Not wishing his curiosity to be revealed, the man was departing, when the owner of the house cried out: “Come in; why standest thou upon the door? Knowest thou not, O friend, that I it was who barked? When I discerned that humility was acceptable to God, I banished pride and vanity from my heart, and clamoured with barks at the door of God, for I saw none more lowly than a dog.” If thou desire to attain to dignity, let humility be thy path. Behold, when the dew lies low upon the earth, the sun doth raise it to the skies. STORY ILLUSTRATING THE VALUE OF SOFT WORDS The slave of a king escaped, and, though a search was made, was not discovered. Later, when the fugitive returned, the king, in anger, ordered that he should be put to death. When the executioner brought out his scimitar, like the tongue of a thirsty man, the despondent slave cried out: “O God! I forgive the king the shedding of my blood, for I have ever enjoyed his bounty and shared in his prosperity. Let him not suffer for this deed on the Day of Judgment, to the delight of his enemies.” When the king heard these words his anger was appeased, and he appointed the slave to be an officer of the standard. The moral of this story is that soft speech acts like water on the fires of wrath. Do not the soldiers on the battle-field wear armour consisting of a hundred folds of silk? O friend! be humble when thou dealest with a fierce foe, for gentleness will blunt the sharpest sword. STORY ILLUSTRATING THE WISDOM OF FEIGNING DEAFNESS Many writers affirm the falsity of the idea that Hātim was deaf. One morning his attention was attracted by the buzzing of a fly, which had become ensnared in a spider’s web. “O thou,” he observed, “who art fettered by thine own avarice, be patient. Wherever there be a tempting bait, huntsman and snare are close at hand.” One of his disciples remarked: “Strange it is that thou couldst hear the buzzing of a fly that hardly reached our ears. No longer can they call thee deaf.” The Sheikh replied: “Deafness is better than the hearing of idle words. Those that sit with me in private are prone to conceal my faults and parade my virtues; thus, do they make me vain. I feign deafness that I may be spared their flattery. When my assumed affliction has become known to them they will speak freely of that which is good and bad in me; then, being grieved at the recital of my faults, I shall abstain from evil.” Go not down a well by a rope of praise. Be deaf, like Hātim, and listen to the words of them that slander thee. STORY ILLUSTRATING FORBEARANCE FOR THE SAKE OF FRIENDS A certain man, whose heart was as pure as Sadi’s, fell in love. Although taunted by his enemies in consequence, he showed no anger.