Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden Character and Fate
There is the story of a boy who was sent to Baghdad across the desert, after his mother had sewn a few gold coins in his blanket, telling him to keep it safe and not open it till he reached the city. This was a precaution against robbers, for there were no trains or cars or caravans; it was necessary to travel alone and on foot. When this lad came to the desert, robbers met him. Thinking he would not have much money, being only a little boy, they asked him all the same, "Have you any coins, any gold, any silver?"
Having been trained to tell the truth, he answered, "Yes, I have." His conscience would never permit him to answer "No." "Where are they?", they asked. "They are sewn in this blanket", he said. But the very fact of his telling them won the robbers" hearts and made them act rightly themselves. They said, "We would have stolen them had you not told the truth", and they let him go free.
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