Gibran Stories Omnibus

passed upon the dreamer, that upon a tablet about
his neck his crime should be written, and that he should ride through
the city on a naked horse, with a trumpeter and a drummer before him.
And the sentence was carried out forthwith.
      Now as the dreamer rode through the city upon the naked horse, with
the trumpeter and the drummer before him, the inhabitants of the city
came running forth at the sound of the noise, and when they saw him
they laughed one and all, and the children ran after him in companies
from street to street. And the dreamer's heart was filled with ecstasy,
and his eyes shone upon them. For to him the tablet was a sign of the
king's blessing and the procession was in his honour.
      Now as he rode, he saw among the crowd a man who was from the desert
like himself and his heart swelled with joy, and he cried out to him
with a shout:
      'Friend! Friend! Where are we? What city of the heart's desire is
this? What race of lavish hosts, who feast the chance guest in their
palaces, whose princes companion him, whose kings hangs a token upon
his breast and opens to him the hospitality of a city descended from
heaven?'
      And he who was also of the desert replied not. He only smiled and
slightly shook his head. And the procession passed on.
      And the dreamer's face was uplifted and his eyes were overflowing
with light.
     
     

LOVE
         
      They say the jackal and the mole
Drink from the selfsame stream
Where the lion comes to drink.
And they say the eagle and the vulture
Dig their beaks into the same carcass,
And are at peace, one with the other,
In the presence of the dead thing.

     
     
O love, whose lordly hand
Has bridled my desires,
And raised my hunger and my thirst
To dignity and pride,
Let not the strong in me and the constant
Eat the bread or drink the wine
That tempt my weaker self.

     
     
Let me rather starve,
And let my heart parch with thirst,
And let me die and perish,
Ere I stretch my hand
To a cup you did not fill,
Or a bowl you did not bless.

     
     

     
       
     

THE KING-HERMIT
         
      They told me that in a forest among the mountains lives a young man
in solitude who once was a king of a vast country beyond the Two
Rivers. And they also said that he, of his own will, had left his
throne and the land of his glory and come to dwell in the wilderness.
      And I said, “I would seek that man, and learn the secret of his
heart; for he who renounces a kingdom must needs be greater than a
kingdom.”
      On that very day I went to the forest where he dwells. And I found
him sitting under a white cypress, and in his hand a reed as if it were
a sceptre. And I greeted him even as I would greet a king. And he
turned to me and said gently, “What would you in this forest of
serenity? Seek you a lost self in the green shadows, or is it a
home-coming in your twilight?”
      And I answered, “I sought but you —for I fain would know that which
made you leave a kingdom for a forest.”
      And he said, “Brief is my story, for sudden was the bursting of the
bubble. It happened thus: one day as I sat at a window in my palace, my
chamberlain and an envoy from a foreign land were walking in my garden.
And as they approached my window, the lord chamberlain was speaking of
himself and saying, 'I am like the king; I have a thirst for strong
wine and a hunger for all games of chance. And like my lord the king I
have storms of temper.' And the lord chamberlain and the envoy
disappeared among the trees. But in a few minutes they returned, and
this time the lord chamberlain was speaking of me, and he was saying,
'My lord the king is like myself —a good marksman; and like me he
loves music and bathes thrice a day.' ”
      After a moment he added, “On the eve of that day I left my palace
with but my garment, for I would no longer be ruler over those who
assume my vices and attribute to me their virtues.”
      And I said, “This is indeed a wonder, and passing strange.”
      And he said, “Nay, my friend, you knocked at the gate of my silences
and received but a trifle. For who would not leave a kingdom for a
forest where the seasons sing and dance ceaselessly? Many are those who
have given their kingdom for less than solitude and the sweet
fellowship of