I said to myself, ‘Maybe this is the revenge of my temporary wives, who cried when I divorced them.’ Anyway, early the next morning I went to the grocer’s house. He kept me waiting for an hour, which seemed a century to me. When he came I said to him, ‘Stick to your bargain, divorce Robabeh, and you’ve made five tomans.’ I can still picture his devilish face. He laughed and said, ‘She’s my wife, I wouldn’t sell a hair on her head for a thousand tomans.’ My eyes were blasting lightning!”

Shahbaz trembled and said, “No, something like that couldn’t happen. Tell me the truth. God!…”

Mirza Yadollah said, “Now do you see that I was right? Now do you understand why I can’t stand grocers? When he said he wouldn’t give up a hair of her head for a thousand tomans, I understood that he wanted to get more money. But who had the time to bargain? I was hurting. I was horrified. I was so upset, and I was so sick and tired of life, that I didn’t answer him. I gave him a look which was worse than any curse. From there I went directly to a second-hand store. I sold my robe and my cloak and bought a buckram robe. I put on a felt hat, adjusted my shoes, and set out. Since then I’ve been wandering from one town to the next, from one village to another, like a bewildered vagabond. It’s been twelve years. I couldn’t stay in one place any longer. Sometimes I work as a storyteller, sometimes as a teacher. I write letters for people, I recite the Shahnameh in teahouses, I play the flute. I enjoy seeing the world and its people. I want to spend my life just like this. One gets a lot out of it. In any case, we’re old. We’re flogging a dead horse. We’ve got one foot in this world and one in the next. It’s too bad that we can’t take advantage of the experience we’ve gained. How well the poet said it:

A wise and skilful man

Should live not once, but twice:

At first to gain experience,

Then to follow his own advice.”

At this point Mirza Yadollah grew tired. It was as if his jaws stopped working because he had thought and spoken more than usual. He reached out and took his pipe, staring at the ricer and listening to the faint muffled melody which came from beyond the mountain.

Shahbaz raised his head from his hands. He sighed and said, “Every pair of actions requires a third to be complete!”

Mirza Yadollah was confused and didn’t notice.

Shahbaz said louder, “She’s sure to turn yet another wealthy man into a destitute tramp.”

Yadollah came to himself and said, “Who?”

“That bitch Robabeh.”

Mirza Yadollah’s eyes popped out. Shocked, he asked, “What do you mean?”

Mashadi Shahbaz gave a forced laugh.