You will find the texts of the stories below the audio, and the titles are linked to individual blog posts where you can learn more about sources, see notes, etc.
You'll want to click on track 151 to start the audio portion for this section:
~ 151. The Bedouin's Pitcher of Water ~
A poor Bedouin woman urged her husband to take the king a gift so that they might receive a gift in return.
"But we have no gift to give," he protested.
"Take the king a pitcher of water," she replied. "Water is precious in the desert, and desert water is rare."
So the husband took a pitcher of water to the royal city. With great care, he made the long journey, not spilling a drop.
The king accepted the water kindly and, in his generosity, he returned the pitcher to the Bedouin, but now the pitcher was filled with gold.
~ 152. The Bedouin and his Two Sacks ~
A Bedouin was riding along on his camel, and the camel was carrying two huge sacks, one on each side.
"What's in those two sacks?" a man asked the Bedouin.
"There's grain in this sack," replied the Bedouin, "and there's sand in this sack."
The man was puzzled. "What do you need a sack of sand for?"
"To keep things in balance," the Bedouin explained.
"You fool!" said the man. "You can pour out the sand, and then pour half of the grain into that sack. The weight will be balanced, and the load will be lighter for your camel!"
~ 153. A First Time at Sea ~
A king was making a sea voyage, but one of his servants had never been in a boat before. Stricken with terror, this servant sobbed and shouted, annoying the king.
A wise sailor took charge: he had the servant thrown into the sea, and then dragged by the hair to where he could grab hold of the ship's rudder.
The man clung there for an hour, and then they dragged him back into the boat.
He made no further complaints.
"Now he knows what the water is like," said the wise sailor, "and he knows the value of a boat."
~ 154. The Patient Fisherman ~
A man was fishing at a pond. He sat patiently waiting for the fish to bite, and he had caught several fish already.
Another fisherman came. His line got tangled on some lotus roots in the pond. He tugged angrily, and as a result he snapped his fishing line, so he went away with nothing.
A third fisherman grew impatient. He cursed the pond and all the fish in it, yelling loudly, and then he broke his fishing rod in two and threw it into the pond. He also went away with nothing.
The first man just kept on fishing.
~ 155. The Woman and the Brick Wall ~
There was a high brick wall. On one side there was a stream, and on the other side there was a thirsty woman. She could hear the babbling of the stream, but how to get to the water? She was like a fish on dry land!
The woman managed to wrench a brick out of the wall. Then she threw it over the top of the wall into the stream.
Splash! Then another. Another. Another.
The splashing sound itself helped soothe her thirst.
Another. Splash! Another. Another.
And finally: the woman broke through the wall, and she reached the water.
~ 156. A Man Who Gathers Stones ~
Far away to the east, there is a man gathering stones. He bends down over the ground, and he picks up stones, one after another after another.
He does this without stopping.
As he gathers these stones, he weeps.
As his tears fall on the ground, the tears turn into stones.
There is a man who gathers stones. He bends down over the ground, and he picks up stones, one after another after another.
He does this without stopping.
He gathers. He weeps.
Stones.
There is a man who gathers stones...
Seek.
Keep seeking.
And lose yourself in the quest.
~ 157. A Man Seeking a House ~
A man moved to a new town and needed a home. He asked his cousin, who lived in that town, to help him.
The man's cousin showed him a dilapidated house. "Here's a house! If it only had a roof, you'd find it very comfortable. And if it just had another room or two, it would be big enough for your whole family. And if you get a cat, the cat would get rid of the rats."
And so on.
"My dear cousin," said the man, "I cannot live in an if. I don't need ifs: I need a house!"
~ 158. The Prisoner and the Prayer Rug ~
An honest man had been wrongly imprisoned.
His wife sent him a prayer rug that she had woven herself with an intricate pattern.
Kneeling upon the rug, the man prayed. Days and months passed, and as he prayed and gazed upon the rug, he finally realized the pattern was a map of the prison.
Committing the map to memory, the man escaped, leaving the rug behind for any other prisoners who could read the signs.
When he emerged from the prison, he found his wife there waiting, sure that someday he would emerge from the darkness back into the light.
~ 159. The Princess and the Slave ~
A princess fell in love with a slave. She had to see him, but how?
The princess sent her handmaidens to him, and they gave him drugged wine. Then the handmaidens carried him, asleep, to the princess.
He awoke, and the princess took him into her bed.
