The old man was half amused and half angry. He pushed away the knife, muttering that his friend was either mad or trying to play the fool. The young man pretended not to notice his reply and remained silent for a long time, till they reached a city a short distance from the old farmer's village. They talked about the bazaar and went to the mosque, but nobody greeted them or invited them to come in and rest. "What a large cemetery!" exclaimed the young man.

　　"What does the fellow mean," thought the old farmer, "calling this city full of people a cemetery?"

　　On leaving the city their way led through a cemetery where some people were praying beside a grave and distributing chapatis to passers-by in the name of their beloved dead. They gave some of the bread to the two travelers also, as much as they could eat.

　　"What a splendid city this is!" said the young man.

　　"Now the man is surely crazy!" thought the old farmer. "I wonder what he'll do next. He'll be calling the land water, the water land. He'll be speaking of light when it's dark, and of darkness when it's light." But he kept his thoughts to himself.

　　Presently they had to wade through a stream. The water was rather deep, o the old farmer took off his shoes and pajamas and crossed over. But the young man waded through it with his shoes and pajamas on.

　　"Well, I've never seen such a perfect idiot, in word and deed," said the old man to himself.

　　Yet he liked the fellow. He seemed cultivated and aristocratic. He would certainly amuse his wife and daughter. So he invited him home for a visit.

　　The young man thanked him and then asked, "But let me ask, if you please, if the beam of your house is strong."

Posted by: Fly to the moon! at 02:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 318 words, total size 2 kb.