The forbidden door

Once upon a time there was a very poor young man. Every day he went to the market to look for work. One day an old man approached, looked him over, and said, “Follow me.” So they walked through the winding alleys of the city until they came upon a door, which they entered. The poor man saw that the owners of the place must be very rich indeed: Gold and silver objects were on display everywhere.

Entering a large hall, he saw a great number of old gentlemen with long, white beards, who were crying and lamenting. However, his guide ignored them and went straight through to another room. In this room were a great number of metal boxes and chests. The old gentleman opened one. The poor man was dazzled by the splendor of what he saw: The box was filled with gold coins.

“All you have to do,” said the gentleman, “is to take from this money what you need in order to serve us our daily meals, and provide us with all that is necessary. Do you agree with these terms?” The young man readily agreed. So, from that time on, he had an easy life. He bought the best food in town, served the wailing old men, and ate his fill every day.

The key. One day one of the old men died, and our young friend had to see to it that he was properly buried. A short while later another died, and the next week another. In the end only the old man who had originally engaged the poor young man remained. The old man said: “You have served us well all this time. As a reward, we decided to leave you this house and all that is in it. When I die you will take charge of my funeral. After that, all this will be yours for life. I feel sick, old, and tired. Soon it may please Allah to take me away from this world. Therefore, I will now give you all the keys of this house. You may open all the doors, but for this one key I must warn you. Never use it. The door that it opens will lead you irrevocably to disaster. Be wise and restrained.”

Later, as he lay dying, the old gentleman again cautioned, “Do not open the secret door!” At that he expired.

The young man was rich. He wandered through the rooms of his mansion looking at all the priceless treasures in his cupboards and coffers. He had more money than he could count, but soon he was bored. After the first few weeks he began to stop in front of the forbidden door, fondling the small key. Nothing, it seemed to him, had any more value, except to know what was on the other side of that door.