THE ANGEL OF DEATH Solomon,
The wise prophet,
Held daily audiences during which he listened to his subjects' complaints,
And tried to address their problems.
One morning,
As he was listening to one person after another,
A distraught man hurled himself into the great court.
Solomon noticed how distressed the man was,
And beckoned him forward.
Grateful for being invited to the front of the queue,
The man fell to his knees before the great benefactor.
"'What seems to be causing you such anguish,
My dear fellow?
' asked Solomon compassionately.
"'The angel of death,
My lord.
I saw him a minute ago,
As I was crossing the street.
He glared at me with such disdain that my heart nearly stopped.
We all know that Oswald takes his orders only from God,
And never wavers in his duties,
' asserted the great prophet.
"'Now tell me,
What would you have me do?
' "'I beg of you,
My life's in your hands.
Please tell the wind to carry me to India,
Where I'll be safe from the angel's harm.
'" Promptly,
Solomon ordered the east wind to carry the nearly paralyzed man to India and lay him down wherever he chose.
He then duly returned to his other subjects' unattended affairs.
The following day,
When he returned to court,
Solomon caught a glimpse of the angel of death among the crowd.
He motioned the angel to approach and asked him,
"'Why do you frighten people with that wrathful look,
To the point that they abandon their livelihood and forsake their homes and family?
What had this poor man done yesterday to deserve your crushing glare?
' Azrael was surprised.
"'My lord,
I didn't look at him wrathfully at all.
In fact,
I was astonished to see him,
' he said.
"'God had commanded me to take his pitiful life today in India,
And I couldn't imagine even if he had a million wings,
How was he to get there on time?
' I was startled and gazed at him with surprise,
Not anger.
"'When you look at everything in life with the eyes of want and greed,
Whom do you hope to escape,
Yourself,
God?
Is that possible?
' I'm Carol,
And it is my pleasure to read Rumi.
"
