A dervish ran back and forth through bazaar. It was broad daylight, and yet he was carrying a lighted candle in his hand.
"Hey!" someone shouted at him. "What are you going with a candle in broad daylight? What's the joke?"
"It's no joke!" replied the dervish. "I'm looking for a man."
"The bazaar is full of men! They're not hard to find."
"Oh, but they are!" replied the dervish. "I'm looking for a real man, a true man, and if I could find such a man, a man of true wisdom, I will dedicate my life to that man."
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 155 in the book. This story is told about Aesop and also about the Greek philosopher Diogenes. For more about this folktale tradition, see Aesop, Diogenes, Rumi: The Lamp in Daylight.
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