Story 21: The Merchant of Kish

I once heard of a merchant who had a hundred and fifty camels loaded with goods and forty servants at his command. One night, on the island of Kish, he took me into his private chamber. All night long he would not rest from his rambling talk: this partner of mine is in Turkestan, that stock of goods in India, here is the deed to a certain piece of land, and so-and-so stands guarantor for such-and-such. At times he would say: I have a mind to go to Alexandria, where the air is pleasant. Then he would say: No, the western sea is too rough. Saadi, I have one more journey ahead of me. Once that is done, I will settle in a quiet corner for the rest of my life. I asked: And what journey is that? He said: I want to carry Persian sulfur to China, for I have heard it fetches an enormous price there. From there I will bring Chinese porcelain to Anatolia, Anatolian brocade to India, Indian steel to Aleppo, Aleppo glassware to Yemen, and Yemeni striped cloth back to Persia. After that I will give up trade and sit quietly in a shop. In truth, he poured out so much of this delirious raving that at last he had no strength left to speak. Then he said: Saadi, now you say something, from the things you have seen and heard. I said: Have you heard how, in the far reaches of Ghur, a caravan leader fell from his mount and died? He said: 'The narrow eye of the one who loves this world is filled either by contentment, or by the dust of the grave.'