King Mahmud wandered the city in disguise at night. One night he joined some thieves.
Each thief bragged about their talents: ears, eyes, arm, nose, fist, and then Mahmud said, "My skill is in my beard; a wag of my beard can save thieves from the gallows."
The thieves were glad to meet this companion!
They raided the royal treasury, and Mahmud committed each thief's face to memory.
The next day he had them all arrested.
Imagine their surprise when they saw their companion on the throne.
"But I will not wag my beard to show you mercy," he said.
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story ___ in the book. Rumi's version of the story is full of all kinds of details as the thieves recite each of their powers and then put each power to use in their raid on the treasury. Rumi does not say that Mahmud refused the nod of mercy at the end; I added that part. Who knows, though: perhaps Mahmud did spare his night-companions! You can read more about Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni at Wikipedia.
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