Once upon a time I entered a vineyard to eat of its grapes; and, whilst
so doing behold, I saw a falcon stoop upon a partridge and seize him;
but the partridge escaped from the seizer and, entering his nest, hid
himself there. The falcon followed apace and called out to him, saying,
"O imbecile, I saw thee an-hungered in the wold and took pity on thee;
so I picked up for thee some grain and took hold of thee that thou
mightest eat; but thou fleddest from me; and I wot not the cause of thy
flight, except it were to put upon me a slight. Come out, then, and
take the grain I have brought thee to eat and much good may it do thee,
and with thy health agree." When the partridge heard these words, he
believed and came out to him, whereupon the falcon struck his talons
into him and seized him. Cried the partridge, "Is this that which thou
toldest me thou hadst brought me from the wold, and whereof thou badest
me eat, saying, 'Much good may it do thee, and with thy health agree?'
Thou hast lied to me, and may Allah cause what thou eatest of my flesh
to be a killing poison in thy maw!" So when the falcon had eaten the
partridge, his feathers fell off and his strength failed and he died on
the spot. "Know, then, O wolf!" (pursued the fox), "that he who diggeth
for his brother a pit himself soon falleth into it, and thou first
deceivedst me in mode unfit." Quoth the wolf, "Spare me this discourse
nor saws and tales enforce, and remind me not of my former ill course,
for sufficeth me the sorry plight I endure perforce, seeing that I am
fallen into a place, in which even my foe would pity me, much more a
true friend. Rather find some trick to deliver me and be thou thereby
my saviour. If this cause thee trouble, remember that a true friend
will undertake the sorest travail for his true friend's sake and will
risk his life to deliver him from evil; and indeed it hath been said,
'A leal friend is better than a real brother.' So if thou stir thyself
to save me and I be saved, I will forsure gather thee such store as
shall be a provision for thee against want however sore; and truly I
will teach thee rare tricks whereby to open whatso bounteous vineyards
thou please and strip the fruit-laden trees." Rejoined the fox,
laughing, "How excellent is what the learned say of him who aboundeth
in ignorance like unto thee!" Asked the wolf, "What do the wise men
say?" And the fox answered, "They have observed that the gross of body
are gross of mind, far from intelligence and nigh unto ignorance. As
for thy saying, O thou stupid, cunning idiot! that a true friend should
undertake sore travail for his true friend's sake, it is sooth as thou
sayest, but tell me, of thine ignorance and poverty of intelligence,
how can I be a true friend to thee, considering thy treachery. Dost
thou count me thy true friend? Nay, I am thy foe who joyeth in thy woe;
and couldst thou trow it, this word were sorer to thee than slaughter
by shot of shaft. As for thy promise to provide me a store against want
however sore and teach me tricks, to plunder whatso bounteous vineyards
I please, and spoil fruit-laden trees, how cometh it, O guileful
traitor, that thou knowest not a wile to save thyself from destruction?
How far art thou from profiting thyself and how far am I from accepting
thy counsel! If thou have any tricks, make shift for thyself to save
thee from the risk, wherefrom I pray Allah to make thine escape far
distant! So look, O fool, if there be any trick with thee; and
therewith save thyself from death ere thou lavish instruction upon thy
neighbours. But thou art like a certain man attacked by a disease, who
went to another diseased with the same disease, and said to him, 'Shall
I heal thee of thy disease?' Replied the sick man, 'Why dost thou not
begin by healing thyself?' So he left him and went his way. And thou, O
ignorant wolf, art like this; so stay where thou art and under what
hath befallen thee be of good heart!" When the wolf heard what the fox
said, he knew that from him he had no hope of favour; so he wept for
himself, saying, "Verily, I have been heedless of my weal; but if Allah
deliver me from this ill I will assuredly repent of my arrogance
towards those who are weaker than I, and will wear woollens[FN#157] and
go upon the mountains, celebrating the praises of Almighty Allah and
fearing His punishment. And I will withdraw from the company of other
wild beasts and forsure will I feed the poor fighters for the Faith."
