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Sleepless
Night... |
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There was an old Iranian
who was intensely proud of two things – his long, white beard that
reached down to his chest, and his ability to sleep the moment his
head touched the pillow.
One day, his 3-year-old grandson asked him how he arranged his beard
when he slept: did it go under the blanket or did it remain above
it?
The old man had never paid attention to this detail, and he
confessed he didn’t remember whether his beard remained above or
went under the blanket. He promised to find out.
It was very cold that night. The old man got into bed and pulled the
blanket over himself. Then he suddenly remembered his grandson’s
question.
He became acutely conscious that his beard was under the blanket. He
lifted it from under the blanket, and placed it above it. This made
him feel that something was not quite right. So he tucked the beard
under the blanket again. But he soon felt it would be better if it
were out. In and out went the beard; first under the blanket, then
above it, then under once again. The old man spent a sleepless
night.
The next morning the first thing he did was cut his beard to chin
level, to the great joy of his daughter who, for several months, had
been urging him to do just that. |
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The Best Artist...
A despotic sultan who
was blind in one eye invited three artists to paint his picture. “If
you do a bad portrait, I will punish you,” he warned, “ but if you
do a good one I will reward you. Now start!” The first artist
produced a picture that showed the sultan as he was: blind in one
eye. The sultan had him executed for showing disrespect to his
monarch. The second artist showed him with both eyes intact.
The sultan had him flogged for trying to flatter him. The third
artist drew him in profile, showing only his good eye. The sultan,
pleased, rewarded him with gold and honors.
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The great shell... |
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The Sydney Opera
House, one of the most modern opera houses stands near Sydney Harbour in Australia.
The most notable feature of this building are the ten concrete
shells which make up the roof which is said to be the heaviest in
the world. Many people predicted that the shells would come tumbling
down but they continue to stand tall and strong.
The opera house was designed by Danish architect, Joern Utzon and
cost a fortune to build.
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The Rocking Stone.....
 Nothing
exposed to wind for a long period remains the same. The wind carries
particles of sand, and rocks exposed to wind are continually struck
by these sand particles. As a result the rock starts wearing away.
In the low hills known as the Sierra de Tandil to the south of
Buenos Aires in Argentina, the wind has worn away the base of a rock
at the top of a hill to create a wondrous example of what are called
rocking rocks.
This rock though it weighs over seven hundred tonnes, is so
perfectly balanced that it can be rocked by pushing it with one
hand!
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The Taj in the Moonlight .....
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They say Shah Jahan was
grief-stricken on the death of his second wife Mumtaj Mahal at the
age of 39. The tomb in marble he built for her on the banks of the
Jamuna is counted among the wonders of the world.
Fodor's Guide to India advises its readers to see the Taj Mahal in
moonlight or at the break of dawn. But at whatever time of the day
or night you see the Taj, it's beautiful. Edward Lear, celebrated
author and illustrator who visited India in 1873, wrote in his
diary: "Henceforth, let the inhabitants of the world be divided into
two classes – them as has seen the Taj Mahal and them as hasn't."
Most people who have seen the Taj would agree with him.
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