Page 123 - The Book of Rumi

The Drummer Thief

t was pitch dark in the middle of the night, when silence normally rules,
Iexcept tonight the unrelenting tap-tap-tap of a hammer and chisel made
sleep a distant and unachievable dream. A fearless thief, who had managed to
dodge the authorities, was patiently digging a crawl space under a garden wall,
trying to get access to the house within. The house’s owner, who had been ill
for some time, lay sleepless on his bed tossing and turning in pain. The con-
stant tapping guaranteed that he would fi nd no rest.
Frustrated and misty in the head because of his fever, the owner forced
himself to creep out of bed with great diffi culty. He was intent on fi nding out
the source of the uninterrupted and annoying noise. He opened the window
and leaned out to see if he could spot anything suspicious in the dark.
“Who’s there in the dead of the night?” he screamed, indeed expecting a
response.
The tapping stopped momentarily but resumed at a greater speed in no
time. The owner, much to his dismay, couldn’t fi gure out where the noise came
from or what its source could be! Once again, he shouted into the darkness:
“Who’s there? What’re you doing making such a racket? Digging a well?”
“No, my friend,” replied the sinister thief disdainfully, “I’m playing the
drum for your pleasure!”
“But that’s not the sound of a drum I hear!” replied the owner, confounded.
“You will tomorrow, when you hear the screaming and shouting of your
household and that of your neighbors!” said the thief cunningly, implying that
fools truly deserve what comes to them.

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