All the stories
One story from the Golestan, a different one each day. Two minutes to read.
- Chapter 1: On the conduct of kings
The expedient lie
I heard of a king who gave the order for a prisoner to be killed. The wretch, in that state of hopelessness, began to abuse the king and revile him — for it is said that whoever washes his hands of life says whatever is in his heart.
- Chapter 1: On the conduct of kings
The children of Adam
This couplet is carved above the entrance to the Saadieh and is the most famous thing Saadi wrote — not for its beauty but for its claim: whoever suffers anywhere in the world is a limb of the same body you belong to.
- Chapter 3: On the virtue of contentment
The man with no shoes
I had never complained of the turns of fortune, nor frowned at the turning of the sky, except once — when my feet were bare and I had not the means to buy shoes.