TRUE FOLLOWERS

At the time of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, one of the viziers told the Sultan about a great Shiekh who lived in Anatolia. He warned the Sultan to be careful of this Sheikh, because he had hundreds of thousands of followers. And if this sheikh decided to turn against the Sultan, the whole country could be in turmoil and he could even lose throne.
The Sultan got quite concerned. He sent for the Sheikh to come to Istanbul. When they met, the sultan said, "What is this I hear, you have hundreds of thousands of dervish followers?" "No that is not so," the Sheikh answered "Well, how many do you have?" the Sultan insisted.
"I only have one and a half."
"If you only have one and a half, why is everyone telling me that you have the power to overthrow this entire country? We shall see, there's a huge field at the edge of town, and tomorrow everyone is going to meet at that field."
The Sultan sent out messengers to announce that anyone who was a follower of this great Sheikh should come to this field the next day, because the sheikh would be there.
Above the field there was a hill where the Sultan set up a huge tent. Inside the tent he put several sheep, but no one could see this.
The next day hundreds of thousands of people came to the field to see the great Sheikh. In front of the tent the sultan stood next to the Sheikh and said, "You said you didn't have many followers."
"They are not," the Sheikh said. "I only have one and a half dervishes. You'll see."
"The Sheikh has committed an indiscretion," the Sultan said, "And unless ten of the dervishes give up their life for him, his life will be taken."
There was a great rumbling in the crowd. "He is my Sheikh and teacher. Whatever I know come from him," one man came forward and said. "I will go and give my life for him."
The Sultan's men marched him up the hill, took him into the tent, and slit the throat of a sheep. Everybody saw the blood flowing out from the side of the tent, and this made them very nervous.
The Sultan declared, "Is there anyone else willing to give his life for his Sheikh?"
Silence
Then one woman stood up and said she would . They marched her up and into the tent, and again they slit the throat of another sheep. Seeing more blood, the crowd began to disperse. Soon there was no one left in the field.
The Sheikh turned to the sultan and said, "you see, I told you, I only had one and a half dervishes."
The Sultan said, "Oh, the man is your dervish, and the woman is half a dervish?"
"No, no, " the Sheikh said "The woman is my dervish, and the man is half a dervish."
Seeing the surprised expression on the sultan's face, the Sheikh explained:
"The man did not actually know that he was going to be killed when he entered the tent. But the woman knew, and she still came forward. she is my real dervish."


REFERENCE: WHEN YOU HEAR A HOOFBEAT THINK OF ZEBRA
BY SHEMS FRIEDLANDER