Then he wept and wailed, till the heart of the fox softened when he
heard his humble words and his professions of penitence for his past
insolence and arrogance. So he took pity upon him and sprang up
joyfully and, going to the brink of the breach, squatted down on his
hind quarters and let his tail hang in the hole; whereupon the wolf
arose and putting out his paw, pulled the fox's tail, so that he fell
down in the pit with him. Then said the wolf, "O fox of little mercy,
why didst thou exult in my misery, thou that wast my companion and
under my dominion? Now thou art fallen into the pit with me and
retribution hath soon overtaken thee. Verily, the sages have said, 'If
one of you reproach his brother with sucking the dugs of a bitch, he
also shall suck her.' And how well quoth the poet,
'When Fortune weighs heavy on some of us, *
And makes camel kneel by some other one,[FN#158]
Say to those who rejoice in our ills: —Awake! *
The rejoicer shall suffer as we have done!'
And death in company is the best of things;[FN#159] wherefore I will
certainly and assuredly hasten to slay thee ere thou see me slain."
Said the fox to himself, "Ah! Ah! I am fallen into the snare with this
tyrant, and my case calleth for the use of craft and cunning; for
indeed it is said that a woman fashioneth her jewellery for the day of
display, and quoth the proverb, 'I have not kept thee, O my tear, save
for the time when distress draweth near.' And unless I make haste to
circumvent this prepotent beast I am lost without recourse; and how
well saith the poet,
'Make thy game by guile, for thou'rt born in a Time *
Whose sons are lions in forest lain;
And turn on the leat[FN#160] of thy knavery *
That the mill of subsistence may grind thy grain;
And pluck the fruits or, if out of reach, *
Why, cram thy maw with the grass on plain.'"
Then said the fox to the wolf, "Hasten not to slay me, for that is not
the way to pay me and thou wouldst repent it, O thou valiant wild
beast, lord of force and exceeding prowess! An thou accord delay and
consider what I shall say, thou wilt ken what purpose I proposed; but
if thou hasten to kill me it will profit thee naught and we shall both
die in this very place." Answered the wolf "O thou wily trickster, what
garreth thee hope to work my deliverance and thine own, that thou
prayest me to grant thee delay? Speak and propound to me thy purpose."
Replied the fox, "As for the purpose I proposed, it was one which
deserveth that thou guerdon me handsomely for it; for when I heard thy
promises and thy confessions of thy past misdeeds and regrets for not
having earlier repented and done good; and when I heard thee vowing,
shouldst thou escape from this strait, to leave harming thy fellows and
others; forswear the eating of grapes and of all manner fruits; devote
thyself to humility; cut thy claws and break thy dog-teeth; don
woollens and offer thyself as an offering to Almighty Allah, then
indeed I had pity upon thee, for true words are the best words. And
although before I had been anxious for thy destruction, whenas I heard
thy repenting and thy vows of amending should Allah vouchsafe to save
thee, I felt bound to free thee from this thy present plight. So I let
down my tail, that thou mightest grasp it and be saved. Yet wouldest
thou not quit thy wonted violence and habit of brutality; nor soughtest
thou to save thyself by fair means, but thou gavest me a tug which I
thought would sever body from soul, so that thou and I are fallen into
the same place of distress and death. And now there is but one thing
can save us and, if thou accept it of me, we shall both escape; and
after it behoveth thee to fulfil the vows thou hast made and I will be
thy veritable friend." Asked the wolf, "What is it thou proposest for
mine acceptance?" Answered the fox, "It is that thou stand up at full
height till I come nigh on a level with the surface of the earth. Then
will I give a spring and reach the ground; and, when out of the pit, I
will bring thee what thou mayst lay hold of, and thus shalt thou make
thine escape." Rejoined the wolf, "I have no faith in thy word, for
sages have said, 'Whoso practiseth trust in the place of hate, erreth;'
and, 'Whoso trusteth in the untrustworthy is a dupe; he who re-trieth
him who hath been tried shall reap repentance and his days shall go
waste; and he who cannot distinguish between case and case, giving each
its due, and assigneth all the weight to one side, his luck shall be
little and his miseries shall be many.' How well saith the poet,
'Let thy thought be ill and none else but ill; *
For suspicion is best of the worldling's skill:
Naught casteth a man into parlous place *
But good opinion and (worse) good-will!'
And the saying of another,
'Be sure all are villains and so bide safe; *
Who lives wide awake on few Ills shall light:
Meet thy foe with smiles and a smooth fair brow, *
And in heart raise a host for the battle dight!'