Know, O King, that a fox and a wolf once cohabited in the same den,
harbouring therein together by day and resorting thither by night; but
the wolf was cruel and oppressive to the fox. They abode thus awhile,
till it so befel that the fox exhorted the wolf to use gentle dealing
and leave off his ill deeds, saying, "If thou persist in thine
arrogance, belike Allah will give the son of Adam power over thee, for
he is past master in guile and wile; and by his artifice he bringeth
down the birds from the firmament and he haleth the mighty fish forth
of the flood-waters: and he cutteth the mountain and transporteth it
from place to place. All this is of his craft and wiliness: wherefore
do thou betake thyself to equity and fair dealing and leave frowardness
and tyranny; and thou shalt fare all the better for it." But the wolf
would not accept his counsel and answered him roughly, saying, "What
right hast thou to speak of matters of weight and importance?" And he
dealt the fox a cuff that laid him senseless; but, when he revived, he
smiled in the wolf's face and, excusing himself for his unseemly
speech, repeated these two couplets,
"If any sin I sinned, or did I aught *
In love of you, which hateful mischief wrought;
My sin I sore repent and pardon sue; *
So give the sinner gift of pardon sought."
The wolf accepted his excuse and held his hand from further
ill-treatment, saying, "Speak not of whatso concerneth thee not, lest
thou hear what will please thee not." Answered the fox, "To hear is to
obey!"—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that quoth the wolf to
the fox, "Speak not of whatso concerneth thee not, lest thou hear what
will please thee not!" Answered the fox, "To hear is to obey! I will
abstain henceforth from what pleaseth thee not; for the sage saith,
'Have a care that thou speak not of that whereof thou art not asked;
leave that which concerneth thee not for that which concerneth thee,
and by no means lavish good counsel on the wrongous, for they will
repay it to thee with wrong.'" And reflecting on the words of the wolf
he smiled in his face, but in his heart he meditated treachery against
him and privily said, "There is no help but that I compass the
destruction of this wolf." So he bore with his injurious usage, saying
to himself, "Verily insolence and evil-speaking are causes of perdition
and cast into confusion, and it is said, 'The insolent is shent and the
ignorant doth repent; and whose feareth, to him safety is sent':
moderation marketh the noble and gentle manners are of gains the
grandest. It behoveth me to dissemble with this tyrant and needs must
he be cast down." Then quoth he to the wolf, "Verily, the Lord
pardoneth his erring servant and relenteth towards him, if he confess
his offences; and I am a weak slave and have offended in presuming to
counsel thee. If thou knewest the pain that befel me by thy buffet,
thou wouldst ken that even the elephant could not stand against it nor
endure it: but I complain not of this blow's hurt, because of the joy
and gladness that hath betided me through it; for though it was to me
exceeding sore yet was its issue of the happiest. And with sooth saith
the sage, 'The blow of the teacher is at first right hurtful, but the
end of it is sweeter than strained honey.'" Quoth the wolf, "I pardon
thine offence and I cancel thy fault; but beware of my force and avow
thyself my thrall; for thou hast learned my severity unto him who
showeth his hostility!" Thereupon the fox prostrated himself before the
wolf, saying, "Allah lengthen thy life and mayst thou never cease to
overthrow thy foes!" And he stinted not to fear the wolf and to wheedle
him and dissemble with him. Now it came to pass that one day, the fox
went to a vineyard and saw a breach in its walls; but he mistrusted it
and said to himself, "Verily, for this breach there must be some cause
and the old saw saith, 'Whoso seeth a cleft in the earth and shunneth
it not and is not wary in approaching it, the same is self-deluded and
exposeth himself to danger and destruction.' Indeed, it is well known
that some folk make the figure of a fox in their vineyards; nay, they
even set before the semblance grapes in plates, that foxes may see it
and come to it and fall into perdition. In very sooth I regard this
breach as a snare and the proverb saith, 'Caution is one half of
cleverness.' Now prudence requireth that I examine this breach and see
if there be aught therein which may lead to perdition; and coveting
shall not make me cast myself into destruction." So he went up to the
hole and walked round it right warily, and lo! it was a deep pit, which
the owner of the vineyard had dug to trap therein the wild beasts which
laid waste his vines. Then he said to himself, "Thou hast gained, for
that thou hast refrained!"; and he looked and saw that the hole was
lightly covered with dust and matting. So he drew back from it saying,
"Praised be Allah that I was wary of it! I hope that my enemy, the
wolf, who maketh my life miserable, will fall into it; so will the
vineyard be left to me and I shall enjoy it alone and dwell therein at
peace." Saying thus, he shook his head and laughed a loud laugh and
began versifying,
"Would Heaven I saw at this hour *
The Wolf fallen down in this well,
He who anguisht my heart for so long, *
And garred me drain eisel and fel!
Heaven grant after this I may live *
Free of Wolf for long fortunate spell
When I've rid grapes and vineyard of him, *
And in bunch-spoiling happily dwell."
His verse being finished he returned in haste to the wolf and said to
him, "Allah hath made plain for thee the way into the vineyard without
toil and moil. This is of thine auspicious fortune; so good luck to
thee and mayest thou enjoy the plentiful plunder and the profuse
provaunt which Allah hath opened up to thee without trouble!" Asked the
wolf, "What proof hast thou of what thou assertest?": and the fox
answered, "I went up to the vineyard and found that the owner was dead,
having been torn to pieces by wolves: so I entered the orchard and saw
the fruit shining upon the trees." The wolf doubted not the fox's
report and his gluttony gat hold of him; so he arose and repaired to
the cleft, for that greed blinded him; whilst the fox falling behind
him lay as one dead, quoting to the case the following couplet,
"For Layla's[FN#151] favour dost thou greed? But, bear in mind *
Greed is a yoke of harmful weight on neck of man."
And when the wolf had reached the breach the fox said, "Enter the
vineyard: thou art spared the trouble of climbing a ladder, for the
garden-wall is broken down, and with Allah it resteth to fulfil the
benefit." So the wolf went on walking and thought to enter the
vineyard; but when he came to the middle of the pit-covering he fell
through; whereupon the fox shook for joy and gladness; his care and
concern left him and he sang out for delight and improvised these
couplets,
"Fortune had mercy on the soul of me, *
And for my torments now shows clemency,
Granting whatever gift my heart desired, *
And far removing what I feared to see:
I will, good sooth, excuse her all her sins *
She sinned in days gone by and much sinned she:
Yea, her injustice she hath shown in this, *
She whitened locks that were so black of blee:
But now for this same wolf escape there's none, *
Of death and doom he hath full certainty.
Then all the vineyard comes beneath my rule, *
I'll brook no partner who's so fond a fool."
Then the fox looked into the cleft and, seeing the wolf weeping in
repentance and sorrow for himself, wept with him; whereupon the wolf
raised his head to him and asked, "Is it of pity for me thou weepest, O
Father of the Fortlet[FN#152]?" Answered the fox, "No, by Him who cast
thee into this pit! I weep for the length of thy past life and for
regret that thou didst not fall into the pit before this day; for hadst
thou done so before I foregathered with thee, I had rested and enjoyed
repose: but thou wast spared till the fulfilment of thine allotted term
and thy destined time." Then the wolf said to him as one jesting, "O
evil-doer, go to my mother and tell her what hath befallen me; haply
she may devise some device for my release." Replied the fox, "Of a
truth thou hast been brought to destruction by the excess of thy greed
and thine exceeding gluttony, since thou art fallen into a pit whence
thou wilt never escape. Knowest thou not the common proverb, O thou
witless wolf, 'Whoso taketh no thought as to how things end, him shall
Fate never befriend nor shall he safe from perils wend." "O Reynard,"
quoth the wolf, "thou was wont to show me fondness and covet my
friendliness and fear the greatness of my strength. Hate me not
rancorously because of that I did with thee; for he who hath power and
forgiveth, his reward Allah giveth; even as saith the poet,
'Sow kindness-seed in the unfittest stead; *
'Twill not be wasted whereso thou shalt sow:
For kindness albe buried long, yet none *
Shall reap the crop save sower who garred it grow.'"
