Story 7: The Slave and the Sea

A king boarded a ship with a foreign slave who had never seen the sea and had never felt the ordeal of a voyage. The slave broke into weeping and wailing, and his whole body trembled. No matter how kindly they treated him, he would not calm down, and the king's pleasure was spoiled by him. They could think of no remedy. A wise man aboard the ship said to the king: If you permit, I can find a way to quiet him. The king said: That would be the height of kindness and grace. He ordered the slave thrown into the sea. After the man had gone under a few times, they seized him by the hair and pulled him back toward the ship. He clung to the rudder with both hands, and when he climbed aboard he sat down in a corner and grew calm. The king was amazed and asked: What was the wisdom in this? The wise man replied: At first he had never tasted the misery of drowning, so he did not know the worth of the ship's safety. In the same way, only someone who has suffered a hardship knows the value of well-being. You are full, so barley bread has no appeal for you; but the one you find ugly is my beloved. To the maidens of paradise, even the borderland Aaraf feels like hell; but ask those in hell, and Aaraf is paradise to them. There is a difference between the one who holds his love in his arms, and the one whose two eyes stay fixed on the door, waiting.