Explore "The Caliph and the Gardener" by James Baldwin on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
There was once a caliph of Cordova whose name was Al Mansour. One day a strange merchant came to him with some diamonds and pearls which he had brought from beyond the sea. The caliph was so well pleased with these jewels that he bought them and paid the merchant a large sum of money. The merchant put the gold in a bag of purple silk which he tied to his belt underneath his long cloak. Then he set out on foot to walk to another city.
It was midsummer, and the day was very hot. As the merchant was walking along, he came to a river that flowed gently between green and shady banks.