The Shade Of A Tree
Amir was one of the wealthy men of the village. In front of his house, there stood a big tree and every afternoon he used to place his cot under the tree and relax upon it. The tree would shade him with its umbrella of thick leaves whilst he had his nap. One day, Amir came out of his house and found Ahmed, the villager sitting in the shade of the tree. "You oaf!" he shouted, "who permitted you to sit in the shade of my tree?" "Kind sir," the man replied, "I was feeling very hot after walking a long distance in the sun, so I sat in the shade of the tree to take some rest." "Away with you," shouted Amir angrily, "the tree is mine, I planted it, watered it and nurtured it with my own hands. The shade of the tree is, therefore, mine and no one else can sit under it." Ahmed took a deep breath and said, "Sir, I love the shade of your tree so much, that I cannot leave it. And, since you won't allow me to sit under your tree, let us come to an agreement. For how much will you sell me the shade of this tree?" Amir pricked up his ears at the word sell "Well, give me one hundred and fifty coins and you can have the shade of the tree," Amir barked. "The timber is yours, the leaves are yours and the roots are yours as well, so I will give you only fifty coins for the shade of the tree and nothing more," saying this Ahmed got up and started walking away.
Amir called him back and said, "Give me seventy-five coins," Ahmed replied, "not a coin more" and continued to walk away. But in the end, a bargain was struck and the price fixed was fifty coins. In the presence of the village elders, Ahmed paid the sum of fifty coins to Amir, for the use of the shade of the big tree in front of Amir's house. Everyone in the village knew that Ahmed must be up to some kind of mischief. But Amir was extremely happy that he had got fifty coins for the sale of the mere shadow of the tree. Every day after that, Ahmed would come and sit in the shade of the tree. He would also call all the village idlers, like himself, to come and sit there with him and he would invite the cattle boys to bring their cattle and tether them under the tree too. Not content with this, Ahmed with his following of vagabonds, cows, buffaloes, and street dogs moved with the shadow wherever it went. When the shadow fell on the front verandah of Amir's house, Ahmed was there with his retinue. When it lay in his drawing-room, he was there also, and finally, when it fell in his backyard, he would be there too. Amir lost his temper and shouted, "Ahmed you are a wicked man! What right have you to come into my verandah or into my drawing room or my backyard with all your ragamuffin friends' cattle and dogs?"
Ahmed sweetly replied, "Sir, did I or did I not buy the shadow of your tree? Therefore, have I, not the right to go wherever my purchase leads me?" A few days later the wedding of Amir's daughter was being celebrated. The bridegroom's relatives had arrived and all the rich people in the village and other villages nearby had come too. The wedding feast was in progress when the shadow of the tree fell on the house. In came Ahmed with his following of idlers, cattle, and dogs. The guests could not understand why such a motley crowd had come to the wedding. They asked Ahmed to explain the reason for their presence, and Ahmed told them about his buying the shadow of the tree. When the guests heard the story they all laughed loud and long. Amir felt humiliated and was on the verge of tears. He fell at Ahmed's feet and begged him saying, "Take back your fifty coins, man, and leave me alone." "Prices have risen, Sir," I will not sell the shadow of your tree back to you for anything less than a hundred coins replied Ahmed. Happy to get rid of Ahmed at any cost, Amir went into his house, unlocked his safe, took out the coins, and gave the money to Ahmed. The next day Ahmed bought some new clothes for himself and invited all his friends for a big feast. Amir realized that it never pays for a man to be too greedy.
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