There was once a caliph of Cordova whose
name was Al Mansour. One day a strange merchant came to him with some diamonds
and pearls which he had brought from beyond the sea. The caliph was so well
pleased with these jewels that he bought them and paid the merchant a large sum
of money. The merchant put the gold in a bag of purple silk which he tied to
his belt underneath his long cloak. Then he set out on foot to walk to another
city.
It was midsummer, and the day was very hot.
As the merchant was walking along, he came to a river that flowed gently
between green and shady banks.
He was hot and covered with dust. No one
was near. Very few people ever came that way. Why should he not cool himself in
the refreshing water? He took off his clothes and laid them on the bank. He put
the bag of money on top of them and then leaped into the water. How cool and
delicious it was!
Suddenly he heard a rustling noise behind
him. He turned quickly and saw an eagle rising into the air with his moneybag
in its claws. No doubt the bird had mistaken the purple silk for something good
to eat.
The merchant shouted. He jumped out of the
water and shouted again. But it was no use. The great bird was high in the air
and flying towards the far-off mountains with all his money.
The poor man could do nothing but dress
himself and go sorrowing on his way.
A year passed by and then the merchant
appeared once more before Al Mansour. "O Caliph," he said, "here
are a few jewels which I had reserved as a present for my wife. But I have met
with such bad luck that I am forced to sell them. I pray that you will look at
them and take them at your own price."
Al Mansour noticed that the merchant was
very sad and downcast. "Why, what has happened to you?" he asked.
"Have you been sick?"
Then the merchant told him how the eagle
had flown away with his money.
"Why didn't you come to us
before?" he asked. "We might have done something to help you. Toward
what place was the eagle flying when you last saw it?"
"It was flying toward the Black
Mountains," answered the merchant.
The next morning the caliph called ten of
his officers before him. "Ride at once to the Black Mountains," he
said. "Find all the old men that live on the mountains or in the flat
country around, and command them to appear before me one week from
to-day."
The officers did as they were bidden. On
the day appointed, forty gray- bearded, honest old men stood before the caliph.
All were asked the same question. "Do you know of any person who was once
poor but who has lately and suddenly become well-to-do?"
Most of the old men answered that they did
not know of any such person. A few said that there was one man in their
neighborhood who seemed to have had some sort of good luck.
This man was a gardener. A year ago he was
so poor that he had scarcely clothes for his back. His children were crying for
food. But lately everything had changed for him. Both he and his family dressed
well; they had plenty to eat; he had even bought a horse to help him carry his
produce to market.
The caliph at once gave orders for the
gardener to be brought before him the next day. He also ordered that the
merchant should come at the same time.
Before noon the next day the gardener was
admitted to the palace. As soon as he entered the hall the caliph went to meet
him. "Good friend," he said, "if you should find something that
we have lost, what would you do with it?"
The gardener put his hand under his cloak
and drew out the very bag that the merchant had lost.
"Here it is, my lord," he said.
At sight of his lost treasure, the merchant
began to dance and shout for joy.
"Tell us," said Al Mansour to the
gardener, "tell us how you came to find that bag."
The gardener answered: "A year ago, as
I was spading in my garden, I saw something fall at the foot of a palm tree. I
ran to pick it up and was surprised to find that it was a bag full of bright
gold pieces. I said to myself, 'This money must belong to our master, Al
Mansour. Some large bird has stolen it from his palace.'"
"Well, then," said the caliph,
"why did you not return it to us at once?" "It was this
way," said the gardener: "I looked at the gold pieces, and then
thought of my own great necessities. My wife and children were suffering from
the want of food and clothing. I had no shoes for my feet, no coat for my back.
So I said to myself, 'My lord Al Mansour is famous for his kindness to the
poor. He will not care.' So I took ten gold pieces from the many that were in
the bag.
"I meant only to borrow them. And I
put the bag in a safe place, saying that as soon as I could replace the ten
pieces, I would return all to my lord Al Mansour. With much hard labor and
careful management I have saved only five little silver pieces. But, as I came
to your palace this morning, I kept saying to myself, 'When our lord Al Mansour
learns just how it was that I borrowed the gold, I have no doubt that in his
kindness of heart he will forgive me the debt.'"
Great was the caliph's surprise when he
heard the poor man's story. He took the bag of money and handed it to the
merchant. "Take the bag and count the money that is in it," he said.
"If anything is lacking, I will pay it to you."
The merchant did as he was told.
"There is nothing lacking," he said, "but the ten pieces he has
told you about; and I will give him these as a reward."
"No," said Al Mansour, "it
is for me to reward the man as he deserves."
Saying this, he ordered that ten gold
pieces be given to the merchant in place of those that were lacking. Then he
rewarded the gardener with ten more pieces for his honesty.
"Your debt is paid. Think no more
about it," he said.
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