Before dawn, the princess sent him to sleep again with more drugged wine, and the handmaids carried him back.
When he awoke the next morning, he did not know what to think. Was it a dream? Was it real?
He spent the rest of his life remembering that one night.
It was love.
~ 160. The Contest of the Artists ~
The sultan invited Chinese artists and Greek artists to a contest. He gave the Chinese artists one room, another to the Greeks.
The Chinese artists covered the walls with paintings in a hundred colors.
The Greek artists used no paint. Instead, they scoured and polished the walls until they were mirrors.
The Chinese paintings were dazzling.
But the room of the Greeks was even more dazzling.
The sultan saw the Chinese paintings reflected there. He saw himself. He saw the world.
The Greek artists had put nothing there.
That nothing was everything.
They emptied themselves, making room for the all.
~ 161. The King Rides to Damascus ~
Death appeared to the king in a dream. "I must take you at sunset tonight."
Terrified, the king summoned his minister. "Interpret this dream! What shall I do?"
"Sire," the minister replied, "you must take the swiftest horse and ride where Death will not find you. Head for Damascus!"
The king rode and rode, amazed at the horse's speed. At sunset, just outside Damascus, he stopped to water the horse.
"Thank you, good horse, for running so swiftly," he said.
"I also thank your good horse," said Death, who appeared out of nowhere. "I wasn't sure you'd arrive in time!"
~ 162. The Old Man and the Doctor ~
An old man complained to his doctor, "My back aches."
"That comes from old age," said the doctor.
"And my vision is blurry."
"That also sounds like old age," replied the doctor.
The old man continued, "I've lost my appetite."
"That often happens to old people," the doctor observed.
The old man wheezed. "And I have trouble breathing."
The doctor sighed. "That's a common complaint among the elderly."
"Is that all you have to say?" shouted the old man. "You sound like a donkey, not like a doctor."
"Old people are prone to lose their temper too," replied the doctor.
~ 163. Sharing the Cucumbers ~
When workers brought their landlord a basket of cucumbers from the first harvest, the generous landlord distributed cucumbers to all the workers and then to the household servants, not keeping even one for himself.
The landlord then turned to a servant who was eating a cucumber and smiling happily. "Let me have a taste," he said to the servant.
The servant gave him the cucumber and, to his surprise, it was bitter.
"How can you smile eating something so bitter?" the landlord asked.
"The memory of sweet gifts you gave us in the past made me smile," the servant replied.
~ 164. The Mayor's Servant and the Donkey ~
One of the mayor's servants needed to go to the market.
"I need a horse to ride," he said to the mayor.
"You can take that donkey over there," replied the mayor. "I don't have a horse I can spare today."
"But I don't want that donkey!" protested the servant. "I know that donkey. He's obstinate. He bucks and insists on going backwards, not forwards. He follows his rump, not his head."
"Well," said the mayor, "you can point his rump in the direction of the market, and off you go!"
Sometimes you have to turn backward to move forward.
~ 165. The Sufi and his Father ~
A Sufi was taking leave of his father.
"I just don't understand you!" the father groaned. "Your ways are so strange! I don't know what you are."
The Sufi said, "A farmer placed a duck egg under a hen. The egg hatched, and the little duckling grew up with the hen and her other chicks. Then, one day, they walked by a pond. The duckling jumped in the water. He swam and splashed, while the mother hen stood clucking on the shore in alarm."
The father understood. "I will stay here on the shore," he said, "but you must go."
~ 166. The Elephant in the Dark ~
Travelers from India had brought an elephant to put on exhibit, and they kept it in a dark room.
Curious people crowded into the room. They had heard of "elephants" but they did not know what an elephant was.
In the dark, they felt the elephant.
One felt the trunk. "It's a water-hose!"
Another grabbed the ear. "No, it's a fan!"
Another rubbed the leg. "No, it's a pillar!"
Another touched the back. "No, it's a throne!"
In the dark, they could not understand what an elephant was.
To see and understand, you must open your eyes in the light.
~ 167. The Lost Camel ~
You've lost your camel! The caravan is about to leave, but where has your camel gone?
"Has anyone seen my camel?" you shout. "I'll reward whoever can give me a clue."
One man says, "I saw a camel looking for grass to eat."
Another says, "Her ears were cropped."
And another, "The saddle-cloth was brightly embroidered."
Yet another, "She had only one eye."
And one more, "She had a bad case of the mange."
