Bread and Gold

Abbas was a poor fellah. (A fellah is a peasant, a farmer.) He worked all day long to provide for himself and his family, and in his free time, he would dream of finding a treasure that would free him from poverty.

One very hot day, Abbas, as usual, was working in the field. Feeling extremely tired, he sat down under a tree and began to dream: “If only Allah would grant me magical power, so that everything I touch with my hand turns to gold—then I would be freed from hard labor and live in complete contentment.”

Suddenly, he heard a voice:

“O Abbas! Now you shall receive what you so desire! Place your hand on any object, and it will immediately turn to pure gold.”

Abbas couldn’t believe his ears. But still, he reached out to the ground and picked up a small pebble. As soon as he touched it, the pebble turned into pure gold. Then Abbas touched another stone—and it, too, became gold.

Abbas was overjoyed and thought: “Now I will go to the city and turn dust and stones into gold... Then I will buy a lot of land, build a palace by the river, and surround it with a huge garden... I will buy beautiful horses and dress in luxurious clothes...”

At that moment, he tried to stand up, but feeling extreme fatigue, hunger, and thirst, he realized he couldn’t walk.

“I’ll eat what I brought with me from home this morning,” he decided and reached for his breakfast, which lay in a small pouch near the tree. Abbas took a flatbread, but as soon as he put it in his mouth, he felt metal. The bread had turned to gold!

In the pouch, there was still an onion. Abbas hastily grabbed it. Imagine his dismay when the onion also turned into a gold ingot, which he couldn’t eat!

Abbas was terrified. How would he drink and eat now? How would he live in this world of gold ingots? He would soon die of hunger and thirst, without even being able to enjoy the gold that came so easily into his hands.

As Abbas thought this, imagining himself dying in agony from hunger and thirst, since everything he touched turned to gold, he suddenly opened his eyes and saw himself sitting in the shade of the tree. He realized it had all been a dream. A deep sigh of relief escaped his chest; it was as if a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Praise Allah, it was all just a dream!” he said.

↑ To the top

Bread and Gold

More fairy tales