Page 86 - The Book of Rumi

Setting an Example

he Oghuz Turkmens were wild and fi erce warriors who had invaded
TPersia and continued to ravage the lands in the northern parts of the
country. Their army eventually arrived at a remote village with the full inten-
tion of massacring its inhabitants, pillaging their possessions, and then level-
ing the entire place.
As they rummaged through the tiny, dilapidated huts, they found two
elderly men, one of whom was the head of the village and the other his
neighbor. The Turkmens hurriedly bound one of the men, intending to
slaughter him.
“Great warriors of our time, why would you want to kill a poor old man
like me?” implored the destitute man. “Why spill my innocent blood? Don’t
you see that I’m so impoverished that I’m practically naked to the bone? What
possible good could my death bring you?” he pleaded as the warriors began to
bind his hands and feet.
“We’ll slit your throat and set an example so that the other man tells us
where he’s buried his gold,” replied a soldier.
“What gold? He’s even poorer than me!”
“We have informers who have guaranteed that he’s hiding his treasure.”
“We are both in the same situation, so why don’t you kill him instead of
me, and I promise to show you where I’m hiding my gold!” reasoned the old
man, cleverly trying to avoid certain death.

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