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(۵) حکایت پیرمرد هیزم فروش و سلطان محمود / (5) The Tale of the Old Woodcutter and Sultan Mahmud

Original content

مگر محمود با پنجه سواری
به ره در باز می گشت از شکاری

یکی خیمه دران ره درگشادند
شکاری را بر آتش می نهادند

بره در شاه پیری ناتوان دید
که بارش پشتهٔ هیزم گران دید

بر او رفت محمود از ترحم
بدو گفتا بچند این پشته هیزم

نمی دانست آن پیر رونده
که محمودست آن هیزم خرنده

زبان بگشاد مرد پیر کای میر
بدو جو می فروشم بی دو جو گیر

یکی همیان که صد دینار زر بود
دو جو آن هر قراضه بیشتر بود

شه آن بگشاد و پیش پیر بنشست
نهادش یک قراضه بر کف دست

بدو گفت این دو جو زر باشد ای پیر
اگر خواهی ز من بستان و برگیر

مگر گفتا دو جو افزون بود این
ترازو نیست سختن چون بود این

نهادش یک قراضه نیز در دست
بدو گفتا ببین تا این دو جو هست

جوابش داد کین باشد زیادت
توان دانست ناسخته بعادت

یکی دیگر بداد و گفت چونست
چنین گفت او که این یک هم فزونست

بدین ترتیب می دادش یکایک
ولی دانست کافزونست بی شک

چو القصه همه همیان بپرداخت
دلش بگرفت ازان بر پیر انداخت

که زر در صره کن کین صرهٔ اوست
بسوی شهر بر کآنجا ترازوست

دو جو برگیر و باقی در زمان زود
بدست حاجب سلطان رسان زود

مگر آن پیر زر می نستد از شاه
شه از پیشش فرس افکند در راه

چو روز دیگر آمد شاه بر تخت
بدرگاه آمد آن پیر نگون بخت

چو شه را دید دل در دامش افتاد
ز هیبت لرزه بر اندامش افتاد

یقینش شد که شاه آئینهٔ اوست
همین شاه آشنای دینهٔ اوست

چو شاهش دید گفتا ره دهیدش
یکی کرسی به پیش صف نهیدش

نشست القصه و شه گفت ای پیر
چه کردی، پیش من کن جمله تقریر

چنین گفت او که ای شاه دلفروز
گرسنه خفته ام من دوش تا روز

شهش گفتا چرا، گفتا دران راه
نکردی هیچ بیعی با من آنگاه

چو خویشم خواجه می پنداشتی تو
که دوشم گرسنه بگذاشتی تو

شهش گفتا برو آن زر نگه دار
که خاص تست آن جمله بیکبار

زبان بگشاد پیر و گفت ای شاه
چو می دادی بمن آن زر بیک راه

چرا دی می توانستی ندادی
بیک یک بر کف من می نهادی

شهش گفتا چو می خواندی مرا میر
ندانستی که سلطانم من ای پیر

بدل در آرزو آمد چنانم
که بشناسی که من شاه جهانم

چو از شاهی من آگاه گشتی
بهر حاجت که داری شاه گشتی

عزیزا پیر هیزم کش درین راه
توئی و نور حق آن حضرت شاه

ز حق یک یک نفس در زندگانی
چو آن یک یک قراضه می ستانی

چو فردا عمر جاویدان بیابی
به پیش تخت آن همیان بیابی

هزاران قرن ازان عمر گرامی
دمی نبود چنین دان گرنه خامی

چو آن دم را گذشتن روی نبود
هزاران قرن پس یک موی نبود

گر آنجا خسته گردی یک زمان تو
بیابی ذوق عمر جاودان تو

وگر بند زمان بر پای گیری
زمانی باشی و بر جای میری

English translation

Mahmud, with fifty horsemen, Was returning on a road from a hunt. They pitched a tent on that road, And placed a hunted prey upon the fire. On the road, the king saw a frail old man, Who had a heavy load of firewood. Mahmud approached him out of pity, And asked him: "For how much is this load of firewood?" The walking old man did not know, That the buyer of the firewood was Mahmud. The old man opened his mouth and said, "O Amir, I sell it for two grains [of gold], do not take it for anything else." A purse which contained a hundred dinars of gold, Each coin of it was more than two grains. The king opened it and sat before the old man, He placed one coin in his palm. He said to him: "This is two grains of gold, O old man, If you wish, take it from me and accept it." The old man said: "This is more than two grains, There is no scale, how can this be weighed?" He placed another coin in his hand, And said to him: "See if this is two grains?" He answered: "This is also too much, One can know the unweighed amount by habit." He gave another and said: "How is it?" He said thus: "This one is also too much." In this manner, he gave them one by one, But he knew without a doubt that it was too much. In short, when he emptied the whole purse, He grew frustrated with that and threw it to the old man, Saying, "Put the gold in the purse, for this is its purse, Take it to the city where there is a scale. Take two grains and immediately, Deliver the rest to the Sultan's chamberlain quickly." However, the old man did not take the gold from the king, The king spurred his horse away from him on the road. When the next day the king came to the throne, That unfortunate old man came to the court. When he saw the king, his heart was terrified, From awe, trembling fell upon his limbs. He became certain that the king was his reflection, This king is the same acquaintance of yesterday. When the king saw him, he said: "Make way for him, Place a chair for him in front of the row." In short, he sat, and the king said: "O old man, What did you do? Recount everything before me." He said: "O heart-illuminating king, I slept hungry from last night until day." The king asked him: 'Why?', he replied: 'On that road, You did not make any transaction with me then. Since you thought yourself a master, You left me hungry last night.' The king said to him: "Go and keep that gold, For all of it is exclusively yours at once." The old man opened his mouth and said: "O king, Since you were going to give me that gold all at once, Why could you not have given it yesterday, And instead placed it one by one in my palm?" The king said to him: "Since you called me Amir, You did not know that I am the Sultan, O old man! A desire came into my heart in such a way, That you should recognize that I am the king of the world. When you became aware of my kingship, For whatever need you have, you became a king." O dear one, the woodcutter old man on this path Is you, and the light of Truth is His Majesty the King. From the Truth, one by one breath in life, Like those coins, one by one you take. When tomorrow you find eternal life, You will find that purse before the throne. Thousands of centuries of that precious life, Will not be equal to a single breath, know this if you are not naive. Since that breath will have no passing, Then thousands of centuries will not be worth a single hair. If there you become wounded for a moment, You will find the taste of your eternal life. And if you put the shackle of time on your feet, You will exist for a time and die in place.

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Updated 2026-07-03

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Gemini AI
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Google
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References

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Humanities

Literature

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course

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