The Finest Distinctions
Five tales that turn on the subtlest of judgments: which of three was the most delicate, which the most fastidious, whether man or woman is the greater deceiver, who among four truly caused a death, and what a hermit's tears and dance could mean.
Lessons in this chapter
- The Four Scholars and the Lion — Four skilled brothers together bring a dead lion to life, and it kills them all. Each did his part, so who among them was guilty of their deaths?
- The Three Sensitive Queens — One queen is bruised by a fallen lotus, one blistered by moonlight, one welted by a sound heard from far away. Which of the three is the most delicate?
- The Three Fastidious Men — Three brothers of impossible refinement each detect a flaw no one else can. One smells corpses in the rice, one goats on a lady, one feels a hair beneath seven mattresses. Which is the most fastidious?
- The Parrot and the Mynah — A wise parrot and a wise mynah each tell a tale to prove which sex is the more treacherous. The Betaal asks the king to settle it, and the wisest answer is to refuse the question.
- The Ascetic Who Wept and Then Danced — A master who could leave his own body at will weeps, and then dances, in the instant before trading his old form for a young one. What do the two feelings mean?