Reader's Diary: It Happened In Samarra

What happened in Samarra might not have made the headlines but it sure caught the attention of Dame Agatha Christie, W Somerset Maugham and our very own Lord Archer himself...And when I realised that the Iraqi fable which Ma used to spin forth for us and which we would lap up eagerly again and again, was making the rounds in such elite circles, I thought I must have it in my blog...Ofcourse, many of my readers might have had the opportunity of coming across the anecdote already, it being not an obscure piece of folklore but prominently featured in the 'Hikayat-I-Naqshia' by Fudail Ibn Ayad, but why dont I enlighten the rest !

Listen ye' all, for this is what happened in Samarra...

A thousand years ago, there lived a rich merchant in Baghdad...One day, he sent out his young servant to the marketplace for provisions...While he was at a shop, choosing dates and haggling over it with the shopkeeper, he happened to turn around and saw a beautiful woman in black staring at him...The cold stance and the threatening eyes conveyed to him that the woman was none other than the Angel of Death...For an instant, he was scared stiff but soon he gathered his wits and fled back to his Master...Panting, he spilled out his predicament to his Master and begged him for help...The merchant contemplated for a while and decided that his servant must leave for faraway Samarra that very day, so as to cheat Death who was awaiting him in Baghdad...Wishing him luck, the merchant handed over to his servant, his fastest steed...

Later that day, the merchant happened to visit the marketplace and saw the alluring Death smiling at him...He walked over to her and asked her the reason for threatening his servant...Bewildered, she looked back at him and replied..."But I wasn't threatening him, infact I was quite surprised myself to find him here in Baghdad...For I am to meet him, tonight in Samarra !"