The Suitor and the Money Boxes

I remember once when a suitor’s family came to ask for my aunt’s hand. They arrived with great pomp. I was curious and listened from behind the gazor, the cupboard between the sitting room and the reception room. The prospective groom’s father talked about everything he owned, how much he traveled for work, and all the places he’d been. His mother talked about how respected her son was among friends and relatives, what sort of car he drove, and all his other virtues. His grandfather spoke of the family’s distinguished roots. His grandmother said he was always helping relatives with their affairs and, young as he was, was already like one of the family elders. After more talk and dinner, they left. But one thing struck me as strange. Agha Bozorg hadn’t said a word. My father and mother had mostly agreed with and praised whatever the visitors said. When they’d gone, I went to Agha Bozorg. “They seemed nice, didn’t they? Rich, from a good family...” He looked at me, got up, and brought two money boxes from the cupboard. He handed them to me. “Shake them.” I did. One was heavier but hardly made a sound. The lighter one jingled loudly. “Which one would you like to keep?” he asked. I thought for a moment. “The one that makes noise, I think. I can hear money in it, and I don’t know what’s making the other one so heavy.” He stood, took his cane, and broke both boxes. The one I’d picked held only a little money. The other was so full there was no room for the coins to rattle. It was packed to the brim. “Remember,” Agha Bozorg said, “an Iranian with true character is so full they make no noise. They have so much within them that they need no fuss. Someone who keeps announcing all the things they have either has nothing, or has a little and an inflated sense of their own importance. “Live in a way that makes you an Iranian of true character, with no need to boast.” These days I see so many people making a noise, proclaiming all they’ve done and saying they led the revolution. But when I look at the king, I see a true Iranian patriot and all he has done without fanfare. May every Iranian’s money box be full. Long live Iran. Long live the Shah.