Sajahan drinks water with grass

Once Emperor Sajahan went out on an expedition with some of his friends, relatives and admirers. He was walking quite fast in front of the entourage and, at one point, became separated from the group. The Emperor was not familiar with the area, and unfortunately he got lost. His friends and relatives could not trace him.

After some time the Emperor became very thirsty, but there was no water nearby. All of a sudden, Sajahan saw an old man carrying a container of water on his back, and he asked him if he could have some to drink. The man said, “All right, since you are so thirsty,” and he gave Sajahan a large quantity of water. The Emperor started drinking it very fast.

The man became worried, for he felt that it was not advisable for anyone to drink so fast. Since he was also carrying a bag of grass on his back, he took a handful of grass and threw it into the container that Sajahan was drinking from.

Sajahan got furious. He said, “What are you doing? Why did you throw grass into my water? You were so kind to give me water. You saved my life. Now why are you throwing grass into my water?”

The man explained, “My good friend, I have a number of asses, and I never allow them to drink water fast. If I put grass in their water, they drink more slowly. If you drink too fast, you may develop colic pain. I was only trying to be considerate of your health.”

In the meantime, Sajahan’s friends and admirers had discovered the Emperor. From a distance they saw the man throw grass into Sajahan’s water, and immediately they became furious. They wanted to beat and strike the man mercilessly.

But Sajahan stopped them. He said, “No, no, no! This man has saved my life. It was only out of concern that he put grass in my water.”

Then the Emperor turned to the man and said, “You don’t have to make your living by working with asses anymore. I am making you the head of a village because you have saved my life.”