Not wishing his curiosity to be revealed, the man was departing, when the owner of the house cried out: “Come in; why standest thou upon the door? Knowest thou not, O friend, that I it was who barked? When I discerned that humility was acceptable to God, I banished pride and vanity from my heart, and clamoured with barks at the door of God, for I saw none more lowly than a dog.”
If thou desire to attain to dignity, let humility be thy path.
Behold, when the dew lies low upon the earth, the sun doth raise it to the skies.
Story illustrating the Value of Soft Words
The slave of a king escaped, and, though a search was made, was not discovered. Later, when the fugitive returned, the king, in anger, ordered that he should be put to death.
When the executioner brought out his scimitar, like the tongue of a thirsty man, the despondent slave cried out:
“O God! I forgive the king the shedding of my blood, for I have ever enjoyed his bounty and shared in his prosperity. Let him not suffer for this deed on the Day of Judgment, to the delight of his enemies.”
When the king heard these words his anger was appeased, and he appointed the slave to be an officer of the standard.
The moral of this story is that soft speech acts like water on the fires of wrath. Do not the soldiers on the battle-field wear armour consisting of a hundred folds of silk?