A PARTY of travelers lost their way in a wilderness, and were well nigh famished with hunger. While they were considering what to do, a sage came up and condoled with them on their unfortunate plight. He told them that there were many young elephants in the adjacent woods, one of which would furnish them an ample meal, but at the same time he warned them that if they killed one, its parents would in all probability track them out and be revenged on them for killing their offspring. Shortly after the travelers saw a plump young elephant, and could not resist killing and eating it. One alone refrained. Then they lay down to rest; but no sooner were they fast asleep than a huge elephant made his appearance and proceeded to smell the breath of each one of the sleepers in turn. Those whom he perceived to have eaten of the young elephant's flesh he slew without mercy, sparing only the one who had been prudent enough to abstain.

God's care for His children. O son, the pious are God's children, Deem Him not absent when they are endangered, He saith, "These saints are my children, For their trial they are orphans and wretched, Thou art backed by all my protection; My children are, as it were, parts of me. Verily these Darveshes of mine Are thousands on thousands, and yet no more than One; For if not, how did Moses with one magic staff

Turn the realm of Pharaoh upside down? And if it were not so, how did Noah with one curse Make East and West alike drowned in his flood? Nor could one prayer of eloquent Lot Have razed their strong city against their will, Their mighty city, like to Paradise, Became as a Tigris of black water; go, see its vestige! Towards Syria is this vestige and memorial, Thousands of God-fearing prophets Should I tell of them my limits would be exceeded,

And not hearts only but very hills would bleed." Evil deeds give men's prayers an ill savour in Gods nostrils. Thou art asleep, and the smell of that forbidden fruit Ascends to the azure skies, Ascends along with thy foul breath, Till it overpowers heaven with stench; Stench of pride, stench of lust, stench of greed. Though thou swearest, saying, "When have I eaten? Have I not abstained from onions and garlic?" The very breath of that oath tells tales,

So too prayers are made invalid by such stenches, The answer to that prayer is, "Be ye driven into hell," But, if thy speech be crooked and thy meaning straight, That faithful Bilal, when he called to prayer, Would devoutly cry, "Come hither, come hither!" At last men said, "O Prophet, this call is not right, This is wrong; now, what is thy intention? O Prophet, and O ambassador of the Almighty, Provide another Mu'azzin of better talent. 'Tis an error at the beginning of our divine worship

To utter the words, 'Come to the asylum!'" The wrath of the Prophet boiled up, and he said (Uttering one or two secrets from the fount of grace), "O base ones, in God's sight the 'Ho!' of Bilal Is better than a hundred 'Come hithers' and ejaculations. Ah! excite not a tumult, lest I tell forth openly If ye keep not your breath sweet in prayer, Go, desire a prayer from the Brethren of Purity!" For this cause spake God to Moses, At the time he was asking aid in prayer,

"O Moses! desire protection of me With a mouth that thou hast not sinned withal." Moses answered, "I possess not such a mouth." God said, "Call upon me with another mouth! Act so that all thy mouths When thou hast sinned with one mouth, With thy other mouth cry, 'O Allah!' Or else cleanse thy own mouth, Calling on God is pure, and when purity approaches, Contraries flee away from contraries;

When the pure name (of God) enters the mouth, Neither does impurity nor that impure mouth remain!" The man whose calling "O Allah" was equivalent to God's answering him, "Here am I" 4. That person one night was crying, "O Allah!" That his mouth might be sweetened thereby, And Satan said to him, "Be quiet, O austere one! How long wilt thou babble, O man of many words? No answer comes to thee from nigh the throne, How long wilt thou cry 'Allah' with harsh face?"

That person was sad at heart and hung his head, And then beheld Khizr present before him in a vision, Who said to him, "Ah! thou hast ceased to call on God, Wherefore repentest thou of calling upon Him?" The man said, "The answer 'Here am I' came not, Wherefore I fear that I am repulsed from the door." Khizr replied to him, "God has given me this command; Go to him and say, 'O much-tried one, Did not I engage thee to do my service? Did not I engage thee to call upon me?

That calling 'Allah' of thine was my 'Here am I,' And that pain and longing and ardour of thine my messenger; Thy struggles and strivings for assistance Were my attractions, and originated thy prayer. Thy fear and thy love are the cove,rt of my mercy, Each 'O Lord!' of thine contains many 'Here am I's." The soul of fools is alien from this calling on God, Because it is not their wont to cry, 'O Lord!' On their mouths and hearts are locks and bonds, God gave Pharaoh abundance of riches and wealth,

So that he boasted that he was 'Lord Supreme.' In the whole of his life he suffered no headache, So that he never cried to God, wretch that he was. God granted him the absolute dominion of the world, But withheld from him pain and sorrow and cares; Because pain and sorrow and loads of cares Are the lot of God's friends in the world. Pain is better than the dominion of the world, The cries of those free from pain are dull and cold, The cries of the sorrowful come from the burning hearts."