A hunter caught a gazelle and then locked it in the stable with his donkey.
He fed the donkey with straw, and he offered straw to the gazelle also, but the gazelle refused to eat.
The donkey laughed. "You must miss your royal throne, delicate creature that you are!"
"It's true," said the gazelle. "I long to eat sweet meadow-grass and drink from crystal streams. The stench here is suffocating."
"In a strange country, anyone can boast!" scoffed the donkey. "I don't believe a word you say."
The gazelle sighed. "What would a dung-worshipping donkey know of ambergris and musk-oil?"
Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 140 in the book. In the original story there were many donkeys, but it was easier to tell the story with just one.
No comments:
Post a Comment