Real Revolution — Page 137
137 beak for the parent bird to come and put something into it. . Their case, in fact, resembles the story related of some king of Iran who happened to hear much praise of the Indian fruit, called mango, which created a great desire in him to taste it. So he sent a courtier to India as ambassador, to bring the fruit. . When the Iranian reached the court at Delhi, however, the season for mangoes was over. But the. Delhi king made special efforts to find in the gardens of the neighbourhood some specimen of the fruit, unearthing just one mango, but of a very inferior qualliy. sour and full of fibre. He asked the ambassador to have a look at it. "The mango looks like this. " he said, "but it tastes exceedingly sweet. . This one which is before you is not so fine. You may please teste it as well, so that you may give an idea to your king about a mango. ". He tasted the mango and found it extremely unpalatable On his return to the Iranian capital he told his master that since his visit to India he had begun. to have serious doubts in regard to the taste and intelligence of the people of that country. Asked to explain, he said that he had tasted the fruit which he had been sent to fetch. And as for what it was like. please taste this and know'. Saying this he held out a cup full of tamarind pulp mixed with a little water to make it into a thick liquid. . The Iranian king put the cup to his lips and was surprised to find that the Indians were so fond of a fruit of which the taste had nothing to recommend it.