The Oath

A man who was troubled in mind once swore that if his problems were solved, he would sell his house and give all the money gained from it to the poor.

The time came when he realized that he must redeem his oath. But he did not want to give away so much money. So he thought of a way out.

He put the house on sale at one silve rpiece. Included with the house, however, was a cat. The price asked for this animal was ten thousand pieces of silver.

Another man bought the house and cat. The first man gave the single piece of silver to the poor, and pocketed the ten thousand for himself.

This Sufi spiritual story is from the book Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah. It is a delightful book full of Sufi spiritual stories.