Rejoined the fox, "O witlessest of beasts of prey and stupidest of the
wild brutes which the wolds overstray! Hast thou forgotten thine
arrogance and insolence and tyranny, and thy disregarding the due of
goodfellowship and thy refusing to be advised by what the poet saith?
'Wrong not thy neighbour e'en if thou have power; *
The wronger alway vengeance-harvest reaps:
Thine eyes shall sleep, while bides the wronged on wake *
A-cursing thee; and Allah's eye ne'er sleeps.'"
"O Abu 'l-Hosayn," replied the wolf, "twit me not with my past sins;
for forgiveness is expected of the generous and doing kind deeds is the
truest of treasures. How well saith the poet,
'Haste to do kindness while thou hast much power, *
For at all seasons thou hast not such power.'"
And he ceased not to humble himself before the fox and say, "Haply,
thou canst do somewhat to deliver me from destruction." Replied the
fox, "O thou wolf, thou witless, deluded, deceitful trickster! hope not
for deliverance, for this is but the just reward of thy foul dealing
and its due retaliation." Then he laughed with chops wide open and
repeated these two couplets,
"No longer beguile me, *
Thou'lt fail of thy will!
What can't be thou seekest; *
Thou hast sown so reap Ill!"
Quoth the wolf, "O gentlest of ravenous beasts, I fain hold thee too
faithful to leave me in this pit." Then he wept and complained and,
with tears streaming from his eyes, recited these two couplets,
"O thou whose favours have been out of compt, *
Whose gifts are more than may be numbered!
Never mischance befel me yet from time *
But that I found thy hand right fain to aid."
"O thou ninny foe," quoth the fox, "how art thou reduced to humiliation
and prostration and abjection and submission, after insolence and pride
and tyranny and arrogance! Verily, I kept company with thee only for
fear of thy fury and I cajoled thee without one hope of fair treatment
from thee: but now trembling is come upon thee and vengeance hath
overtaken thee." And he repeated these two couplets,
"O thou who seekest innocence to 'guile, *
Thou'rt caught in trap of thine intentions vile:
Now drain the draught of shamefullest mischance, *
And be with other wolves cut off, thou scroyle!"
Replied the wolf, "O thou clement one, speak not with the tongue of
enemies nor look with their eyes; but fulfil the covenant of fellowship
with me, ere the time of applying remedy cease to be. Rise and make
ready to get me a rope and tie one end of it to a tree; then let the
other down to me, that I may lay hold of it, so haply I shall from this
my strait win free, and I will give thee all my hand possesseth of
wealth and fee." Quoth the fox, "Thou persistest in conversation
concerning what will not procure thy liberation. Hope not for this, for
thou shalt never, never get of me wherewithal to set thee at liberty;
but call to mind thy past misdeeds and the craft and perfidy thou didst
imagine against me and bethink thee how near thou art to being stoned
to death. For know that thy soul is about the world to quit and cease
in it and depart from it; so shalt thou to destruction hie and ill is
the abiding-place thou shalt aby!"[FN#153] Rejoined the wolf, "O Father
of the Fortlet, hasten to return to amity and persist not in this
rancorous enmity. Know that whoso from ruin saveth a soul, is as if he
had quickened it and made it whole; and whoso saveth a soul alive, is
as if he had saved all mankind.[FN#154] Follow not frowardness, for the
wise forbid it: and it were most manifest frowardness to leave me in
this pit draining the agony of death and dight to look upon mine own
doom, whenas it lieth in thy power to deliver me from my stowre. So do
thy best to release me and deal with me benevolently." Answered the
fox, "O thou base and barbarous wretch, I compare thee, because of the
fairness of thy professions and expressions, and the foulness of thy
intentions and thy inventions to the Falcon and the Partridge." Asked
the wolf, "How so?"; and the fox began to tell