The Morals of Dervishes
STORY LXVIII
The life of a king was drawing to a close, and he had no successor. He ordered in his last testament that the next morning [after his death] the first person entering the gate of the city be presented with the royal crown and be entrusted with the government of the realm. It so happened that the first person who entered was a mendicant, who had all his life subsisted on the morsels he collected, and had sewn patch after patch upon his clothes. The pillars of the State and grandees of the court executed the injunction of the King, and bestowed upon him the government and treasures; whereon the Dervish reigned for a while, until some Amirs of the monarchy withdrew their necks from his obedience, and Kings from every side began to rise for hostilities and to prepare their armies for war. At last his own troops and subjects also rebelled and deprived him of a portion of his dominions. This event afflicted the mind of the Dervish, until one of his old friends, who had been his companion when he was yet himself a Dervish, returned from a journey, and, seeing him in such an exalted position, said:
"Thanks be to God the Most High and Glorious that thy rose has thus come forth from the thorn, and thy thorn was extracted from thy foot. Thy high luck has aided thee, and prosperity with fortune has guided thee, till thou hast attained this position. Verily hardship is followed by comfort. A flower is at sometimes blooming, and sometimes withering, a tree is at times nude, and at times clothed."
He replied: "Brother! Condole with me, because there is no occasion for congratulation. When thou sawest me lats, I was distressed for bread, and now a world of distress has overwhelmed me. If I have no wealth, I grieve; if I have some, the love of it captivates me. There is no greater calamity than
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