The ambassador answered, "All those who hear my King in council become
wise if they lack wisdom, and brave if they lack courage."
The King of Khorassan was enchanted with the answers of the ambassador,
loaded him with presents, and said to him: "The spirit and judgment of
your King are reflected in the person of his ambassador. They should
all be like you." And he addressed in answer to the Sultan a letter
filled with compliments and felicitations.
In the Kitab Tarykh it is related that the Sultan Mahmoud was fond of
his servant Ayaz on account of the excellence of his wit and judgment.
The other servants of the Sultan were jealous of Ayaz, and murmured
against him. One day the ministers and grandees were in the presence of
the Sultan Mahmoud, and Ayaz was standing respectfully before him.
Someone brought a cucumber as a present to the Sultan. The Sultan
sliced it and ate a morsel. He found it very bitter, but gave no sign
of this. He handed a piece of it to Ayaz, saying, "Eat some of this
cucumber and tell me how it tastes, so that the others present may eat
some of it also, and tell us if they ever ate anything like it." Ayaz
saluted, and ate of the cucumber with an appearance of pleasure.
"It is very good."
The King made the others eat of it. They found that it was bitter, and
were angry with Ayaz, and asked how he dare to lie in such a manner.
"It is true," said the Sultan; "how could you say it was good?"
Ayaz answered with respect: "May the Lord bless the king of the world!
How many favors have you given me! How many sweet and savory dainties!
How, then, could I make a wry face over one bitter morsel? I ought, on
the contrary, to declare that the bitterness of this mouthful is
completely annulled by the delicious sweetness of the others, so that
your Majesty shall continue to bestow dainties upon me as before."
A certain king, vain of his royal power, had a servant who was very
pious and a true believer, very punctilious in the practice of his
religious duties. The King distinguished him above all the others as
one in whom he could trust on account of the integrity of his heart. He
had given him this order: "Go not far away from here, day or night.
Keep close watch, and neglect not my service." The servant, after
finishing his religious duties, took his post, where the King from time
to time sent for him. But the King had need of him, and he was not to
be found. They sent to look for him, but in vain, and the King grew
very angry with him. Finally the servant arrived and prostrated himself
before the King. The latter, full of wrath, demanded:
"Why are you late? Why don't you pay attention to my orders?" And he
commanded that the man be punished, to make him more attentive to the
King's service.
But the servant replied, "If I am late, it is only on account of the
great embarrassment in which I find myself placed."
"What embarrassment? Tell me."
The servant, bowing low, spoke as follows: "My embarrassment comes from
the fact that I have two masters to serve. The first is the true
Master, he who created the universe and the children of Adam, whose
punishments are very severe. The second is only the servant of the
former, and not the true master. I am obliged to attend to the service
of the true Master before the service of the second. That is the
embarrassment in which I find myself."
When the King heard these words he shed abundant tears, and said: "From
this day forth you are free. Follow the service of the Lord, and do not
forget to pray for me."
The servants of the King should love their King more than they love
their own life, their mother, their father, their children, their
grandchildren, their family, their riches, and all that belongs to
them. In a word, for them the person of their King should be above all,
so that one may call them true servants of the King, and that in all
truth they may be termed his favorites. They tell the story that one
day the Sultan Mahmoud Ghazi (may grace be upon him!) was seated on his
throne, surrounded by his ministers and his officers, among whom was
Ayaz. The Sultan said to his treasurer:
"Go to the treasure-chamber. Take to a certain place gold, silver,
precious stones, and other objects of great value. For we are going
there to amuse ourselves, and present these treasures to those who
shall accompany us."
One day the Sultan started to go and amuse himself at that place, and
as soon as the news spread abroad, a great number of people followed
him there. When he arrived he halted at a spot level, clean, and well
lighted, and said to his treasurer:
"Expose my treasures here, in this place, so that all those who are
happy shall obtain a present according to their degree of happiness,
and that one may know who are those who have the most luck and those
who have the least."
All hearing these words quickly approached, pressing forward, with
their eyes wide open and their looks fixed on the treasurer, praying
him to exhibit the presents at the designated place. At this very
moment the Sultan spurred his horse to a gallop and rode from their
presence. When he was far away and out of their sight, he stopped and
looked behind him. There he saw Ayaz, the only one who had followed
him. The others, preoccupied with getting their share of the treasures,
never suspected that the Sultan had gone and was already far away from
them. The Sultan, halting a moment, returned to the city.
On their side, the ministers and the grandees, having taken possession
of the most precious objects, returned joyfully to their homes. On the
way they compared notes with each other about their shares of the
treasure. One said, "I had the best luck"; and another, "No, I had the
best." And all, whoever they were, said the same thing, for all except
Ayaz had their share of the King's presents. So they said among
themselves, "It is clear that the one who has no luck is Ayaz."
Some jealous ones added: "In truth, Master Ayaz has no luck at all. By
his lack of intelligence and good judgment he has had none of the
Sultan's presents."
Ayaz heard all these remarks, but kept silence. Some days later, the
Sultan came out of his palace and sat upon the throne. All the grandees
came into his presence. Ayaz was standing before him. The Sultan asked:
"Who among you had no luck?"
The ministers answered: "It is Ayaz! He did not get a single one of
your Majesty's many presents. It is clear that he has no luck, for he
left all those precious objects and came back with empty hands."
The Sultan said: "O Ayaz, are our presents without value in your eyes,
that you disdain them? I don't know why you took nothing that was
within your grasp. You would have prevented them from saying that you
have no luck. What was your motive in doing a thing that has the
approbation of nobody?"
Ayaz responded: "May the days and prosperity of the King increase! May
the presents never tarnish that he has given to his servants. As for
me, I have more luck than those who received the presents of your
Majesty."