The master and his disciples were travelling. On the road, they were unable to eat properly. The master asked some of them to go and seek food. The disciples returned at the end of the day. Each brought with him the little he had been able to gain through the charity of others; fruit that was already going bad, stale bread and bitter wine. One of the disciples, however, brought with him a bag of ripe apples.
“I would do anything to help my master and my brothers,” he said, sharing the apples with the others.
“Where did you get these?” asked the master.
“I had to steal them,” the disciple answered. “People were giving me only spoiled food, even though they knew that we were preaching the word of God.”
“Get away with your apples, and never come back,” said the master. “Anyone who would rob for me would rob from me.”
-From "Maktub" by Paulo Coelho
