Turkmen parable The people of Turkestan are famous for their hospitality, self-esteem and passionate love for horses.
A Turkestan man named Anwar Bek once had a magnificent and extremely light-footed, thoroughbred horse. There was no person who did not dream of owning this horse; many coveted him, but Anwar refused to sell the horse, no matter what price he was offered.
And he had a friend, a horse breeder, whose name was Yakub. He came to Anwar from time to time, hoping to bargain a horse from him. But Anwar didn’t want to hear about it.
And then one day, having heard that Anwar had fallen on hard times, Yakub thought: “How about going to Anwar now? In modern times, of course, he will agree, because the price of the horse is so high that by selling it, Anwar will immediately be able to improve his affairs.” Without wasting a second, Yakub went to his friend.
According to the custom of that country, Anwar greeted his friend and, before starting to discuss business, invited the guest to the table, as required by the law of hospitality. Soon the table was set for them, and they ate with the greatest pleasure. When Yakub finally explained the purpose of his coming, poor Anwar replied:
- Dear friend, now we have nothing to talk about. Hospitality comes first. You came to me in difficult times for me, and I could not help but show you respect, so I had to slaughter a horse so that I would have something to put on the table and fulfill the duty of the owner in the best possible way.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru