{73} Chapter Four
The Consequences of Failing to Beware of Enemies
“I have heard your tale of cooperative friends and compassionate brethren,” the Raja said to the Brahman. “Now tell me a story of an enemy by whom one should not be deceived even if he exercises the utmost of pleading and humility to disguise what lurks in his heart.”
“A wise man should pay no attention to the words of an enemy,” the Brahman said, “and the more kindness you see from a clever enemy, the more you should be suspicious of him and avoid him. If you are negligent and expose yourself he will ambush you. Once it is too late to check him regret will do you no good, and what the crows did to the owls will happen to you.”
“What was that?” asked the Raja.
The story goes that on a high mountain there was a huge tree with many branches and leaves in which lived around a thousand crows. The crows had a king whose orders they all obeyed. One night the king of the owls came out and launched a surprise attack on his enemies the crows, returning victorious and triumphant.
The next day the king of the crows assembled his army and said, “You see how the owls attacked so boldly. Today there are among you some who are dead or wounded and others who have lost their feathers or gotten their wings broken. Worse than this is their audacity and their knowledge of our home. I do not doubt that they will come again soon and repeat their attack. Reflect and see what should be done.”
Among the crows were five known for their intelligence and wisdom, and the crows depended upon them for advice and counsel during times of trouble. The king valued their advice and never failed to heed their counsel. He asked one of them, “What do you think should be done?”
{74} He replied, “As the wise have said before our time, when one is unable to resist an enemy one should abandon one’s family, possessions, and homeland and flee, for there is great danger in waging war, especially when one is defeated. To engage in it without reflection is like sleeping in the path of a torrent. To rely on one’s strength and to be deceived by one’s power and bravery are most imprudent, for a sword has two edges and destiny is blind: it neither recognizes nor values the brave, and it cannot be relied upon.”
The king turned to the second and asked, “What do you think?”
“What he says about fleeing and abandoning one’s home I would never say. How can it be wise to give in to such humiliation at the first blow? It would be better to assemble our forces and go out to battle. A successful king is he who has high aspirations and whose might quells sedition. The best plan would be to set watchers at our vulnerable places. If they attack we will be ready and prepared to do battle until we either are victorious or have a good reason to retreat. On the day of battle kings should not be concerned with ultimate consequences: they should think that neither the present nor the future poses danger.”
The king said to the next advisor, “What is your view?”
“I do not know what they are talking about,” he said. “It would be best to send spies to investigate the situation of the enemy. We should see if they are inclined to make a truce and be content with tribute from us. If possible, we should make peace and accept to pay tribute to be safe and secure from their might, for it is a wise move for a king to use his wealth as a shield for his kingdom and subjects when an enemy is exceptionally dominant and there is fear that one’s subjects will be exposed to destruction. To risk one’s kingdom is not a wise or prudent thing to do.”
The king asked the fourth advisor to tell him what he would advise.
“To bid farewell to one’s home and to suffer exile seem preferable to risking one’s honor at auction and humbling ourselves before an enemy who has always been inferior to us,” he said. “Even if we accept their impositions and bear the expense, they will not be satisfied and will try to exterminate us. It has been said that you should approach an enemy only enough to satisfy your need {75} and no more, for you will be demeaned and the enemy will grow bolder. It is like a stick held on end in the sun: if it is bent slightly the shadow will lengthen, but if it is bent too much the shadow will decrease. They will never be content with our tribute. We should forbear and do battle, for however much wise persons avoid war, avoidance of it in a manner to which death would be preferable is not praiseworthy.”
The king asked the fifth advisor whether he thought war, truce, or exile was better.
“It would not become us to make war so long as we can find another way of dealing with them because they are more daring than we are in battle and much stronger. No wise man should underestimate his enemy because then he falls into self-deception, and anyone who is self-deceived is lost. Before this event I feared them and was afraid of what I had seen of them even if they were not planning to attack us, for a cautious person can never be too secure from his enemies. When they are near he should worry about a surprise attack, and when they are distant he should fear their return, in retreat he should fear their ambush, and if he is alone he should fear their deceit. The wisest of men is he who avoids war when he can and there is no necessity for it, for in war there are expenses and risk of life while in other ways there is only risk of possessions and goods. It would be improper for the king to decide on doing battle with the owls because anyone who contends with an elephant will be trampled.”
“If you are averse to war,” the king said, “then what do you advise?”
