20. The Dreams of the Three Travelers


Three men of different faiths traveled together: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. They begged for food and shared what they received. 
One day they received four pieces of halvah. 
Each ate one, and one piece was left.
They decided that whoever had the best dream would eat the last piece, and at dawn they reported their dreams.
"Moses led me up Mount Sinai, where fiery angels danced."
"The Messiah led me through the gates of the heavenly city."
"Muhammad came to me and said, 'Moses took the one, and Jesus the other; you can eat the halvah now.' So I did."



Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 188 in the book. This Middle Eastern story also became popular in the later European tradition: The Three Travelers. For more about halvah, see Wikipedia.



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