The Bedouin and his Dog

A Bedouin sat weeping beside the road.
"What's wrong?" asked a passerby.
"I am weeping for my poor dog, who is dying here," said the Bedouin, pointing to his dog. "He's an excellent dog, my guardian and companion."
"What is he dying of?" asked the passerby.
"Of hunger I suppose," said the Bedouin.
"But you have a bag full of food there! Why don't you feed the dog?"
"Because I have a long road ahead, and it takes money to buy food, while tears cost nothing."
This man is like Joseph's brothers: he weeps, but his heart has no love.


Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 137 in the book.



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