“In such a situation one should reflect, weigh the pros and cons, and look well left and right, for with advisors kings achieve goals not possible through massive supplies and soldiers, and kings’ views are enlightened by consultation with counselors, like the water of the sea that grows fed by streams.
“A wise man should not neglect to assess his own strength or to take into account the deceit of enemies, and he should consult trustworthy and reliable counselors, for if anyone neglects to ask for advice it will not be long before everything fortune has given him will be lost. Good things are not to be had by lineage and beauty but rather by intelligence and heeding the advice of the {76} experienced. The fortune of one who is enlightened by native intelligence and heeds advice is always full, like shadow in a well and not like the light of the moon, which wanes and can be eclipsed. Mars’ hand will polish the weapons of his triumph, and Mercury’s pen will scribe writs of his good fortune. Today the king is adorned with intelligence. Since I have been consulted in this matter I have some things to say in public and others to say in private. As much as I reject war I also reject humiliation and the shame of paying tribute, for time is long and has only just begun. Does the hawk obey the sparrow? Does the lion bow to the fox? A noble person wants a long life in order to perpetuate the memory of his good deeds. If one is unfortunate enough to fall into such tribulation and shame, would he not prefer a short life? Would he not reckon the stricture of the grave as an unassailable refuge? I do not think it right for the king to exhibit helplessness, for it would only be a preamble to destruction and loss of kingdom and life. Anyone who gives in to such a thing will have closed the doors to happiness upon himself and set up stumbling blocks of perplexity for himself.
“For the rest of what I have to say we need privacy. Determination is the basis of victory and triumph and the mainstay of fortune and happiness, and the beginning of determination is consultation. In this consultation the king has held and made his servants privy to, the need for determination and steadfastness, as well as wisdom and gravity, is most apparent.
“It is well known that consultation means asking for opinions, and the correct opinion can only be achieved through an exchange of views and guarding secrets. Kings may share their secrets with counselors and ambassadors. However, treacherous persons may be eavesdropping, and they may tell what they hear to others. A secret kept from such persons is safe from becoming common knowledge. Guarding one’s secrets has two obvious benefits. First, if a plan succeeds, victory is assured; and second, if destiny is not felicitous, one’s well-being will still be undamaged. Kings must have trustworthy counselors and honest treasurers to whom they reveal their secrets and whom they ask for help in implementing their designs, for a king, even if he is cleverer than his minister and is superior to him in all respects, can still benefit from an advisor’s opinion, like {77} the light of a lamp that depends upon oil and a fire that depends upon kindling. Anyone who has good ideas and the assistance of intelligent men will both achieve victory and bind the hands of danger. When God told the Prophet to consult he did so not to get help in his views, which were reinforced by divine inspiration through Gabriel. No, he was told to do so in order to communicate the benefits of consultation so that the people of the world would adopt that characteristic. It is incumbent upon servants to agree with their lord in what is right when he has a plan, but if his determination inclines to error, they must state the reasons and do so kindly and gently. Any minister or counselor who does not respect his lord and is unreliable in advising the right thing must be considered an enemy. To make plans with such a person is like a man who recites an incantation to send a demon after somebody else, but since he does not recite the incantation properly the demon falls on him.
“The king does not need to hear these things, for with his determination he has thrown dust in the eyes of monarchs and with his might and policies he has stationed watchers and guards so that he is safe and secure from calamity and sedition.
“When a king keeps his secrets closely guarded, when he has a competent minister, when he has put dread into the hearts of the common people, when his magnificence prevents any dissemination of his secrets, when he knows that it is necessary to reward persons of good action and loyal service and to punish transgressors and those whose service falls short, and when he is appreciative of his servants, then he is worthy of having his kingship last forever, safe from the vicissitudes of time.
“It is certain that all people want and try to acquire happiness and wealth, but getting them depends upon determination and steadfastness of resolve. Kings’ secrets are various: some cannot be shared with two persons, and others can be disclosed to a number of people. This secret is one that only two heads and four ears can be privy to.”
The king went to one side to speak privately. “What was the cause of the enmity between us and the owls?” he asked.
“It was something a crow said,” he said.
“What was that?” the king asked.
{78} The Birds That Wanted to Make the Owl Their Prince
A group of birds assembled and agreed to make the owl their prince. They were discussing this when a crow appeared from afar. One of the birds said, “Let’s wait until the crow comes and we can consult him, for he is one of us and until the elite of every species are unanimous there can be no agreement.” When the crow joined them the birds informed him of the situation and asked his opinion.
“If all the noble birds were killed and the peacock, the hawk, the eagle, and other leaders were lost, the birds should live without a king rather than being subjected to following the owl or losing their dignity by submitting to his will,” the crow said. “He is hideous in appearance and ill-omened. He possesses little intelligence and much obtuseness, is prone to anger, and lacks compassion. In addition to all these things he avoids the light of day and the warmth of the sun. Furthermore he has a sharp temper and is shameless and impossible to get along with. Forget about this bad idea and look to your best interests—like the rabbit that made himself a messenger of the moon and performed a great deed.”
“How was that?” the birds asked.
The Rabbit That Made Himself a Messenger of the Moon
In a country belonging to elephants there was such a drought that all the springs dried up. The elephants were driven by thirst to complain to their king. The king sent elephants out in all directions to look for water, and they complied with all urgency. Finally they located a spring called the Spring of the Moon that was flowing with abundant water. The king of the elephants and all his retinue went there to drink, but it was in the land of the rabbits, which were of course worried about being harmed by the elephants since they could be easily trampled, and many of them were trod underfoot. The next day they all went to their king and said, “The king knows how we are suffering from the elephants. Quickly tell us what to do, for hour by hour more are coming and they will tread the rest of us underfoot.”
The king said, “He among you who is the cleverest and most intelligent should come forth so that we may consult, for it is imprudent to decide on action before consultation.”
{79} One of the most intelligent of the rabbits, whose name was Piroz, stepped forward, and the king recognized him for his native intelligence and good opinion.
“Let the king send me as a messenger and appoint an honest person over me on whose knowledge I can speak and act,” he said.
“There can be no doubt of your honesty or trustworthiness,” said the king. “We believe what you say. You should go and do what you think best, for a king’s messenger is his tongue, and anyone who wants to know what is in a person’s mind should look to his messenger, for if virtue is seen in his actions it indicates the king’s discrimination in choosing him, and if he makes a mistake the tongues of revilers will be loosed against him. The wise have stressed the importance of sending the wisest and most eloquent person as a messenger. He should be able to speak as sharply as a sword to communicate the might of a king, but both cutting and mending are required since every communication that begins sharply should end softly and persuasively.”
Piroz set out when the moon was full, and when he came to where the elephants were he thought to himself, “To approach the elephants could mean my destruction even if they do not intend it, for if someone picks up a viper, even if it does not bite him, the smallest drop of its venom will kill him. Service to kings has the same risk, for even if a person is very cautious and proves his reliability and trustworthiness, his enemies may bad-mouth him and cast him in the guise of a traitor, and he can never escape retribution. I should go up on a hill and deliver my message from afar.” Thus he did. Calling out to the king of the elephants, he said, “I am a messenger from the moon, and a messenger is not to be blamed for what he says. Even if the message is harsh, it should be listened to attentively.”
“What is your message?” the king of the elephants asked.
“The moon says that anyone who is superior in strength and, falling prey to self-deception, wants to demean others will be dishonored and destroyed. You, who think yourselves superior to other animals, have fallen prey to a great deception. You have gone so far as to bring your troops to a spring sacred to me and muddied its water. I give you fair warning with this message. If you stay in your own place and cease what you are doing, well and {80} good. Otherwise I will come, pluck your eyes out, and put you to death in the most horrible fashion. If you have any doubt of this message, come now and see me in the spring.” The king of the elephants, amazed by this speech, went to the spring and saw the reflection of the moon in the water.
“Take a bit of water with your trunk,” said the messenger, “wash your face, and prostrate yourself.” When the elephant’s trunk touched the water it rippled, and the elephant thought the moon was moving.
“Did your king move because I touched the water with my trunk?” it asked Piroz, quivering with fear.
“Yes, it did,” said Piroz. “Be quick and prostrate yourself.”
The elephant obeyed and agreed not to go there anymore and not to let other elephants go either.
“I have told this tale so that you may know that in every one of your species you will find a clever individual who can lead you and ward off your enemies. This would be much better than demeaning yourselves by making the owl your king.” In this manner the crow used his deceit and treachery by saying, “There is no fault in kings worse than deceit and breach of promise, for kings are the shadows of the Creator, and without the sun of their justice the world would be dark. Their commands rule the blood, the families, the lives, and the possessions of their subjects. Anyone who is afflicted by a treacherous ruler will be like the partridge and the hare who consulted the fasting cat.”
