Page:Tales from the Gulistan (1928).pdf/94

The Morals of Dervishes "After disappearing from the sight of the Dervishes, he went to a tower, from which he stole a casket; and, when the day dawned, the dark-heated wretch had already progressed a considerable distance. In the morning the guiltless sleeping companions were all taken tot he fort and thrown into prison. From that date we renounced companionship and took the road of solitude, according to the maxim 'Safety is in solitude.' When one of a tribe has done a foolish thing no honour is left either to the low or the high. Seest thou not how one ox of the pasturage defiles all oxen of the village?"

I replied: "Thanks be to the God of majesty and glory, I have not been excluded from the advantages enjoyed by Dervishes, although I have separated myself from their society. I have profited by what thou hast narrated to me, and this admonition will be of use through life to persons like me. For one rude fellow in the assembly the heart of intelligent men is much grieved. If a tank be filled with rose-water, a dog falling into it pollutes the whole.