English
Bahram and the Miser
When he broke away from the riders, he hurried toward the miserable dwelling of Rahham.
He knocked at the door and said: I am left without my king, just as he was left behind from the hunt.
Night has come, I do not know the road; I cannot find the army or the king.
If tonight I can find shelter in this house, I will be no trouble to anyone.
The servant went to Rahham and repeated what he had heard from that noble man.
Rahham said: Do not fret at all about this door; tell him he will find no lodging here.
The messenger came back and told him: There is no hiding place for you here.
Bahram said to him: Tell him I have no wish to travel on from here.
I only ask you for a night's shelter; I will not trouble you for anything of yours after that.
When the servant heard this, he ran and told Rahham: This rider says,
he will not move on from here tonight. The talk went back and forth for a long while.
Rahham said to him: Go at once and tell him this place is cramped.
There is a poor Jew here, hungry at night, who sleeps bare on the ground.
They told him, and Bahram said: If I find no shelter in this house, it will trouble you.
I will sleep at this very door and seek no other house; I will not set my mind on anything else.
Rahham said: O battle-hardened rider, little by little you are wearing me down.
You will sleep, someone will steal your things, and then you will cause me endless grief over it.
Come into the house, then, since the world has grown so tight and every affair is drab and colorless.
On the condition that you will ask nothing of me; I do not even keep a burial cloth or shroud for the dead.
Tonight you and your resting need food, and I have nothing.
If this horse drops dung and water, or if it breaks a brick of this house,
at dawn you will clear away its dung, sweep it up, and carry the dirt out to the open field.
You will also pay the price of the brick; when you wake from sleep, you will give it.
Bahram said to him: I make this pact and stake my head on these terms.
He dismounted, tied the horse with its bridle, and drew his sword from its sheath.
He spread the saddle-felt, made the saddle his pillow, lay down with his two feet trailing on the ground.
The Jew shut the door of the house behind him, brought out a tray, and sat down to eat.
Then he said to Bahram: O rider, when you hear this tale, keep it in mind.
In this world, whoever has food to eat pays no heed to the destitute.
Bahram said to him: I have heard this saying from the words of the ancients.
I heard it in speech, and now I see it, just as you have recited it from wise old sayings.
The Jew brought out wine when the bread was eaten, and the wine added to his joy.
He cried out: O weary rider, listen to this ancient tale:
For whoever has a bright, easy heart, money is like a coat of armor to him.
But one who has nothing stays dry-lipped, like you, hungry at midnight.
Bahram said to him: This is quite astonishing; in this world one should learn this lesson,
that from the cup you reach a happy end. Blessed is the wine-server, the wine, and a fine cup.
When the sun lifted its dagger over the mountain, Bahram Gur slipped away from the house.
He set the saddle on that unfed white horse; what a bed, a hard saddle for a pillow.
Rahham came and said: O rider, now stand by your own word.
You said you would sweep up this mount's dung with a broom, all of it at once.
Now sweep and carry away what you promised; I am wearied by an unjust guest.
Bahram said to him: Go, become my hired hand, bring someone to carry the dung aside.
I will give gold so the filth is carried out and taken from your house to the open field.
He said to him: I have no one to sweep the dirt, carry it off, and dump it in a pit.
Do not twist the pact you made into something crooked; do not make me call you unjust.
When Bahram heard this from him, he laid the ground for a fresh idea.
He had a fine silken turban-cloth, its lining filled with musk and fragrance.
He drew it out, cleaned up the dung with it, and threw it away with the dirt into the pit.
He said to Rahham: O pious man, if the king should hear of my noble deed,
he would free you from all worldly need and raise you high above the great lords.