Dalqak, the court jester, had just gotten married, and his new wife was a harlot.
When he heard the news, the king was shocked. He said to Dalqak, "What have you done? I could have found you a respectable woman to marry instead!"
Dalqak just laughed. "O King, I have had nine respectable wives already, and each one turned out to be a harlot after all. This time, I am working backwards."
Dalqak then did a backflip - a performance that always amused the prince - and said, "I've decided to start with a harlot, hoping she'll turn out to be respectable!"
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 48 in the book. Rumi tells the story about a court jester of "the prince of Tirmidh" (Termez). I added the part about the backflip.
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