He knocked at the door of a household and asked for water to drink. A young girl came out, saw him, and returned inside. She crushed a single stalk of sugar-cane, mixed the juice with water, and set it before him in a cup. Anūshirwān noticed grains of dust and bits of straw floating in it, so he sipped the drink little by little until he reached the bottom. He then said to the girl, “Sād nās—what excellent water, were it not clouded by this debris.” She replied, “Yā sharhiyk, I put the debris in on purpose.”
“Why did you do that?” he asked. She answered, “I saw that you were extremely thirsty; had the water been clear you would have drained it in a single draught, and that might have harmed you.” Anūshirwān marvelled at her words, realizing that she had spoken out of quick wit and intelligence. He then asked, “From how many canes did you extract this drink?” “From one,” she said. Anūshirwān was astonished and secretly resolved that, when he returned, he would order an increase in the tax on that district.
Some time later he revisited the area, passed by the very same door alone, and asked for water. The same girl came out, recognised him, and went back in to fetch the drink, but she took rather long. Anūshirwān called out, urging her to hurry: “Why the delay?” She answered, “One cane no longer yields enough for your need. I have crushed three stalks, yet they have not produced what a single stalk used to.” “And what is the reason for this shortfall?” he asked. She replied, “The ruler’s intention toward this land has changed. It is said that when the ruler’s heart turns against a people, their blessing takes flight and their bounty diminishes.”
Anūshirwān laughed, astonished by her insight. He dismissed the plan he had nurtured against them and married the girl for the brilliance of her mind and the eloquence of her speech.
A Maxim: It is said that three kinds of people always speak the truth: the prophets, the kings, and the madmen. It is also said that drunkenness is a form of madness, and the madman fears the drunkard because the madman’s intoxication is hidden, whereas the drunkard’s insanity is public. Woe to the one who remains forever in the drunkenness of heedlessness, as the poet said:
The one whose mind wine has made drunk
need feel no shame when he sobers;
But he who is intoxicated by dominion
awakens only when the kingdom is gone.
It is exceedingly rare to find someone who, despite the intoxication of his own sovereignty, stays sober and appoints over his affairs a deputy who is trustworthy, sincere, and helpful. A sign that the ruler is drunk is that he entrusts his ministry to one who is needy and destitute, then