A Long Story with a Valuable Moral

Introduction

One of the most beautiful lessons we can learn is that reading allows us to travel through many worlds, from the past to the present and sometimes even the future, with ease. One life is not enough, so we must always seek stories that give us many lives to explore.

The Story

In ancient times, there was a king who, one day, stood atop his palace shortly after the dawn prayer. He looked out over the magnificent city surrounding him, admiring its beauty. The view was so stunning that it had a profound effect on the king.

As the sun rose, the king's gaze fell upon a woman in her garden, blessed with extraordinary beauty. This beauty was a gift from God, one so rare that no words could ever adequately describe it—a historical beauty known far and wide.

The king, captivated, asked one of his servants, “Who is this beautiful woman?”

The servant replied that she was the wife of one of the men who worked for him. When the king learned the man's name, he realized he knew him well. The king immediately summoned the man to inquire about his life. The man praised God for his blessings and mentioned many favors he had received. The king then told him that he needed to send a message to a distant land and that the man must not return until he received a reply.

The man replied, “I am always at your service, my king.”

The king asked when he would deliver the message. The man responded, “Whenever you wish, my lord. If you want me to go tomorrow, then tomorrow, with God's will.”

“Tomorrow it is,” the king decided.

The man returned home and informed his wife of his upcoming journey. He left the king's message under his pillow and went to sleep. When he woke for the dawn prayer, he hurried to prepare for his journey but completely forgot about the message.

Meanwhile, the king saw him leaving the city and decided to visit his home. He knocked on the door, and the man's wife asked, “Who is it?”

“I am the king,” he replied.

She opened the door and welcomed him warmly, offering him hospitality. She was careful in all her actions, no matter how small.

The wife asked, “I see the king is visiting us today; may I know why?”

The king responded, “There is no reason; I am just a visiting guest.”

The clever woman quickly realized that her husband had been sent on a mission, and now the king was in her house as a guest. She understood that something was wrong.

She knew she had no power or means against the king, but she believed that his dignity and nobility were what made him the king. She wanted to draw out the best in him.

The woman said, “Do you remember, my lord, the words of Imam Al-Shafi’i: ‘I will leave your water without drinking, for there are too many visitors. If a fly falls on food, I raise my hand despite my desire for it. I avoid drinking from water that lions have dwelled in, for if a lion drank from a place a dog has licked, it is no good.’”

The king felt uneasy, sweating and embarrassed by her words. She continued, “How beautiful is the poet’s saying: ‘Tell the one who is lovesick for us, unaccompanied by betrayal: there is no denying that the lion has eaten the remnants of the wolf.’”

Her words struck him like arrows, leaving him speechless. He rose abruptly and left, forgetting his shoes at her home. At that moment, the man returned, having remembered the king's message. He saw the king's shoes and realized something was amiss.

The man didn’t speak to his wife but took the message and delivered it, waiting for a reply. When he returned to the king, he carried the burden of confusion in his heart. The king generously rewarded him with gifts and sent him home.

When he got home, he asked his wife to go to the market with him. There, he bought her a pure gold necklace. As they returned, he asked her to show her new necklace to her family.

Days passed, and the wife heard nothing from her husband. Concerned, her brother asked her what was wrong. She told him she didn't know. He went to her husband to seek an explanation, and if he didn’t get a satisfactory answer, they would go to court together.

They went to the court but found the king there, so they approached the king instead.

The brother said, “O judge, I had a garden filled with trees, and I gifted it to this man. He destroyed its walls, cut its trees, and played in it, then returned it to me without telling me why.”

The judge looked at the man, who replied, “By God, O judge, I neither destroyed it nor cut any trees. I returned it exactly as it was.”

The judge looked back at the brother for a response. The brother insisted, “He speaks the truth, but why did he return it to me? Ask him, O judge.”

The man explained, “I returned it because I found signs of a lion. I feared sleeping in my garden would lead to the lion eating me.”

The king, having understood the situation, reassured him, “Do not worry; we have driven that lion away from your garden. It has not touched your garden, which is a stronghold, and I assure you it is a beautiful garden.”

Conclusion

This story illustrates the importance of wisdom and the strength that lies in recognizing the truth, even in challenging circumstances.