The Devoted Friend and the Fly

A wealthy merchant kept a devoted, well-meaning servant who, though not especially clever, loved his master with total sincerity and would do anything at all to protect him from harm, however small. One hot afternoon, as the merchant napped peacefully in the shade, a small fly landed repeatedly on his forehead, buzzing and pestering him even in his sleep.

The servant, watching this with growing frustration on his sleeping master's behalf, tried waving it away gently several times, but the persistent fly kept returning to the exact same spot. Determined to solve the problem once and for all and protect his beloved master from further annoyance, the servant picked up the heaviest, flattest stone he could find nearby.

The next time the fly landed on the merchant's forehead, the servant brought the stone down with all his devoted strength, successfully killing the fly instantly — and also badly injuring his sleeping master, who woke in agonized shock at the impact. The merchant, though furious and in pain, understood as he recovered that his servant's love had never been in question, only his judgment in the moment — and the story traveled through the region as a caution: a foolish friend acting with the best intentions can sometimes do you more harm than a clever enemy acting with the worst, simply because loyalty alone was never a substitute for good judgment about what a situation actually calls for.