Everyone wants to tell you about the camel, wanting a reward for the clues they offer you. But who is going to help you find her?
~ 168. The Wandering Sufi and his Donkey ~
A wandering Sufi arrived in a distant town and went to the local Sufi house. They welcomed him there, lodging his donkey in their stable.
To honor their guest, the Sufis wanted to arrange a celebration, but they had no money, so they sold the stranger's donkey to buy the food.
The celebration was magnificent!
As they danced in the circle, the Sufis all sang, "The donkey is gone! The donkey is gone!" The stranger, caught up in the ecstasy, also sang, "The donkey is gone!"
He was dismayed to learn the next morning that his donkey really was gone.
~ 169. The Thief who Stole a Snake ~
A man caught a snake. "I shall sell this snake for a great price!" he thought.
But before he could sell the snake, a thief stole the snake from him.
The thief also hoped to sell the snake for a great price, but before he could sell the snake, it bit him and then slithered off into the darkness.
When the man found the thief, he was already dead.
"I prayed that God would give me back my snake," he exclaimed, "but now I realize that God has saved me. What I thought was a loss was instead my salvation!"
~ 170. The Frozen Dragon ~
A snake-catcher hunting exotic snakes in the mountains found a mighty dragon. It had died in the cold, or so he thought.
"What a marvel!" he said. "I'll exhibit this in the city and make a fortune!"
He tied the dragon with ropes and dragged it down into the city. The people came and marveled at the rare creature.
There, in the warmth of the sun and of all those human bodies, the dragon revived. Roaring, it burst free of the ropes and started eating the spectators.
"What have I done?" groaned the snake-catcher.
Then the dragon ate him too.
~ 171. Shelter from the Storm ~
A couple were sleeping in their tiny hut.
"Help! Let me in!" a man shouted.
"There's no room," said the wife.
"It's pouring rain," said the husband. "We'll make room."
Everybody sat; there wasn't room to lie down.
Moments later, another voice. "Help! Let me in!"
"There's no room," said the first guest.
"We'll make room as we did for you," said the husband.
The four people sat there, squeezed very tight.
Moments later, "Hee-haw!"
"That's my donkey! Stand up and make room," the man said, letting the donkey in. "He's a good donkey, very patient. You'll enjoy his company."
~ 172. The Hunter's Divine Revelation ~
A hunter once saw a strange sight: a fox who had lost two of her legs.
"How does she survive?" he wondered.
Then he saw a tiger approach, carrying a deer in her mouth. The tiger dropped the deer, ate her fill and departed; the fox ate the rest.
"This is a sign from God!" the hunter thought. "I must trust in God."
He no longer hunted.
He sat.
He waited.
"God will provide!" the hunter thought.
Days passed.
As he was about to faint from hunger, he heard a voice.
"Be like the tiger," God said, "not the fox."
~ 173. The Dog at the River ~
A wandering Sufi saw a dog approach a river to drink. But then the dog saw another dog there; it was just his reflection, though the dog didn't know that.
Frightened of the other dog, he backed away.
Thirst then made the dog approach the water again, but again he was afraid and backed off.
Finally, the dog's thirst was so great that he jumped into the water, which made the other dog disappear.
The dog drank; he swam, glad to be in the water on that hot day.
"We must jump," the Sufi thought to himself, "despite our fear."
~ 174. The Lion Tattoo ~
"I want a lion tattoo, here, on my shoulder," a man said to the tattoo-artist. "Make it a big one!"
"Gladly!" replied the artist.
But when the man felt the needle's sting, he shouted, "That hurts! What are you doing?"
"The lion's tail," said the artist.
"Well, leave out the tail."
The artist resumed his work, and the man screamed again. "What's that?"
"The legs."
"Leave them out."
And so it went on: no tail, no legs, no belly, no mane.
No lion.
"You're not ready for a lion," the artist scoffed, and he drove the man from his shop.
~ 175. The Hunter of Monkeys ~
There was a monkey-hunter who knew how monkeys think.
His tools were a narrow-necked glass bottle and a piece of fruit. He would put the fruit inside the bottle and leave it for a monkey to find.
The monkey would see the fruit, stick his hand inside, and wrap his fist around the prize, but he couldn't pull his fist back out.
When the monkey whimpered, the hunter would make his move, giving the monkey no time to escape.
Thus the hunter caught the monkeys, and he still had the bottle and fruit to use again on the next one.
