Algeria

Two mothers Mourning

Emir Hasan, one of the princes of the desert, was traveling among his tribe when he came upon a woman weeping. When he asked her the cause of heer grief, she replied, "I mourn for my son who has died." "What did you son do when he was alive?" asked the prince. "He worked for me. I am a poor widow and he kept me alive. Now I have no one to earn me a living," she said. "Cry no more," said the emir. "I’ll make you a gift of a young mule. He shall work for you instead of your son, and you shall be as comfortable as you were before."

The prince rode on and met a second woman weeping over the grave of her son. "What did your son do when he was alive?" he asked her. "Aah! He used to gather the men of good repute and the nobles of high standing at his feasts. When they left he would ride with them, not parting from them until they were out of sight of his tent." "Weep on, O mother of a greathearted son," said the prince. "Weep and shed more tears, for we cannot comfort you or make good such a loss."