The Prince of Tabistan was playing
chess with a certain man called, Damavand. When Damavand made his
final move on the chessboard, he proclaimed, "Checkmate!" This
angered the Prince and he threw his chess pieces one by one at
Damavand.
"Here take your checkmate," he shouted, while Damavand called back,
"Mercy!"
Then the Prince commanded him to play again. Damavand obeyed, but
trembled at the thought of another game.
The Prince also lost the second chess game, but when Damavand was
to say, "Checkmate!" he ran into a corner and flung five Persian rugs
over himself. He lay there hidden beneath the rugs.
"Hey! What are you doing under there?" asked the Prince.
"Checkmate! Checkmate! Checkmate! O noble Prince of Tabistan!"
replied Damavand in a muffled voice.
Note: A similar story can be found in Rumi's book: Mathnavi.
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