“How was that?” the birds asked.
The Partridge and the Hare Take Their Case to the Cat
A partridge and I were neighbors and lived together with friendly relations. Once he went away and was gone for a long time. I thought he must have died. After a period of time a hare came and occupied his dwelling. I did not contest this. Some time passed and the partridge returned. When he found the hare in his house, he said, “Vacate the premises. This house is mine.”
“I am in possession,” the hare replied. “If you have a right to it, prove it.”
“It’s mine, and I have deeds,” the partridge said.
{81} “Then we need an impartial judge to listen to both our claims and render a fair decision,” said the hare.
“There is an ascetic cat who lives on the riverbank,” said the partridge. “He fasts by day and prays by night. He never sheds blood or harms any creature. He only breaks his fast with water and plants. We will not find a more impartial judge. Let us go to him to decide between us.”
They both agreed, and I went after them to watch and see how the fasting cat would decide the case. When the cat saw them it reared up on its hind legs and faced the prayer niche to the astonishment of the hare. They waited until the cat had finished praying and then greeted him humbly, asking him to render a judgment between them and end the dispute over the house in a just manner.
“State the case,” he said. When he had heard it he said, “Old age has come upon me, and my senses are defective. Such is the effect of the vicissitudes of time: it makes young men old and cripples old men. Come closer and speak louder.”
They went closer to him and repeated their cases. “I understand,” said the cat. “Before I render judgment I will give you some advice. If you listen well the fruits of it will benefit you greatly. If you don’t, it won’t be my fault. The fact is that you are both seeking your rights, and a person in the right must be considered victorious even if the judgment goes contrary to his desire. A false claimant must be considered vanquished even if the judgment goes in accordance with his wishes. The people of this world actually possess nothing, no chattel, no wealth, other than good deeds they can store up for the hereafter. An intelligent person should not strive to acquire transitory goods: he should focus his attention on seeking lasting good. Life and status in the world are as fleeting as clouds in summer. Wealth is no better than pebbles. If you spend it, it comes to an end, and if you hoard it, there is no difference between it and rocks or potsherds. Love of the world is like a viper from which you can never be safe and for which no sack can be made to contain it safely. You should consider others as precious as your own life, and you should hate for others what you hate for yourself.”
{82} With such advice he charmed them until they felt safe and went further forward. In one fell swoop the cat grabbed them both and killed them. Such was the result of the fasting cat’s asceticism and rectitude!
“The owl’s hypocrisy and treachery are no less, and what has been said is only a drop in the bucket. Beware lest you decide on the owl, for when the royal crown is defiled by the owl’s hideous mien and reprehensible conduct, the sun and moon will cast stones at that crown.”
The birds at once decided not to follow the owl, and the owl, left sad and dejected, said to the crow, “You have wreaked your vengeance on me. There is now an enmity between you and me that time will not diminish. I don’t know whether you were repaying me for something in the past or whether you just felt compelled to act in such a benign fashion! Know that if a tree is cut down, in the end it will sprout branches from its roots and grow back to what it was. A sword wound can be treated and will heal. When an arrow sticks in someone it can be pulled out. Wounds caused by words never heal, no shaft of words that pierces the heart can ever be pulled out, and the pain lasts forever. Every hurt has a remedy: for fire there is water, for poison there is antidote, for grief there is forbearance, and for love there is separation; but the fire of spite is infinite. All the oceans could wash over it and it still would not die. The roots of the enmity between our species go deep, and its branches rise high into the sky.” So saying, the owl departed dejectedly.
The crow regretted what he had said and thought to himself, “I have made a dreadful mistake. I have created a vindictive enemy for myself and others of my species. In no way was I worthier than the other birds to offer advice, and those who were my superiors kept silent. Although they knew the owl’s faults better than I did, they thought better of the consequences. Even worse, it was said face-to-face, and doubtless that makes the spite and desire for vengeance even stronger. Although a wise man may have all confidence in his own strength, he should not needlessly expose himself to hostility and contention. One should not drink poison just because one has all sorts of antidotes and medicine. Virtue lies in good action and not merely in good words because in the end the effect of a good {83} deed will be seen through experience to be much better. Again, he whose words outweigh his actions can clothe bad things in rhetoric and make them look good, but in the end they lead to blame and censure. I am that talker lacking action who does not look to the ends of things. Otherwise I should have eschewed such stupidity. Had I possessed wisdom I would have first consulted with others and only after much thought would I have spoken cautiously and suggestively, for to have meddled spontaneously in such a great affair was extremely unwise. Anyone who plunges into action without consulting wise advisors is reckoned among the nefarious and is labeled as ignorant, as the Prophet said, ‘The worst of my community is the loner who is satisfied with his own opinion, hypocritical in his actions, and contentious.’ I did not need to expose myself to such hostility and make such an enemy.”