~ 176. The Hypnotized Sheep ~
A shepherd had many sheep.
He couldn't control the herd by himself, so he decided to hypnotize them.
To some he said, "You're a lion! Don't be afraid." To others he said, "You're a tiger! No need to run away."
The hypnosis worked. The sheep really thought they were lions or tigers.
He even made some of the sheep think they were human beings, shepherds like himself.
Then, when he butchered some sheep, the others looked on and thought, "Well, he's only butchering the sheep. I'm a lion! I'm not afraid!"
One by one, the shepherd butchered all the sheep.
~ 177. The Elephant's Child ~
Some pilgrims who had grown hungry on their journey saw a young elephant wandering far away from the herd.
"Let's kill it and eat it!" they shouted.
One of the pilgrims protested. "We cannot kill and eat the elephant's child. The mother will be angry!"
But the other pilgrims didn't listen. They killed the young elephant and ate it, although the one pilgrim refused to eat.
Then, as they slept, the mother-elephant came sniffing. She sniffed the breath of each pilgrim. She spared the one pilgrim, but when she smelled the breath of the others, she trampled them to death.
~ 178. The Child and the Monster ~
There was a child who was afraid of the dark.
"The monster will come!" he said to his mother at bedtime. "I'm scared. Leave the light on!"
"Don't be afraid," said the child's mother. "If a monster comes to you in the dark, you can gather up all your strength and attack that monster. You will defeat the monster, I promise. You just have to be brave. Attack the monster without fear!"
The child looked at his mother doubtfully. "That's what you say to me," he said, "but what if the monster's mother told him the same thing about me?"
~ 179. What a Cat Can Teach ~
There was a cat who had spent many years chasing and catching mice. She was truly an expert. Her technique was perfect, her skills remarkable.
This cat decided she would teach other animals how to catch mice. She invited one and all to come learn from her, and she didn't even charge them for lessons.
"But just look at all those rabbits!" grumbled the cat. "Fools, every last one of them."
"What do you mean?" asked another cat.
"Here I am, offering to teach anyone how to catch mice, but there's not a single rabbit who wants to learn how!"
~ 180. The Camel and the Mouse ~
There was a camel whose head-rope was dragging on the ground.
A mouse grabbed the rope and shouted, "I've got the camel's rope in my paws: I am a camel-driver! Go forth, camel, and I'll guide you!"
But when the camel reached the river, the mouse didn't know what to do. "I can't cross this river!" he squeaked.
The camel stepped into the river. "It's only knee-deep," she said.
"But my knee is not your knee," protested the little mouse. "Help me!"
"Jump on my hump, and I'll carry you," said the camel, smiling. "You can be a camel-rider instead."
~ 181. The Mule and the Camel ~
A mule and a camel were traveling together through the mountains.
As they ascended and descended the rocky paths, the mule often stumbled, but the camel never stumbled.
"Why am I always stumbling while you are so sure-footed?" asked the mule.
"It's because I see the upward heights," said the camel, "while you see only what is below. At the top of each rise, I foresee the pass ahead, and in this way God lets me discern the shape of things to come. You can only see a few steps ahead. Holding my head up high, I can look beyond."
~ 182. Camel, Ox, and Ram ~
A camel, an ox, and a ram were traveling together. They found some grass and then quarreled about who should eat it.
"Let the one who's lived longest eat the grass!" said the ram. "As for me, I shared a pasture years ago with the ram that Abraham sacrificed for Ishmael."
"As a young ox, I pulled Adam's plow!" claimed the ox.
Meanwhile, the camel stretched out his long neck, seized the grass, and started munching.
"I don't need venerable old age to make my claim," the camel said, "when I am so tall and have such a long neck."
~ 183. The Ant and the Wasp ~
An ant was carrying a grain of wheat. He was struggling; it was a heavy load for an ant.
The wasp looked at the ant and laughed. "Why so much work? Watch me! I take what I want."
The wasp whizzed over to where a butcher had hung a freshly killed lamb on a hook.
Just as the wasp was about to land, the butcher swung his knife, cutting the wasp in two.
The ant put down his grain of wheat and grabbed half of the wasp's body to carry to his home. "This will be even tastier!" he thought.
~ 184. The Fly and the Beehive ~
Searching for honey, a fly flew into a garden where there was a beehive, but the hive was closed.
"I'll pay a copper penny to anyone who lets me in!" shouted the fly.
