Two jewel merchants arrived at a caravan sarai in the desert at about the same
time one night. Each was quite conscious of the other’s presence and, while
unloading his camel, one of them could not resist the temptation to let a large
pearl fall to the ground as if by accident. It rolled in the direction of the
other who, with affected graciousness, picked it up and returned it to its owner
saying, “That is a fine pearl you have there, sir. As large and lustrous as they come.”
“How gracious of you to say so,” said the other.
“As a matter of fact, that is one of the smaller gems in my collection.”
A Bedouin who was sitting by the fire and had observed this drama, rose and
invited the two of them to eat with him. When they began their meal, this is the
story he told them:
“I too, my friends, was, once upon a time, a jeweller like you. One day I was
overtaken by a great storm in the desert. It buffeted me and my caravan this way
and that till I was separated from my entourage and lost my way completely. Days
passed and I was panic-stricken to realize that I was really wandering about in
circles with no sense of where I was or which direction to walk in. Then, almost
dead with starvation, I unloaded every bag on my camel’s back, anxiously searching
through them for the hundredth time. Imagine my excitement when I came upon a
pouch that had escaped my notice before. With trembling fingers I ripped it open
hoping to find something to eat. Imagine my disillusionment when I found that all
it contained was pearls!”
🙂
Two jewel merchants arrived at a caravan sarai in the desert at about the same
time one night. Each was quite conscious of the other’s presence and, while
unloading his camel, one of them could not resist the temptation to let a large
pearl fall to the ground as if by accident. It rolled in the direction of the
other who, with affected graciousness, picked it up and returned it to its owner
saying, “That is a fine pearl you have there, sir. As large and lustrous as they come.”
“How gracious of you to say so,” said the other.
“As a matter of fact, that is one of the smaller gems in my collection.”
A Bedouin who was sitting by the fire and had observed this drama, rose and
invited the two of them to eat with him. When they began their meal, this is the
story he told them:
“I too, my friends, was, once upon a time, a jeweller like you. One day I was
overtaken by a great storm in the desert. It buffeted me and my caravan this way
and that till I was separated from my entourage and lost my way completely. Days
passed and I was panic-stricken to realize that I was really wandering about in
circles with no sense of where I was or which direction to walk in. Then, almost
dead with starvation, I unloaded every bag on my camel’s back, anxiously searching
through them for the hundredth time. Imagine my excitement when I came upon a
pouch that had escaped my notice before. With trembling fingers I ripped it open
hoping to find something to eat. Imagine my disillusionment when I found that all
it contained was pearls!”
🙂