Thus did intelligence speak to the crow as it whispered into his ear the proverb, “The chatterbox is like someone who gathers kindling at night.” Blaming himself, he flew away.
“This was the beginning of the enmity between us and the owls.”
“I understand,” said the king, “and therein lie many benefits. Tell me now what we should do to give us peace of mind and save our army.”
“With regard to leaving war aside, not wanting to give tribute, and avoiding exile, what has been said has been said, but I hope we may escape through a ruse, for many have achieved triumph through machinations that could not have been achieved through mere strength and overwhelming numbers—like those who got a sheep from the ascetic through deceit.”
“How was that?” asked the king.
Three Charlatans Fool an Ascetic
An ascetic bought a sheep to sacrifice. Along the way a group of charlatans saw him, set their sights on the sheep, and agreed to fool him so they could get it.
One of them went up to him and said, “Where are you taking this dog?”
Another said, “He must be going hunting to have a dog along.”
{84} The third joined in and said, “This man is dressed like an ascetic, but he doesn’t look like one, for ascetics don’t play with dogs, and they know the necessity of keeping their clothes free of defilement by dogs.”
And they kept saying such things until doubt arose in the ascetic’s mind and he thought to himself that maybe the man who sold him the sheep was a sorcerer who had enchanted him. In short, he left the sheep and went away, and the charlatans took the sheep.
“I have told this story for it to be clear that we must base our actions on deceit and trickery, for then victory will be assured. I think the king should pretend in public to be angry with me and order me to be beaten bloody and left under a tree. The king and the army will go off and wait for me to come. When I have worked my deceit I will come and inform the king.” The king so ordered and then took his army off to the place he had named.
That night the owls came back, but they did not find the crows. They also did not see the one who had put himself through so much and was waiting in ambush to work his treachery. Fearing that the owls would retreat and his efforts would be wasted, he writhed around and cried out feebly so the owls would hear him and inform their king. The king and several other owls came to him and asked, “Who are you? Where are the crows?”
He told them his name and his father’s name and said, “My condition indicates that I cannot be the repository of what you ask about the crows.”
“This is the minister of the king of the crows,” the king said, “and the sharer of his secrets and advisor. It must be learned why this has happened to him.”
“My lord suspected me,” the crow said.
“For what reason?” the king asked.
“When you made that surprise attack the king summoned us and told us to advise him what to do. I, who was one of his intimates, said, ‘We do not have the ability to oppose the owls, for they are much bolder in battle and stronger than we are. My opinion is that we should send a messenger and ask for a truce. If we receive a positive response, well and good; otherwise we should disperse {85} into cities, for battle favors them while truce is more convenient for us. We must be humble, for a strong and bold enemy can only be placated by humility. Do you not see that a stalk springs up in a strong wind only by bending gently in every direction?’ The crows got angry and accused me of taking the part of the owls. The king refused to take my advice and had me tortured, as you see. I could see that they were determined to make war.”
When the king of the owls heard what the crow said he asked one of his ministers what he thought should be done with the crow.
“There is no need to worry about him,” he said. “The face of the earth should be cleansed of his defilement as soon as possible, for therein lie our comfort and benefit to escape his plots. The crows will reckon his death a great loss. It has been said that anyone who lets an opportunity slip by will not get another, and regret avails naught. Anyone who sees an enemy weak and alone and does not rid himself of him will not get another opportunity. When an enemy escapes the brink of death he will gain strength and reinforce himself to find an opportunity to cause trouble. Beware lest the king be seduced by his words, for to rely on unproven friends—not to mention deceitful enemies—is imprudent. The Prophet has said, ‘Trust people slowly.’ ”
The king asked another minister, “What do you think?”
“I cannot advise killing him,” he said, “for a weak and helpless enemy is worthy of compassion, and the wise seek out such a one to prove to the people of the world their nobility through pardon and beneficence. One who seeks amnesty should be spared to prove his worthiness of it. Some things make people kind to enemies—like the thief who made the merchant’s wife tremble for her husband even though it was unintentional.”
