ONE AMONG THEM
Hoja Naziruddin was chatting with his friends. That day he
was very exuberant and he found himself among people eager to hear him. So he
started narrating his friendship with the king and the royal palace.
One day when Hoja was sitting along with other courtiers
before the king, someone came to the palace and presented a thoroughbred horse
to the king. The beast looked very majestic and at the same time had a vicious
look about it. The king himself, an experienced rider, hesitated to mount the
horse. Instead he invited his courtiers to try out the new arrival. One by one
they approached the horse. After hesitating for a while , each one would return
and sit back among the courtiers.
Now it was the turn of the captain of the guards. He stood up
and walked forward. He was most uncommonly strong and veteran of several wars.
The tall and powerful man casually strolled across the yard and nearing the
horse he mounted the horse in a fraction of a second. The crowd roared in
applause. In another second, he was seen writhing in pain on the ground and he
had to be carried away.
Now it was Hoja`s
turn. His friends who were eagerly hearing him, had high expectations
about Hoja. They had known several instances when Hoja with his shrewdness and
daredevilry would outwit his opponents or do something unthinkable. So they
asked in unison `` tell us what happened?``. Hoja replied casually that he too
approached the horse, felt cold shivers going up his spine, and so returned and
sat among the others.