GOD ALONE IS THE GIVER

WHEN Akbar was the Emperor of Delhi there
lived a hermit in a hut in the forest. Many people
visited the holy man. At one time he felt a great
desire to entertain his visitors. But how could he
do so without money? So he decided to go to the
Emperor for help, for the gate of Akbar's palace
was always open to holy men. The hermit entered
the palace while the Emperor was at his daily
devotions and took a seat in a corner of the room.
He heard the Emperor conclude his worship with
the prayer, "O God, give me money; give me
riches", and so on and so forth. When the hermit
heard this he was about to leave the prayer hall, but
the Emperor signed to him to wait. When the
prayer was over the Emperor said to him, "You
came to see me: how is it that you were about to
leave without saying anything to me?" "Your
Majesty need not trouble yourself about it",
answered the hermit. "I must leave now." When
the Emperor insisted, the hermit said: "Many
people visit my hut, and so 1 came here to ask you
for some money." "Then", said Akbar, "why were

you going away without speaking to me?" The
hermit replied:
"I found that you too were a beggar; you too
prayed to God for money and riches. Thereupon I
said to myself:
'Why should I beg of a beggar? If I must beg, let
me beg of God."