“How was that?” the king asked.
The Old Merchant and His Young Wife
There was a merchant who was very rich but ugly and dull, and he had a wife with a face like an angel and tresses as black as a register of evil deeds. The merchant desired her greatly, but she abhorred him and shrank from him. Every day the man grew more smitten with her until one night a thief came into their house. The merchant was asleep, but the wife, frightened by the thief, clutched her {86} husband tightly. He woke up and said, “What is this compassion, and what have I done to deserve such favor?”
When he saw the thief he said, “My good fellow, take whatever you want. It’s yours because thanks to you my wife is being kind to me.”
The king asked the third minister what he thought.
“It would be better to leave him alive,” he said, “and give him a reward so that he may advise the king and save us. A wise man counts it as a victory when he has separated his enemies one from another and sowed dissension among them, for disagreement among opponents is a cause for ease of mind, like the disagreement between the thief and the demon over the holy man.”
“How was that?” asked the king.
The Holy Man, the Thief, and the Demon
A holy man got a milking cow from a disciple and was headed home. A thief saw him and lay in wait to steal the cow. A demon in human guise joined him. The thief asked him who he was.
“I am a demon,” he said, “and I am following that holy man so that when I get a chance I can kill him. Tell me about yourself.”
“I am a rogue,” he said. “I’m thinking I’ll steal the holy man’s cow.”
So they fell in together and followed the holy man to his cell. They got there at night. The holy man went into his cell, having tied up the cow with enough to eat.
The thief thought, “If the demon tries to kill him before I steal the cow he may wake up and cry out. People will come and it won’t be possible to steal the cow.”
The demon thought, “If the thief gets away with the cow and doors are opened, the holy man will wake up and it won’t be possible to kill him.” He then said to the thief, “Give me time to kill the man. Then take the cow.”
The thief answered, “It would be better for you to wait until I have gotten away with the cow. Then you can kill him.”
This disagreement between them continued until the thief cried out to the holy man, “This is a demon, and he wants to kill you.”
{87} And the demon yelled, “This thief is going to steal your cow.”
The holy man woke up, people came, and both of them ran away. Thus were the holy man’s life and property saved by a disagreement between enemies.
When the third minister finished telling this story the first minister, who had advised killing the crow, said, “I think that this crow has enchanted you with deceit, and you are going to throw caution to the winds. I stress, you should wake from your slumber of heedlessness, take the cotton out of your ears, and reflect on the consequences of this action, for the wise base their actions in dealing with enemies on a foundation of correctness and neither listen to the words of opponents nor are seduced by lies. The negligent pay no attention to this advice and are swayed by a little flattery, and they leave aside ancient feuds and hereditary enmity. Not bothering to investigate the truth, they believe enemies’ lies and are easily won over to a truce. Little do they know that making peace with an enemy is like waging war with a friend. They are like the carpenter who was deceived by his unfaithful wife.”
“How was that?” the king asked.
The Unfaithful Wife and Her Foolish Husband
There was a carpenter in the land of Serendip who had a wife like a fox in her promises and like a lioness in coquettishness. She had a face as bright as the thought of Islam in the heart of an infidel and tresses as black as a seed of doubt in the mind of a believer. In truth he was so smitten by her that he could not bear to have her out of his sight for even a moment. A neighbor’s gaze fell upon her, and for a time they enjoyed friendly relations. However, her in-laws found out about it and informed the carpenter. He wanted to be certain and then do something about it.
“I am going to the countryside,” he said to his wife. “The distance is not more than a league, but I’ll be gone for several days. Fix me some provisions.” She prepared them at once. The carpenter said goodbye to his wife, ordering her to keep the door closed as a precaution and to keep watch over their possessions lest anything happen during his absence.
{88} When he was gone the wife sent word to her lover and fixed a time for a rendezvous. The carpenter returned unexpectedly and found his wife’s lover there. He waited for a moment until they had gone into the bedroom, and then the poor fellow crept under the bed so he could see what was going on. The wife spied his foot and realized that catastrophe had struck.
