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| THE STATE OF CONTENTMENT |
| A master had a slave who was completely devoted to him. One day he gave the slave a
melon which when cut open looked most ripe and delicious. The slave ate one piece, then
another and another with great relish (the day being warm) until nearly the whole melon
had disappeared. The master, picking up the last slice, tasted it, and found it
exceedingly bitter and unpalatable. "Why it is very bitter! Did you not find it
so?" he asked the servant. "Yes, my Master," the slave replied, "it
was bitter and unpleasant, but I have tasted so much sweetness from thy hand that one
bitter melon was not worth mentioning." (Story told by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Julia Grundy, Ten
Days in the Light of `Akká, p. 103) |
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Introduction