Laughter in the Kitchen

‘Abdu’l-Bahá always wanted people to be happy. He showed this desire in many ways. He always asked people, "Are you well? Are you happy?" One day in London, the sound of peals of laughter came from the direction of the kitchen. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went quickly to join the happy group. "I am very much pleased that you are so happy," He said. "Tell me, why are you laughing?" It appeared that the Persian servant was talking to the English housekeeper. The Persian had said, "In the East women wear veils and do all the work," to which the Englishwoman had replied, "In the West women don't wear veils and take good care that the men do at least some of the work. You had better get on with cleaning that silver." ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laughed heartily and gave each of them a small gold coin, just for being happy!

Source: Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway, Part III, ch. II (‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London); retold in Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 23.

Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: happiness).

Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/happiness