The Morals of Dervishes
STORY LII
One night in the desert of Mekkah I had become so weak from want of sleep that I was unable to walk, and, laying myself down, told the camel-driver to let me alone. How far can the foot of a wretched pedestrian go, when a dromedary gets distressed by its load? Whilst the body of a fat man becomes lean, a weak man will be dead of exhaustion.
He replied: "O brother! The sanctuary[1] is in front of us and brigands in the rear. If thou goest thou wilt prosper; if thou sleepest thou wilt die."
It is pleasant to sleep under an acacia on the desert road; but alas! thou must bid farewell to life on the night of departure.
- ↑ This is one of the names of Mekkah.
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