"The king will arrest you tomorrow," a wise dervish told his disciple, and the dervish then told his disciple exactly what to do.
The next day, as foretold, the king arrested the disciple. "I sentence you to death," he said.
The dervish rushed in, shouting, "No, kill me instead!"
"No!" shouted the disciple. "Kill me instead of the dervish."
The tyrant was baffled. "What does this mean?"
"I know a secret prophecy," said the dervish. "The man who dies today will rise from death and live forever."
"Then kill me!" the king shouted.
The executioner killed him.
The dervish smiled.
Inspired by: Thinkers of the East by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: This is on p. 3 in the book. Shah's story has an opening where the dervish has many followers, but they will not go along with his strange request. They all desert him, except for one follower who is willing to obey his command.
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