Speak First and Lose

During his lifetime, Idries Shah published many hundreds of stories, drawn from the rich cultural heritage
of Eastern
SPEAK FIRST AND LOSE IDRIES SHAH

lands. A great many of Shah’s tales have their roots in his own homeland, Afghanistan. As with all great stories, they
work on many levels — entertaining the listener, while imparting a teaching message, an element that is in itself of
profound value.
Shah used to say that a well-crafted tale is like a peach. Refreshing and tantalising to the senses, the delicious flesh is
why we regard peaches so highly. But it is the stone that lies within the fruit that is the thing of real value — like the
message of the story passed on by appreciating a piece of fruit’s succulent flesh.
Beautifully illustrated, Speak First and Lose has been presented by The Idries Shah Foundation as a cornerstone in
an important charitable and cultural project. This series of illustrated children’s books has been made available in the
West, with all proceeds from the sales going to provide free editions of the same books for children in Afghanistan.
BY IDRIES SHAH
LIMITED EDITION
ISBN 9781784792411
9 781784 792411
ILLUSTRATED BY DABY ZAINAB FAIDHI

Speak First
And Lose
Text Copyright © The Estate of Idries Shah
Illustrations Copyright © Daby Zainab Faidhi

Layout and Design: Rachana Shah
Speak First
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
And Lose
electronic, mechanical, or photographic, by recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system or method now known or to be invented or adapted, without prior permission obtained in
writing from the publisher, ISF Publishing, except by a reviewer quoting brief passages in a review
written for inclusion in a journal, magazine, newspaper or broadcast.
BY IDRIES SHAH
Requests for permission to reprint, reproduce etc. to:
The Permissions Department

ISF Publishing
The Idries Shah Foundation
P. O. Box 71911
London NW2 9QA
[email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-78479-241-1
Published by The Idries Shah Foundation,

In association with
The Estate of Idries Shah
First published in this Illustrated Edition, 2018
THE IDRIES SHAH FOUNDATION

CHILDREN’S BOOKS BY IDRIES SHAH
The Onion
The Ants and the Pen
The Tale of the Sands
After a Swim
The Man, the Tree and the Wolf
The Horrible Dib Dib
The Fisherman’s Neighbour
The Magic Potion of Oinkink Dedicated to the sense of imagination which lives within us all.
The Rich Man and the Monkey
The Boy With No Voice and the Men Who Couldn’t Hear
The Tale of Melon City
One day, a newly married couple
moved into their new home.
At first, they were the happiest newly-weds
imaginable.
But once the presents were opened…
…they started to quarrel.
‘Shut the door, there is a draught,’ said the husband.
‘I am not a slave,’ answered the wife. ‘Shut it yourself!’
‘Tell you what,’ said the husband, ‘let’s see who can
keep silent the longest. The first person to speak
closes the door.’
His wife nodded her agreement and they sat down,

with the draught whistling around them.
The night wore on.
Neither one of them moved.
Some thieves, passing by, saw the open door and walked in.
They closely examined everything in the house. Including the man and his wife.
Whom they took to be statues.
They stripped the house.
And even took the wife’s jewellery.
Still neither the man nor his
wife had moved or said a word.
Finding the couple’s door open,
the night watchman came into
the room.
‘Shut your door!’ said the captain ‘You must obey the orders of the
of the watch. But neither the man watch!’ bellowed the captain of
nor his wife moved. the watch.
Unable to elicit any response,
the men of the watch dragged the couple to jail.
In the morning, they were taken before
the judge, charged with having defied the
watch.
‘If you don’t speak,’ the judge told the husband, Getting no reply, the judge growled:
‘it’ll be contempt of court.’ ‘That’s it! I’ll have you whipped!’
‘Don’t hurt my husband!’
‘Ha!’ shouted her spouse.
‘You have lost the bet!’
‘Now you have to close the door.’
And I wish that I could
tell you that the man
and his wife lived happily
ever after.
The End

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During his lifetime, Idries Shah published many hundreds of stories, drawn from the rich cultural heritage

SPEAK FIRST AND LOSE IDRIES SHAH

ILLUSTRATED BY DABY ZAINAB FAIDHI

Illustrations Copyright © Daby Zainab Faidhi

The Permissions Department

Published by The Idries Shah Foundation,

First published in this Illustrated Edition, 2018

THE IDRIES SHAH FOUNDATION

His wife nodded her agreement and they sat down,

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