Two travelling dervishes reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the dervish hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up on to his shoulders and carried her across the water to the other bank. She thanked him and departed. As the dervishes continued on their way, one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out: “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!” “Brother,” the second dervish replied. “I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her.”
Across the river
