Certain King

A certain King, when arrived at

the end of his days, having no heir, directed in his will that, in the morning

after his death, the first person who entered the gate of the city, they should

place on his head the crown of royalty, and commit to his charge the government

of the kingdom. It happened that the first person who entered the city gate was

a beggar, who all his life had collected scraps of victuals and sewed patch

upon patch. The ministers of state and the nobles of the court carried into

execution the King’s will bestowing on him the kingdom and the treasure. For

some time the I hinvesli governed the kingdom, until part of the nobility

swerved their necks from his obedience, and all the surrounding monarchs,

engaging in hostile confederacies, attacked him with their armies. In short,

the troops and peasantry were thrown into confusion, and he lost the possession

of some territories.

 The

Durwesh was distressed at these events, when an old friend, who had been his

companion in the days of poverty, returned from a journey, and finding him in

such exalted state, said, “Praised be the God of excellence and glory, that

your high fortune lies aided you and prosperity been your guide, so that a rose

has issued from the briar, and the thorn has been extracted from your foot, and

you have arrived at this dignity. Of a truth, joy succeeds sorrow: the bud

sometimes blossoms and sometimes withers: the tree is sometimes naked and

sometimes clothed. “He replied, “0 brother, condole with me, for this is not a

time for congratulation. When you saw me last, I was only anxious how to obtain

bread; but now I have all the cares of the world to encounter. If the times are

adverse, I am in pain; and if they are prosperous, I am captivated with worldly

enjoyments. There is no calamity greater than worldly affairs, because they

distress the heart in prosperity as well as in adversity.

If you want riches, seek only for

contentment, which is inestimable wealth, if the rich man should throw money

into your lap, consider not yourself obliged to him; for I have often heard it

said by pious men, that the patience of the poor is preferable to the

liberality of the rich. If Bahrain should roast a nagger (wild ass) to be

distributed amongst the people, it would not be equal to the leg of a locust to

an ant.”