The Wisdom of God

An Iranian Tale

A peasant was on a journey with his donkey. The day was hot and dusty, and he looked for a shady place to pass the midday heat. Seeing a few trees and a watermelon farm, he drove up and sat down in the shade of a walnut tree. As he reclined, he noticed tiny walnuts on the branches of the big tree. Looking around, he could see big watermelons on weak-stemmed vines.

Now this caused him to wonder why small walnuts grew high on such a big and strong tree and big watermelons grew on thin, weak-stemmed vines on the ground. As he pondered this, a walnut fell from the tree, hitting him on his head. At this, he fell on his knees and with outstretched arms, thanked and praised God for his wisdom. For, he reasoned, if God had let watermelons grow on trees, he would surely have been a dead man now.