what his friend might tell him.
"OK, First I'll ask him how he feels. He probably says he's getting well. Then, I say thank God." He reasoned.
"Then I'll ask him about what medicine he has been taking these days. Surely, he names some medicine. I'll say great!" He was thinking.
"Finally I'll ask him who his doctor is. Then, he names someone. I'll compliment on his expertise." He added.
The man headed for his friend's house. As planned he asked his sick friend how he felt.
"I am about to die." His friend replied.
The deaf man, unaware of his answer, thanked God. Then, he asked about his medication.
"Poison!" His friend answered angrily.
"Great medicine! It really works." The deaf man commented. Then he asked who his doctor was.
"The angel of death". The sick man answered.
"Skillful physician! He really knows the remedy!" The deaf visitor said.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Educated donkey
Once an old donkey was left to die. The king saw the poor animal and asked his soldiers to find its owner. Several days later, they brought a miller to the king. The king asked the man why he had left the donkey to die.
"It was too old to work. I couldn't afford its food too. Although I loved the animal that had worked hard many years, there was no other way." The miller replied.
Then, the king asked the man whether or not he would take care of the animal if he was given enough money.
"Sure, I'll even teach the donkey to read if I have enough money to take care of it." The miller promised, being too happy and excited.
The king laughed and told him he had to return with an educated donkey in six months.
The poor miller didn't know the king was joking. So he thought day and night to find a way to educate the donkey. It seemed impossible but his daughter had a brilliant idea. She found a big book and put some hay on some of its pages. Then she waited until the donkey was very hungry. She opened the book and let the animal eat the hay on the pages. The miller's daughter did the same every day for six months until the donkey was fully conditioned to opening and paging through the book. Therefore, the miller brought the donkey to the king.
He told the king that it could read. Then, he brought the donkey's book and put it on the ground. The animal habitually moved toward the book, opened and paged through the book as if it were really reading the book. The king got surprised and when he was told the trick gave the miller a prize.
From Marzban-Nama by Saʿd-al-Din Varavini, Persian author and translator, 13th century originally by Marzban b. Rostam, a Persian prince, 4th century.
Wine
Once a drunkard who was tired of a saint's preaching on too much drinking asked him about vine, vinegar and grapes.
"Is vine harmful?" The man asked the saint.
"Of course not." He replied.
"Are grapes harmful?" The saint gave the same negative answer.
"Is vinegar harmful?" The drunkard asked and received the same answer.
"So why is wine harmful? It has the same origin!" He asked the preacher.
The saint, then, asked the drunkard the same questions about soil and water. The drunkard confirmed that they were definitely harmless.
"Now, if I combine some soil and water to make a lump of clay and leave it to dry, it becomes a hard brick. What if I hit you on the head with such a brick?" The wise saint asked the drunkard.
"The same is true for too much wine." He added.
From Risala-i-Dilgusha by Ubayd Zakani, the great Persian poet and satirist, 14th century.
Ant and paintbrush
Once an ant saw a paintbrush moving on a canvas and making beautiful pictures. It told another ant how skillful and creative this brush was. But his friend said it was not the brush but the hand that painted so well. Another ant told these two that it was not the hand but the arm that could paint so skillfully.
"No, my friends! It's the artist's mind which creates these beautiful pictures." Another ant that was the wisest of all said.
But, in fact, even the wisest ant was wrong. It was God who created the beautiful pictures. Because, mind works well when God takes the lead. Otherwise, it is misled to catastrophes.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Generosity or bravery
"Which one is better? Generosity or bravery?" Once a wise man was asked.
"Generosity because if you're generous you won't need to be brave." He replied.
From Gulistan (the rose garden), by Saadi, the great Persian poet and literary man, 13th century.
Sick teacher
Once the students decided to play a trick on their teacher to skip their class. To do so, they began to give false comments on their teacher's health.
"Sir, you look very pale, today." One of the students said.
The teacher denied firmly but got a little worried.
"That's right, sir. Your eyes are also sunken." Another said.
The teacher came to believe their comments little by little.
"Sir, your voice is shaking too." A third student added.
The teacher, who was almost sure he was sick, dismissed the students and headed home. There, his wife asked him why he had come home so early.
"Don't you see how terrible I feel? My students noticed my illness but you didn't." The teacher said.
The poor teacher spent all day long in bed believing he was really sick.
From Masnavi (rhyming couplets), by Rumi (also Mawlana), the great Persian poet, scholar and Sufi mystic, 13th century.
Early bird
Once upon a time there lived a king who had a wise minister named Bozorgmehr. He always got up early and advised the king to get up early in the morning too.
"Get up early if you want to be successful." The minister always said.
But, the king went to bed late so it was really hard for him to wake up early in the mornings. One day, the king who was tired of his minister's advice, decided to play a trick on him and made him attend the palace late too. So he asked two soldiers to attack Bozorgmehr in disguise on his way to the palace and take away his clothes. This way, the minister had to return home and get dressed again. So he definitely arrived late. Next day as Bozorgmehr was going to the palace early in the morning; the so-called thieves attacked him and left him with his underwear.
"You advised all to get up early. But it seems you have overslept today." The king told his minister.
The minister then told him what had happened to him on his way to the palace.
"So you got up early today but unlike what you always say, you didn't become successful. If it was later there could be some people on the streets and the thieves wouldn't dare to rob you." The king said, laughing.
"No the point is today the thieves got up earlier than me so they were more successful too." The wise minister replied.
From Marzban-Nama by Saʿd-al-Din Varavini, Persian author and translator, 13th century originally by Marzban b. Rostam, a Persian prince, 4th century.
###
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?
Thanks!
Mohammad Ali Heidari-Shahreza
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends