Pleasant Stories & Anecdotes — Page 21
Pleasant Stories—The Hospitality Of A Bird 21 the doorkeeper to tell Plato that he was right in his interpretation of him; however, he had changed his natural disposition by the power of self-abnegation. Plato granted him an audience. Thus, the natural disposition is such a thing that can be changed. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 7, p. 128–129) The Hospitality of a Bird There is a story about the hospitality of a bird. A traveller came to rest under a tree at night in the wilderness of the forest dur- ing winter. There was a nest of a bird in the tree. Both male and female birds started conversing with each other. ‘This man away from home is our guest tonight. He is in the cold. What can we do for him?’ After some thought, they agreed to break and throw down their nest so that he could make fire from it and warm him- self. Then they thought that he was hungry and wondered how to provide him with food. Nothing was available at that time. Both birds dropped themselves into the fire so that their guest could have dinner with their roasted meat. Thus, they created an example of hospitality [by sacrificing their home and then their lives to help a stranger]. (Malf ūzā t, vol. 8, p. 281–282)