There
were two friends who lived in an Arabic country. They would meet at a fireplace
every evening and talk sitting on small three-legged chairs. In the meantime,
one of them became a sheikh. He moved to a marble palace and acquired a high
throne made of mother-of-pearl. Many people came to honor the new ruler.
His old
friend came to him, too. He was eager to congratulate the new sheikh but the
proud sheikh did not want to receive him immediately and made him stand by the
door of the palace for many days. Finally, the sheikh ordered his servants to
let his friend come in. The friend entered the palace humbly. The sheikh sat at
the throne with his limbs stretched out. His friend understood what it meant,
and so he started looking around as if he was looking for the sheikh. The
sheikh was furious. He asked his old friend what he was looking for.
— I’m
looking for you, o human being, where are you? — the friend replied and added
sorrowfully, — While you were sitting on a small chair, one did not see the
chair because of the human who sat in it, and now, you see, one can’t find the
human because of the throne.
Translated
by The Catalog of Good Deeds
CONVERSATION