The Master sometimes made His points through telling stories
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
When in Bahá'í history

The Master sometimes made His points through telling stories. Julia Grundy recorded the following story of His: ‘A master had a slave who was completely devoted to him. One day he gave the slave a melon which when cut open looked most ripe and delicious. The slave ate one piece, then another and another with great relish (the day being warm) until nearly the whole melon had disappeared. The master, picking up the last slice, tasted it and found it exceedingly bitter and unpalatable. “Why, it is bitter! Did you not find it so?” he asked the servant. “Yes, my Master,” the slave replied, “it was bitter and unpleasant, but I have tasted so much sweetness from thy hand that one bitter melon was not worth mentioning.”’
Source: Honnold, Annamarie, Vignettes from the Life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 167
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: disappointment).
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/disappointment
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
A cat purring beside His chair would amuse Him: this cat, He
A cat purring beside His chair would amuse Him: this cat, He remarked, is indeed joyous, so carefree, so free of…
A companion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on His journey in America recorded a
A companion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on His journey in America recorded a moment when the Master expressed His anxiety for the future: ‘I am bearing these hardships of traveling so that the cause of God may push on unconstrained. For I am anxious…
A dear friend of the family, Jinab-i-Munib, was taken seriously ill
A dear friend of the family, Jinab-i-Munib, was taken seriously ill. When the boat stopped at Smyrna, Sarkar-i-Aqa (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) and Mirza Musa carried him ashore, and took him to a hospital. The Master brought a melon and some grapes;…
A delightful story is told of a Mademoiselle Letitia, who had come from a poor
A delightful story is told of a Mademoiselle Letitia, who had come from a poor family in Haifa to live in the Master's home in 'Akka to teach French to the children. She was happy there, though she was a Catholic and the nuns in the…