Sufi Stories - The Banquet - Cooking by Candle

The Banquet
A Sufi Story from the Middle East

Once upon a time, a poor man dressed in rags came to the palace to attend the banquet. Out of courtesy he was admitted but, because of his tattered clothing, he was seated at the very end of the banquet table. By the time the platters arrived at his seat, there was no food left on them.

So he left the banquet, returning several hours later dressed in robes and jewels he had borrowed from a wealthy friend. This time he was brought immediately to the head of the table and, with great ceremony, food was brought to his seat first.

"Oh, what delicious food I see being served upon my plate." He rubbed one spoonful into his clothes for every one he ate.

A nobleman beside him, grimacing at the mess, inquired,

"Sir, why are you rubbing food into your fine clothes?"

"Oh," he replied with a chuckle, "Pardon me if my robes now look the worst. But it was these clothes that brought me all this food. It's only fair that they be fed first!"

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Cooking by Candle
A Sufi Tale from the Middle East

Once upon a time, Mula bet some friends he could survive a night on an icy mountain with nothing to warm him. Taking only a book and a candle for some light, he sat through the frigid night. When he came down to claim his winnings, his friends asked,

"Did you take anything up there with you to keep warm?"

"No," said Mula, "just a small candle to read by."

"Aha!" they exclaimed, "Then you lose!"

A week later he invited these same friends to a feast. They waited and waited for food.

"Dinner's not ready," said Mula, "Come and see why!"

In the kitchen they saw a huge pot of water under which a small candle was burning. Mula said,

"Does this remind you of our bet? I've been trying to heat this pot of water over this candle since yesterday and it's not warm yet!"

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Sufi Stories - The Sack - The Boatman

The Sack
A Sufi Story from the Middle East

Long time ago, there was a sufi named Mula Nasruddin, usually he is called by Mula. Following is the story of Mula.

Mula came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The man held up a tattered bag and moaned,

"All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack."

"Too bad," said Mula.

And with that, he snatched the bag from the man's hands and ran down the road with it.

Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking. Meanwhile, Mula quickly ran around the bend and placed the man's sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.

When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted,

"My sack! I thought I'd lost you!"

Watching through the bushes, Mula chuckled.

"Well, that's one way to make someone happy!"

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The Boatman
A Sufi Story from the Middle East

A scholar asked a boatman to row him across the river. The journey was long and slow. The scholar was bored.

"Boatman," he called out, "Let's have a conversation."

Suggesting a topic of special interest to himself, he asked,

"Have you ever studied phonetics or grammar?"

"No," said the boatman, "I've no use for those tools."

"Too bad," said the scholar, "You've wasted half your life. It's useful to know the rules."

Later, as the rickety boat crashed into a rock in the middle of the river, the boatman turned to the scholar and said,

"Pardon my humble mind that to you must seem dim, but, wise man, tell me, have you ever learned to swim?"

"No," said the scholar, "I've never learned. I've immersed myself in thinking."

"In that case," said the boatman, "you've wasted all your life. Alas, the boat is sinking."

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The Story of Ratna Ayu Wideradin and the Monkey

The Story of Ratna Ayu Wideradin and the Monkey

A Folklore from West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom in Lombok, nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia. The king had nine beautiful daughters. However, the youngest princess was the most beautiful one. Her name was Ratna Ayu Wideradin. Other princesses were jealous. They were thinking how she just stayed inside the palace and people would not able to see her anymore.

They finally had an idea. They told the king that Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin stole her sister's jewelry. They tried hard to influence the king and sadly the king finally believed it. He punished his youngest daughter. She was not allowed to leave the palace until she returned the jewelry. Of course it made Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin very sad. She did not steal anything, therefore she could not return it.

Everyday, the princess just stayed inside the palace.
She was not allowed to go to other places. She was so sad. She could not play or meet her friends.

The princess spent the time by writing. She expressed her feelings on the pieces of papers. She wrote how sad she was. She wrote that she did not understand why her sisters accused her of being a thief. She never stole anything. It was a windy day.

The princess was writing in the garden. Suddenly the wind blew the papers. They all were flying to the sky. The princess tried to save the papers, however she lost one. It was flying high above the sky and it went very far from Lombok. The paper landed in a kingdom in Java! A prince accidentally got the paper and he read it.

His name was Prince Witarasari. His people loved him. He was a handsome and powerful prince. He was wise and always protected his people. The prince had supernatural power.

The prince wanted to help the princess. With his power, he went to Lombok easily. The prince knew he could not enter the palace as a prince.
So he changed himself as a monkey.

The monkey looked for the princess. When he met her, the monkey asked.

“Why do you look so sad, Princess?“

The princess was so shocked. She never saw a monkey who talked like a human before. After she calmed down, then she told the monkey why she was punished. She told him that she felt very lonely. She did not have any friends in the palace.

“Don't worry, My Princess. I will be your friend,“ said the monkey.

The sisters saw the monkey. They all were also surprised that Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin had a talking monkey. They became more jealous.

“We have to do something. Let's ask father to hold a party. All of us should dance with our beautiful clothes. If Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin cannot wear beautiful clothes, we will take her monkey. But first, we have to hide her beautiful clothes.“ The king agreed to his daughters' request. He held a great party and asked all his daughters to dance and that included Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin.

When she heard about the party, Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin was so happy. The king invited many people. Finally she could meet her friends again. However, the princess was so sad when she could not find her clothes. She had looked for her clothes everywhere, but she could not find any of them.

Suddenly the monkey came and he told her that all her clothes were hidden by her sisters. The monkey told her not to worry because he already found her clothes. He asked her if she wanted to go to the party with him. The princess said yes, she was happy to go to the party with the monkey.

Later, the monkey changed himself as Prince Witarasari.

The princess was so surprised to see the monkey changed into a handsome man. Later they went to the party. People were so amazed when they saw them. They all said that the prince and the princess were a perfect match.

The king asked who the prince was. He introduced himself and he also told the king about his daughters' bad behavior to Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin. He could prove it.

The king was surprised when he saw the proofs. He was angry and punished all Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin's sisters. Later Princess Ratna Ayu Wideradin and Prince Witarasari got married and they lived happily ever after.

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