One Persian story tells of a traveler who, with great difficulty, walked along an endless road. A heavy sandbag hung behind his back, a thick waterskin wrapped around his torso, and in each hand he carried a huge stone. A half-decayed, rotten rope was wrapped around the traveler's neck, and an old millstone was hanging from it. Iron chains, to which heavy weights were chained, wrapped around his legs. On his head, balancing, he held a rotten pumpkin. With loud groans, he moved forward step by step, rattling his chains, bemoaning his bitter fate and complaining of extreme fatigue. Then he met a poor peasant:
- Oh, tired traveler, why are you carrying these fragments of rocks in your hands? he asked.
“It’s really stupid,” answered the traveler, “but somehow I haven’t noticed them until now.”
Having said this, he threw away the stones and immediately felt relieved.
Soon he met another peasant:
“Tell me, tired traveler, why do you suffer with a rotten pumpkin on your head and drag such heavy iron weights behind you on a chain?” - he asked.
“I’m very glad that you brought this to my attention.”
Throwing off his chains, he threw the pumpkin into a roadside ditch so that it fell apart. And again I felt relief.
But the further he walked, the more he suffered. Another peasant, returning from the field, looked at the traveler in surprise:
- Oh, tired traveler, why are you carrying sand in a bag behind your back when there is so much sand around? And why do you need such a large waterskin - one would think that you were planning to walk the entire Kavir desert. But a clean river flows next to you, and your path lies along its bed!
- Thank you, good man, only now I noticed that I was carrying unnecessary things with me.
The traveler opened the waterskin, and rotten water poured out onto the sand. Lost in thought, he stood and looked at the setting sun. The last rays of the sun gave him their light. Suddenly he saw a heavy millstone hanging around his neck, and realized that because of it he was walking hunched over. The traveler untied the millstone and threw it far into the river. Free of his burden, he continued on his way in the cool of the evening, hoping to find an inn.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru