One day the Sultan and his retinue were driving around the city and suddenly noticed that a dervish was sitting on a bridge over the river admiring the flow of water. The Sultan ordered the dervish to be immediately brought to him. He wanted to reprimand this tramp and slacker for blocking the passage. The guards ran up to the man on the bridge and ordered him to approach the Sultan. He refused. The guards grabbed the dervish, but he clung to the railing of the bridge, kicking the guards away with screams. Finally, the guards dragged the dervish by the arms and legs to the Sultan.
- You are a slacker and a beggar! - cried the Sultan, rejoicing in his heart that he had found a reason to reproach the dervish. “And you also wear pilgrim’s robes!” Not only did you sit on a bridge that was built so that people could freely cross the river! So you are also violent and disobedient!
“Look at yourself,” the dervish answered dispassionately, calmly bearing the Sultan’s furious gaze. - After all, you clung even more tightly to the shaky bridge of your life.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru