Arabian Nights Anonymous Vol3

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hadst long companied with him; yet didst thou not spare him; and
if thou didst thus with thy fellow, that was of thine own kind,
how can I have confidence in thy fidelity and what would be thy
dealing with thine enemy of other than thy kind? Nor can I liken
thee and me but to the Falcon and the Birds. How so? asked the
fox. They say, answered the crow, that
The Falcon and the Birds.
There was once a falcon who was a cruel tyrant in the days of his
youth, so that the beasts of prey of the air and of the earth
feared him and none was safe from his mischief; and many were the
instances of his tyranny, for he did nothing but oppress and
injure all the other birds. As the years passed over him, he grew
weak and his strength failed, so that he was oppressed with
hunger; but his cunning increased with the waning of his strength
and he redoubled in his endeavour and determined to go to the
general rendezvous of the birds, that he might eat their
leavings, and in this manner he gained his living by cunning,
whenas he could do so no longer by strength and violence. And
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thou, O fox, art like this: if thy strength fail thee, thy
cunning fails not; and I doubt not that thy seeking my friendship
is a device to get thy subsistence; but I am none of those who
put themselves at thy mercy, for God hath given me strength in my
wings and caution in my heart and sight in my eyes, and I know
that he who apeth a stronger than he, wearieth himself and is
often destroyed, wherefore I fear for thee lest, if thou ape a
stronger than thou, there befall thee what befell the sparrow.
What befell the sparrow? asked the fox. I conjure thee, by
Allah, to tell me his story. I have heard, replied the crow,
that
The Sparrow and the Eagle.
A sparrow was once hovering over a sheep-fold, when he saw a
great eagle swoop down upon a lamb and carry it off in his claws.
Thereupon the sparrow clapped his wings and said, I will do even
as the eagle hath done; and he conceited himself and aped a
greater than he. So he flew down forthright and lighted on the
back of a fat ram, with a thick fleece that was become matted, by
his lying in his dung and stale, till it was like felt. As soon
as the sparrow lighted on the sheep s back, he clapped his wings
and would have flown away, but his feet became tangled in the
wool and he could not win free. All this while the shepherd was
looking on, having seen as well what happened with the eagle as
with the sparrow; so he came up to the latter in a rage and
seized him. Then he plucked out his wing-feathers and tying his
feet with a twine, carried him to his children and threw him to
them. What is this? asked they and he answered, This is one
that aped a greater than himself and came to grief. Now thou, O
fox, continued the crow, art like this and I would have thee
beware of aping a greater than thou, lest thou perish. This is
all I have to say to thee; so go from me in peace. When the fox
despaired of the crow s friendship, he turned away, groaning and
gnashing his teeth for sorrow and disappointment, which when the
crow heard, he said to him, O fox, why dost thou gnash thy
teeth? Because I find thee wilier than myself, answered the
fox and made off to his den.
O Shehrzad, said the Sultan, how excellent and delightful are
these thy stories! Hast thou more of the like edifying tales?
It is said, answered she, that
THE HEDGEHOG AND THE PIGEONS.
A hedgehog once took up his abode under a palm-tree, on which
roosted a pair of wood-pigeons, that had made their nest there
and lived an easy life, and he said to himself, These pigeons
eat of the fruit of the palm-tree, and I have no means of getting
at it; but needs must I go about with them. So he dug a hole at
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the foot of the palm-tree and took up his lodging there, he and
his wife. Moreover, he made a place of prayer beside the hole, in
which he shut himself and made a show of piety and abstinence and
renunciation of the world. The male pigeon saw him praying and
worshipping and inclined to him for his much devoutness and said
to him, How long hast thou been thus? Thirty years, replied
the hedgehog. What is thy food? asked the bird and the other
answered, What falls from the palm-tree. And what is thy
clothing? asked the pigeon. Prickles, replied the hedgehog; I
profit by their roughness. And why, continued the bird, hast
thou chosen this place rather than another? I chose it,
answered the hedgehog, that I might guide the erring into
the right way and teach the ignorant. I had thought thee
other-guise than this, rejoined the pigeon; but now I feel a
yearning for that which is with thee. Quoth the hedgehog, I
fear lest thy deed belie thy speech and thou be even as the
husbandman, who neglected to sow in season, saying, I fear lest
the days bring me not to my desire, and I shall only waste my
substance by making haste to sow. When the time of harvest came
and he saw the folk gathering in their crops, he repented him of
what he had lost by his tardiness and died of chagrin and
vexation. What then shall I do, asked the pigeon, that I
may be freed from the bonds of the world and give myself up
altogether to the service of my Lord? Betake thee to preparing
for the next world, answered the hedgehog, and content thyself
with a pittance of food. How can I do this, said the pigeon,
I that am a bird and may not go beyond the palm-tree whereon is
my food? Nor, could I do so, do I know another place, wherein I
may abide. Quoth the hedgehog, Thou canst shake down of the
fruit of the palm what shall suffice thee and thy wife for a
year s victual; then do ye take up your abode in a nest under the
tree, that ye may seek to be guided in the right way, and do ye [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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