Mantic uttaïr, Anecdote about the Schaïkh

The shaykh Khircâni, on his way to Nischâpour, was greatly wearied by the road. He stopped for a week in a corner, wrapped in his frock; he was hungry, and had not a morsel of bread to eat. When the week had passed, he said: “O God! give me bread, and show me the road I must take.”
An inward voice said to him: “Sweep carefully, and at once, the ground of the square of Nischâpour. When thou hast swept it all, thou wilt find half a grain of gold; with it thou shalt buy bread, which thou shalt eat.” The shaykh replied: “If I had a broom and a sieve, would it be difficult for me to obtain bread? But I am without strength. Give me bread, then, to relieve my weakness, without requiring work beyond my powers.”

The inner voice said to him: “This will be easy for thee; sweep the earth, since thou needest bread.” The schaïkh departed, and, by dint of entreaties, was able to borrow a broom and a sieve from someone. He swept the earth little by little, in haste, sifted it, and at last found the small piece of gold the voice had foretold. His soul was glad when he saw this gold; he went to the baker and bought bread, without giving a thought either to the broom or the sieve. When he remembered them, he was dismayed, and set off to look for them, lamenting and saying: “There is no one at this moment as tormented as I, for I have nothing with which to compensate the owners of these things.” At last, like a madman, he entered a ruined house. He was there, sad and dejected, when he saw his broom and sieve. His heart was then glad, and he said: “O my God! why hast Thou made the world dark for me? Thou hast changed my bread into poison. Though my life depend upon it, take this bread back from me.”

An inward voice then said to him: “O Thou of evil nature! bread is not good without something to accompany it. Since thou couldst obtain nothing but bread, I grant thee My grace for what thou lackest.”