100 Moral Stories 44
Our 3 rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
The 2 nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when
we’re alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
The 1 st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth & sensual pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it’s a good idea to cul-
tivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament.
LION, RATS, SNAKE & THE HONEYCOMB
Once a man saw in his dream, that a lion was chasing him. The man ran to a tree, climbed on to it
and sat on a branch. He looked down and saw that the lion was still there waiting for him.
The man then looked to his side where the branch he was sitting on was
attached to the tree and saw that two rats were circling around and eating the
branch. One rat was black and the other one was white. The branch would fall
on the ground very soon.
The man then looked below again with fear and discovered that a big black
snake had come & settled directly under him. Snake opened its mouth right
under the man so that he will fall into it.
The man then looked up to see if there was anything that he could hold on to.
He saw another branch with a honeycomb. Drops of honey falling from it.
The man wanted to taste one of the drops. So, he put his tongue out and tasted
one of the fallen drops of honey. The honey was amazing in taste. So, he
wanted to taste another drop. As he did, he got lost into the honey sweetness.
Meanwhile, he forgot about the two rats eating his branch away, the lion on
the ground and the snake that is sitting right under him. After a while, he
woke up from his sleep.
To get the meaning behind this dream, the man went to a pious scholar of
Islam. The scholar said, the lion you saw is your death. It always chases you
and goes wherever you go.
The two rats, one black and one white, are the night and the day. Black one is the night and the
white one is the day. They circle around, coming one after another, to eat your time as they take
you closer to death. The big black snake with a dark mouth is your grave. It’s there, just waiting for
you to fall into it. The honeycomb is this world and the sweet honey is the luxuries of this world.
We like to taste a drop of the luxuries of this world but it’s very sweet. Then we taste another drop
and yet another.
Meanwhile, we get lost into it and we forget about our time,
we forget about our death and we forget about our graves.
“This world is like a serpent, so soft to touch, but so full of lethal poison. Unwise people are allured
by it and drawn towards it, and wise men avoid it and keep away from its poisonous effects.”
Imam Ali (AS)
