Points to Ponder — Page 41
— 41 When the poet was reciting the couplet, the condition of the employee changed. He uttered a cry and fell down unconscious. The poet suspected that the employee had an epileptic fit. He called the bath owner and complained, “You ha ve sent an afflicted and sick person to attend on me. ” The owner apologized and said, “I did not know of the sickness of the young man until today. He was quite healthy. ” Anyhow, they revived the servant and asked, “What is the matter? You did not have an epileptic fit until today. ” The young servant asked the poet in a nervous manner , “The couplets you recited, who did you hear them from?” The poet said, “They are mine. I love them very much because I used to be very poor and longed even for a piece of bread for dinner. Then I found out that a son was born to Fa ḍ l Barmak ī who was a minister from among the ministers of H ā r ū nur-Rash ī d, and was a son of the prime-minister, Ya ḥ y ā Barmakī. Poets were invited to write and bring poetry for a contest, and whoever won the contest was to be rewarded. So, to judge my fate, I also wrote a few lines and came to the meeting. On my turn, I recited those couplets. Fa ḍ l Barmakī , his brothers and father liked those couplets so much that they gave me millions, and many servants, and horses and many camels, and silverware and gold utensils, and carpets and floor coverings, and handed over a big treasure of perfumes. I was stunned viewing all that. I said that I did not even have enough space in my home for them. They told me not to worry as their