A Tale

An old dervish in the land of Kish said something wise to his ugly wife: Since the hand of fate made your face plain, don't smear rouge on an ugly face. Who ever won good fortune by force? Can kohl make a blind eye see? Good deeds don't come from those of rotten stock; you can't teach dogs to sew. All the philosophers of Greece and Rome could never make honey out of a bitter thorn tree. A wild beast can't become a decent person; try to train it and your effort is wasted. You can wipe the rust from a mirror, but you can't make a mirror out of stone. No effort makes a rose bloom on a willow branch, and no bath turns a dark-skinned man white. Since the arrow of fate cannot be turned back, the servant has no shield but acceptance.