Another example of generosity

Someone who was well known for his generosity was asked if he had ever met anyone whom he considered more generous than himself.

He told this story:

“We were once in the desert and we passed by a woman. When her husband came, she said to him: ‘We have two guests. So he brought a camel and slaughtered it, his wife cooked it and we sat down to eat some of it. The next day he brought another camel which he slaughtered and again invited us to eat. We said to him: ‘But we have eaten only a little of the one you slaughtered yesterday.’ To this he answered: I do not like to feed any guest of mine from food that has been kept overnight.’

“It happened that there were heavy rains and we were forced to stay with the man and his wife for several days, and on each day he slaughtered another camel for our food. When we decided to go on our way, we placed a hundred dinars in his house and apologized to his wife for not waiting till his return, to say good-bye to him.

“We then set off into the desert. We had not journeyed far before we found the man running after us.

“‘You despicable creatures!’ he shouted at us. ‘Do you want to insult me by paying for your hospitality? Take back your money or I’ll strike you dead.’”