Someone let the fly into the hive, and she paid with a penny.
But as soon as the fly was inside, her feet got stuck in the honey.
As she flapped her wings, she became even more stuck.
"Cruel tyranny! This is poison, not honey!" she cried. "I paid a penny to come in, but now I would pay ten pennies if I could just get out."
~ 185. The Donkey and the Stallions ~
There was a donkey bent double from years of carrying heavy loads.
The king's stable-master took pity on the donkey, and brought him to live in the royal stables with the stallions.
Looking at the fine horses, the donkey sighed. "Am I not also God's creature? Why have I suffered while they live a life of luxury?"
Then war broke out, and the army took the stallions into battle.
Many died, and those who returned were maimed and mutilated.
"I thank God for my humble life!" exclaimed the donkey. "It has kept me safe from the wounds of the world."
~ 186. The Gazelle and the Donkey ~
A hunter caught a gazelle and then locked it in the stable with his donkey.
He fed the donkey with straw, and he offered straw to the gazelle also, but the gazelle refused to eat.
The donkey laughed. "You must miss your royal throne, delicate creature that you are!"
"It's true," said the gazelle. "I long to eat sweet meadow-grass and drink from crystal streams. The stench here is suffocating."
"In a strange country, anyone can boast!" scoffed the donkey. "I don't believe a word you say."
The gazelle sighed. "What would a dung-worshipping donkey know of ambergris and musk-oil?"
~ 187. The Moths and the Candle ~
The moths were enraptured by the candle.
"We must learn more!" they said.
One moth flew to the window where the candle sat and came back to report what she saw.
"You have learned nothing!" said the others.
They sent another moth who touched the candle with her wings, but the heat made her retreat. She flew back and reported.
"You still have told us nothing!" said the moths.
They sent another moth who threw herself into the flame, becoming one with the candle, burning.
The moths watched from a distance. "She has learned all, but can tell us nothing."
~ 188. The Ants and the Pen ~
An ant crawled onto a piece of paper and watched a pen writing.
She went and told another ant. "This pen creates beautiful shapes. Come look!"
The other ant watched. "The pen is an instrument of the fingers," she said.
"No!" said a third ant. "The arm is what guides the fingers."
Then the wisest of the ants explained, "You are all mistaken. Think not of the material world, which is but an outward garment. The pen does not write, nor the finger, nor the arm nor any part of the body; it is the spirit who moves the pen."
~ 189. The Three Fish ~
Some fishermen came to a lake.
The wisest fish was ready. "I won't ask other fish for advice," she thought. "They'll only hold me back." She escaped to the sea.
A less wise fish watched her go but didn't follow. "I should have gone with her," she thought, "but I can still die to this life." She floated in the water as if dead, and the fishermen ignored her. Thus she escaped.
A third fish had no wisdom at all. As she splashed and thrashed, the fishermen caught her, and into their frying-pan she went. The foolish fish didn't escape.
~ 190. The Jackal and the Pot of Dye ~
A jackal fell into a pot of dye which stained his coat with beautiful colors.
"Behold!" the jackal shouted. "I've become a heavenly peacock!"
When he showed off his new colors to the other jackals, they scoffed. "You're no peacock!" they said.
"But I am!" retorted the jackal. "I am truly a peacock."
"Can you make the call of the peacock?" the other jackals asked.
The jackal opened his mouth, but he could not make the call of the peacock. He sounded just like any other jackal.
His beautiful new colors were only on the surface, not in his heart.
~ 191. The Lion and the Fox ~
"Fetch me something easy to kill!" the aged lion said to the fox who served him.
The fox found a starving donkey.
"You look hungry!" the fox said to the donkey. "I'll show you a pasture of fresh green grass!"
The donkey followed the fox, but the lion leaped too soon and the donkey escaped.
"Come back!" said the fox. "That was just a lion-illusion conjured by a magician. There's no lion."
So the fox persuaded the donkey to follow him again.
This time, the lion caught the donkey and killed him, and both lion and fox enjoyed a feast.
~ 192. Lion, Wolf, and Fox ~
A lion, a wolf, and a fox went hunting and caught an ox, a goat, and a rabbit.
"Wolf, divide the spoils!" the lion commanded.
"The ox must go to the lion," he said. "The goat's for me, and the fox gets the rabbit."
Enraged, the lion tore the wolf to pieces.
"You next!" the lion ordered the fox.
