... tells the story of a man who was in the marketplace of damascus
as he is passing through the stalls he comes face to face with death
death is startled and the man is stricken with terror for the look in death's eyes tells him that it is nearly his time
so the man hires the fastest horse he can find and makes a mad dash to aleppo and arrives there the next day, a nearly impossible feat

feeling safe at last, the man settles in to enjoy a well-earned meal
as he sits, death joins him and informs him that his time has come
the man is aghast and asks why death was startled the day before in damascus
death informs the man that the source of his bewilderment was the knowledge that the meeting was to take place a day later... in aleppo.