Page 116 - The Book of Rumi

The students were free at last; wishing their teacher all the health in the

world, they practically flew out of his house. They didn’t go home, though,
and instead remained in the streets, playing various games that they’d long
fantasized about. Their mothers, however, soon found out that their sons had
skipped school, and when they found them on the streets they reprimanded
them, refusing to accept that they’d been excused by their teacher. They threat-
ened to visit the teacher’s home the next day and fi nd out the truth. And
so they did. They found the poor man lying miserably under several duvets,
sweating like a pig and moaning in pain.
“Dear sir, forgive us, for we didn’t believe our sons,” confessed the women.
“Now we can see for ourselves how ill you really are! May God grant you a
long, healthy life.”
“I’m actually grateful to your perceptive sons for having detected my
malady,” said the teacher gratefully. “I was so intent on teaching them that I
had totally ignored my own health. If it hadn’t been for them, I’d have soon
been dead for certain!”
And such was the fate of the ignorant teacher, who’d been fooled by base-
less repetition and indoctrination conducted by mere children.

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