There was a time when King Solomon delivered some Masonic lectures that an old man attended, unseen by the craftsmen. At the end of each talk, when the craftsmen left, so did he. But one day he remained after they had gone, and Solomon asked him: "Who are you?"
The old man replied: “I am not a human being, but I was a human being when Enoch preached in this world. I was a craftsman and lived on this mountain. At that time one of my apprentices asked me whether the enlightened man is subject to the law of causation. I answered him: ‘The enlightened man is not subject to the law of causation.’ Because this answer evidenced a clinging to absoluteness, I became a jackal for five hundred rebirths, and I am still a jackal. Will you save me from this condition with your Masonic light and let me get out of a jackal's body? So I ask you: Is the enlightened man subject to the law of causation?”
Solomon said: “The enlightened man is one with the law of causation.”
At the words of Solomon the old man was enlightened. “I am emancipated,” he said, paying homage with a deep bow. “I am no more a jackal, but I have to leave my body in my dwelling place behind this mountain. Please perform my funeral as a Mason.” Then he disappeared.
The next day Solomon gave an order for the craftsmen to prepare to attend the funeral of a brother. “No one was sick in the infirmary,” wondered the other craftsmen. “What does our master mean?”
Later that day Solomon led the craftsmen out and around the mountain. In a cave, with his staff he poked out the corpse of an old jackal and then performed the Masonic burial ceremony.
That evening Solomon gave a talk to the craftsmen and told this story about the law of causation.
King Hiram, upon hearing this story, asked Solomon: “I understand that a long time ago because a certain craftsman gave a wrong answer he became a jackal for five hundred rebirths. Now I would ask: If some modern craftsmen is asked many questions, and he always gives the right answer, what will become of him?”
Solomon said: “You come here near me and I will tell you.”
King Hiram went near Solomon and playfully slapped the master's face with his hand, for he knew this was the answer Solomon intended to give him.
Solomon clapped his hands and laughed at the discernment. “I thought a Persian had a red beard,” he said, “and now I know a Persian who has a red beard!”