"I borrowed a pen from someone in Sham"

Al-Hasan Bin Arafah (Abu Ali) narrated that Ibn al-Mubarak said to him:

استعرت قلما بأرض الشام فذهب على أن أرده الى صاحبه فلما قدمت مرو نظرت فإذا هو معي؛ فرجعت ، يا أبا علي إلى أرض الشام حتى رددته الى صاحبه

ENGLISH:

"I borrowed a pen from someone in Sham, and I intended to return it to its owner. When I arrived in Marw (in Turkmenistan!), I saw that I still had it with me. O Abu ‘Ali (al-Hasan’s nickname), I went all the way back to Sham to return the pen to its owner!"

NEDERLANDS:

"Ik leende een pen van iemand in Shaam, en ik was van plan om het aan hem terug te geven. Toen ik in Marw (Turkmenistan) aankwam, merkte ik dat ik die pen nog bij me had! Oh Abu Ali, ik keerde hellemaal terug naar Sham om die pen terug te geven!"

["Tareekh al-Baghdaad", 10/167].