One of the Iranian Shahs was so fat and overweight that it was said to be detrimental to his health. He gathered all the doctors and demanded that they cure him. But no matter what they did, the Shah continued to get fat.
And then one day a smart doctor came to him. “I will cure you, O Shah,” he said. “But give me three days to think about what medicine to choose.”
When three days had passed, the doctor said: “Oh Shah!” I studied your fate and found that you have only forty days to live. If you don't believe me, imprison me and take revenge on me.
The Shah ordered the doctor to be imprisoned, and he himself, overwhelmed by melancholy thoughts about his imminent death, abandoned entertainment and horse riding. Care and sadness took possession of him. The Shah began to avoid people. Every day his melancholy increased, and he lost weight.
When forty days had passed, he ordered a doctor to be brought from prison and asked him why he, the Shah, was still alive. “Oh Shah!” — the doctor answered. “I used a trick to make you lose weight.” I have not found any other medicine that is useful for you.
And the Shah thanked him generously.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru