Must Have Seemed Like A Good Idea

He got inspired by the experience of a disabled fox. Wondering how the immobile fox survived, the man watched as a lion happened by holding a jackal it had hunted in its mouth. The lion ate most of the jackal but his leftovers were more than enough to feed the disabled fox.

A similar thing happened the next day, and the man marveled at the glory of God for taking care of his creations. But he also got an idea. He would stop working and just depend on God. After all, he had seen first-hand how God delivered for the fox. Surely, God would do no less for him.

So the man stopped working, but neither friend nor stranger came to his aid. Though feebled in his condition, the man could hear a message while praying:

Go be the mighty lion,
You fraud.
Don't make as if you are the disabled fox.
Strive so that like the lion
You can make the foxes full with your leftovers.
Eat, as much as possible, by the strength of your own arm,
For your meal shall be the size of efforts of your own.
Young man, take the hand of the old and the poor,
Don't hold yourself down and ask for a hand.

From Sa'di's "Boostan". This poem was excerpted in the fifth grade text book in Iran. The poem also appeared on the last midterm exam I took in Iran before leaving for the United Sates.