Story 18

A king summoned a devout worshiper. The man thought: I will take a drug to make myself look frail, so the king's faith in me will grow stronger. They say he drank a poison and died. The one I once saw as pure kernel, like a pistachio, turned out to be nothing but layer upon layer of skin, like an onion. The pious who turn their faces toward people are praying with their backs to God. When someone calls himself God's servant, he should know nothing but God.