The Merciful Khan

There lived once near Ispahan a tailor, a hard-working man, who was

very poor. So poor was he that his workshop and house together

consisted of a wooden cottage of but one room.

But poverty is no protection against thieves, and so it happened that

one night a thief entered the hut of the tailor. The tailor had driven

nails in various places in the walls on which to hang the garments

that were brought to him to mend. It chanced that in groping about for

plunder, the thief struck against one of these nails and put out his

eye.

The next morning the thief appeared before the Khan (Judge) and

demanded justice. The Khan accordingly sent for the tailor, stated

the complaint of the thief, and said that in accordance with the law,

'an eye for an eye,' it would be necessary to put out one of the

tailor's eyes. As usual, however, the tailor was allowed to plead in

his own defence, whereupon he thus addressed the court:

"Oh great and mighty Khan, it is true that the law says _an_ eye for

an eye, but it does not say _my_ eye. Now I am a poor man, and a

tailor. If the Khan puts out one of my eyes, I will not be able to

carry on my trade, and so I shall starve. Now it happens that there

lives near me a gunsmith. He uses but one eye with which he squints

along the barrel of his guns. Take his other eye, oh Khan, and let the

law be satisfied."

The Khan was favorably impressed with this idea, and accordingly sent

for the gunsmith. He recited to the gunsmith the complaint of the

thief and the statement of the tailor, whereupon the gunsmith said:

"Oh great and mighty Khan, this tailor knows not whereof he talks. I

need both of my eyes; for while it is true that I squint one eye

along one side of the barrel of the gun, to see if it is straight, I

must use the other eye for the other side. If, therefore, you put out

one of my eyes you will take away from me the means of livelihood. It

happens, however, that there lives not far from me a flute-player. Now

I have noticed that whenever he plays the flute he closes both of his

eyes. Take out one of his eyes, oh Khan, and let the law be

satisfied."

Accordingly, the Khan sent for the flute-player, and after reciting to

him the complaint of the thief, and the words of the gunsmith, he

ordered him to play upon his flute. This the flute-player did, and

though he endeavored to control himself, he did not succeed, but, as

the result of long habit, closed both of his eyes. When the Khan saw

this, he ordered that one of the flute-player's eyes be put out, which

being done, the Khan spoke as follows:

"Oh flute-player, I saw that when playing upon your flute you closed

both of your eyes. It was thus clear to me that neither was necessary

for your livelihood, and I had intended to have them both put out, but

I have decided to put out only one in order that you may tell among

men how merciful are the Khans."