Story of the vow made by the dogs every winter that when next summer comes they will build a house for the winter.
In winter the dog feels cold and so small, that he says: “Having
such a little body, I must build a stone house.
When summer comes, I will build with my claws a stone house
against the cold.”
But when summer comes, his bones expand from the relief which
he feels, and his skin grows sleek,
And, when he sees himself stout, he says, “No house is large
enough for me.”
He grows stout and slinks into a shady place—a lazy, full-fed,
cowardly, self-opinionated creature!
His heart (conscience) says to him, “Get going, build yourself a
house!”
He says, “What house will be good enough for me?”
In the hour of pain the bones of your greed contract,
And you say penitently, “I will build a house: it will be a refuge for
me in winter”;
But when the pain is gone and things are not going rough, the
desire for the house departs from you, just as in the case of the dog.
Giving thanks for abundance, is sweeter than the abundance
Should one who is absorbed with the Generous One be distracted
by the gift?
Thankfulness is the soul of beneficence: Abundance is but the
husk,
For thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives.
Abundance yields heedlessness;
Thankfulness, alertness: Hunt for bounty with the snare of
gratitude to the King [Al-Malik].
The bounty of thanksgiving will make you contented and princely,
so that you will bestow a hundred bounties on the poor.
You will eat your fill of the viands and dessert of God, so that
hunger and begging will depart from you. [1] I.e. he turns towards the Benefactor instead of occupying himself with the benefit.
Jewels: from the Mathnawi, Book III:2895–2897
Painting: Golden Aire by Sandra Mervin