The fox exclaimed, "It's all for you!"
The lion smiled. "How did you learn to divide so wisely?"
"From the wolf," replied the fox.
"And because of your great love for me," concluded the lion, "I now give everything to you."
~ 193. The Lion and the Rabbit ~
Every day, the lion demanded that the animals send him a victim to eat.
When the rabbit's turn came, he rebelled, and on the way he prayed, "God, help your tiny servant overthrow this tyrant."
"Why are you late?" the lion roared.
"Another lion tried to eat me along the way," said the rabbit. "I barely escaped."
"How dare he!" the lion exclaimed. "Take me to this villain!"
The rabbit took the lion to a well. "He lives here," said the rabbit.
The lion looked in and saw the lion. Enraged, he jumped in and drowned, attacking his own reflection.
~ 194. The Elephants and the Rabbits ~
Elephants trampled the pond where the rabbits drank, so one of the rabbits went to the elephant-king and said, "I am the Moon's ambassador, and the Moon says: 'Depart! I'll strike you down if you don't obey. Go now!' So says the Moon."
And when the elephant-king put his trunk in the water to drink, he saw the Moon shaking with wrath. The more he drank, the more the Moon shook with anger.
"Run away!" shouted the elephant-king to the herd. "We must flee before the Moon destroys us."
The elephants no longer muddied the water where the rabbits drank.
~ 195. A Cow on an Island ~
A cow lived alone on an island covered with green pastures.
Every day she ate the grass of the pastures and grew fat, but every night she worried. "What will I eat tomorrow?"
This anxiety made her grow thin.
The next day she would eat the green grass again and grow fat.
And at night she would worry.
This went on day after day, month after month, year after year.
Never did the cow stop and think, "How well provisioned is my island!" Instead, she thought only, "Will there be anything for me to eat tomorrow?"
Don't be that cow!
~ 196. The Miser ~
A man kept gold in a treasure chest which he buried under a floorboard.
The man died, and then a year later the man's son had a dream: he saw a mouse running back and forth, weeping pitiably.
"What's wrong, mouse?" he asked.
The mouse replied with his father's voice! "I still crave the gold I buried here."
"Father," said the son, "how did you become a mouse?"
"That is what happens to misers like myself," the mouse replied. "Have pity on me, and take care to avoid my fate: renounce the love of gold now while you still can."
~ 197. The Bird's Advice ~
"Let me go," the bird said to the bird-catcher, "and I'll teach you three secrets."
The man let the bird go.
"First: don't believe anything absurd."
The bird hopped away. "Second: don't grieve; when you lose something, let it go."
The bird flew up in a tree. "There's a pearl in my stomach as big as an apple."
The man started weeping.
The bird laughed. "Remember: don't grieve, and don't believe something absurd. I'm smaller than an apple myself!"
"What about the third piece of advice?"
"You're a fool and don't deserve it!" the bird replied, and then flew away.
~ 198. The Man and the Bear ~
A man saw a bear and a dragon fighting. He rescued the bear and killed the dragon.
"I am your friend forever!" declared the bear.
The man's family warned him. "Bears are dangerous," they said.
The man scoffed. "You're just jealous of my bear-friend!" he said.
One day, the man fell asleep in the garden, and the bear stood watch over him, driving away the flies so the man could sleep peacefully.
When a fly landed on the man's nose, the bear picked up a stone, and smashed it down on the fly.
And so the bear killed his friend.
~ 199. The Wild Parrots of India ~
A merchant told his pet parrot that he was going to India.
"Find my wild kindred," she said, "and tell them of my life here."
The merchant thus spoke to the wild Indian parrots, and as soon as he finished speaking, they fell down dead.
On his return, the merchant sadly told his parrot what had happened.
Then his own parrot fell down dead.
When he lifted the corpse from the cage, grieving for his poor pet, the parrot fluttered her wings; she was not dead at all.
"My kindred showed me the way!" she said, flying away to freedom.
~ 200. The Cook and the Chickpea ~
A chickpea was boiling in the pot, and it shouted at the cook. "What are you doing? You paid good money for me in the market, but now you're boiling me!"
"I'm boiling you to fill you with flavor!" replied the cook. "When you were green and grew in the garden, you drank water, but now you need both fire and water. You must surrender to the maker of fire and water. You came from cloud and sun and sky, and now you will become soul and act, speech and thought. Boil, chickpea, boil! Boil in time! Boil in spirit!"
