Appointment at Samarra

Source: Originally translated from Arabic, but author is anonymous, though the tae has appeared in Somerset Maugham’s play Sheppey and a preface to John O’ Hara’s Appointment in Samarra and a vignette in Jeffrey Archer’s To cut a long story short

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions, and in a little while, the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, “Master, just now, when I was in the market-place, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned, I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there death will not find me.”

The merchant lent him his horse and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop, he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, “Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?”

I said it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him here in Baghdad. For I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.

Zeuxis

In his early work, which is the basis for his fame, Zeuxis painted a bowl of grapes that was so life-like that birds pecked at the fruit. In an attempt to expand his achievement to encompass, he painted a boy carrying a bunch of grapes. When birds immediately came to peck at the fruit, Zeuxis judged that he had failed.

Zeuxis judgment that he had failed in his latter work was based on the assumption that birds are less likely to peck at fruits when they see that a human being is holding them]

Source: GRE Barrons book

The Stonecutter

"When nothing seems to be going my way, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times, without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."

By Jacob Riis

55 word stories

SAY SOMETHING

The subway lurched, throwing her into his arms.
He's strong, protective, loving, she thought. We'll marry at a seaside resort and have four beautiful children.
He lifted her up and smiled. I'll always be faithful. When we're old, we'll travel the world together.
The train slowed. She moved to the door.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."

By Chris Orcutt
Mount Vernon, NY

AT THE AUTOPSY

"Victim's blood is completely drained, apparently through two small puncture wounds in the neck," said the coroner.
"Hey ... you don't suppose it's, you know, the real deal?" asked his assistant.
"No, just some psycho."
"You sure?"
They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing-but stopped when the corpse laughed, too.

By Ross Lesko
Lakewood, OH

ALEX AND ADAM

Alex, an aged almsman, articulated an afterthought.
"Always address agnostics amiably and answer atheists affectionately."
Adam, another aged almsman, addressed Alex's absurd aphorism, asking, "And after an apocalypse?"
Alex alluringly assumed an agreeable air and answered Adam: "Apocalypse and afflatus are amazingly abstract areas ... affection and amiability accomplish ample acquiescence and alleviate anger."
Adam agreed.

By Jeremiah Jacques
Asheville, NC

INSIDE OUT

They had known each other a few years.
She was nice. He knew she liked him.
But she was just average-looking. He couldn't settle for that.
One weekend, she asked him to the movies. She was intelligent, funny, easy to be with.
After four months of dating, she became a stunning beauty.

By John Bassi
Santa Maria

Around the world for free!

Ludovic Hubler has traveled around the world hitch hiking!

He left his house in France on 1-1-2003 and is returning back on 1-1-2008. He has even hitch hiked to Antarctica! He has met different kinds of people but, yet, he says that within, they are all one and the same. Almost all of them have been helpful and some have even invited him or Thanksgiving! He feels hitch hiking in US was much difficult than any other country. He wishes a time will come soon when people will look at passports in museum and say “We don’t need that now!”

Here are some interesting links about him: Google (make sure to see links on second page!), digihitch (interesting tale of his travel from Keywest to Miami), his own (its in French) and Hindu (an interview with him; by far the best link!).

Idol Worship

There was once a King who was against idol worship. He argued that there was nothing called God and idols were mere stones. He challenged anyone who could prove him otherwise.

A small peasant came to the king’s court and said he could prove otherwise. He asked the King's permission to get the photo of his late parents. The King granted. A courier got the King’s dead parents’ photo. The peasant asked the courier to give the photo to the King. The courier did so.

And then the peasant told the King: ‘Now, spit on the photo.’

It was then that the King realized the full potential of the exercise. He understood that even though idols were indeed mere stones, they were an instance of Divine, just as how the photo was an instance of his parents even though in effect it was actually just a piece of coloured paper.

The King bowed to the peasant and apologized for his ignorance.

Source: Tinkle

Introduction

There are some stories which, if we hear or read once, will be etched in our minds forever.

This blog is about such inspiring stories that I have come across in my life.