“Ask me in a loud voice whether I love you more or my husband,” she said to her lover. When he asked her she said, “Why are you asking? There is no need for you to do so.” When he persisted, the wife said, “Such things may happen to women by mistake or out of lust, and they take friends for whose worth and lineage they care nothing and to whose bad character and blameworthy customs they attach no importance. When passion has cooled they are no more than other strangers. A husband, however, is like a father, brother, and friend, and unworthy is the woman who does not hold her husband a thousand times dearer than her own life and who would not give her life for his comfort and pleasure.”
When the carpenter heard this he felt compassion in his heart and said to himself, “The fault is mine for having doubted her. The poor thing longs for me and burns with passion for me. If a forlorn person makes a mistake one should not attach much importance to it. No one is immune to error. I have tormented myself uselessly. Now at least I will not interrupt their pleasure and dishonor her in front of this man.” And so he remained under the bed until night fell.
The other man left, and the carpenter came out and sat on the bed. The wife pretended to be asleep. He roused her gently and said, “Were it not for your modesty I would have hurt that man and taught a lesson to other home-wreckers, but since I know how much you love me and long for me, if you engage in such illicit behavior it is by mistake, not by intention. I should curry favor with that fellow and be mindful of your modesty. Be of good cheer and do not fear. Pardon me for having thought ill of you and having entertained all sorts of suspicions.” The woman was clement, and the anger on both sides subsided.
{89} “I have told this story lest you be deceived like the carpenter and have what you see before your own eyes charmed away by sleight of hand and chicanery. Any enemy who is too far away to attack will seek to get nearer and offer advice. He will worm his way into your confidence with false friendship and flattery, and when he has learned your secrets and finds an opportunity he will inflict any wound he can as swiftly as lightning and will fall upon you as certainly as destiny. I have experience of the crows and know how farsighted, perspicacious, and clever they are. As soon as I saw this accursed one and heard his words the depth of their intrigue was obvious.”
The king of the owls disregarded his suggestion, ordered the crow to be taken along with all honor, and issued an edict for everyone to hold him in high esteem.
The minister who wanted to have him killed said, “If you don’t kill the crow, at least live with him as an enemy, and do not think even for the blink of an eye that you are safe from his treachery and plots, for the only reason he has come among us is to make trouble.” The king rejected this advice and scoffed at the words of his peerless counselor.
The crow lived in the king’s service with all respect and omitted no observance of service and obedience. He was compassionate toward his friends and peers and showed respect for everyone according to his station. Every day he was held in higher regard by the king and his followers. The trust of the king and his subjects in his loyalty and advice also increased, and he was regarded as a confidant in everything and consulted on all affairs. One day during a private gathering he said, “The king of the crows injured me for no reason and had me tortured without guilt. How can I sleep and eat without extracting revenge on him? It has been said that retribution is a necessary concomitant of nature. I have thought much about it. I have realized that as long as I am in the form of a crow I cannot get my wish. I have heard from the learned that if a wronged man is at the mercy of an opponent and knows that he is going to die at the hands of an unjust ruler, when he is about to enter the fire and make a burnt offering of himself, any prayer he utters will be granted. If the king agrees, let him order me to be burned, and at the very moment the fire reaches me I will ask the Creator to turn {90} me into an owl. Perhaps by that means I will be able to get to that tyrant and soothe my burning heart.”
The owl who advised killing him happened to be present, and he said, “ ‘If you are not as twisted as a hyacinth and as blackhearted as a tulip, don’t be two-faced and ten-tongued like a rose and a lily.’ You, treacherous one, are as outwardly beautiful and inwardly hideous as a beautiful, aromatic potion laced with poison. If your filthy, vile body were burned time and again and oceans washed over it, your impure essence and blameworthy conduct would never change. The crookedness of your mind cannot be rectified by water or fire. It is part of your very being, however you may be and in whatever form you take. If you became a peacock or a phoenix your desire to be with crows would never change—just like the mouse that was offered the sun, the cloud, the wind, and the mountain in marriage and that rejected all of them to embrace a mouse of her own kind.”
“How was that?” asked the king.
The Mouse That Was Offered the Sun, the Cloud, the Wind, and the Mountain in Marriage
A holy man was sitting by a stream, and a kite dropped a baby mouse in front of him. The holy man had compassion on it, picked it up, wrapped it in leaves, and took it home. Then he thought that it might be trouble for his household and destructive, so he prayed to the Deity, and it was turned into a girl so beautiful that the radiance of her cheeks would drive away shadows from a well and the blackness of her tresses would put the spots on the moon to shame. Then he took her to one of his disciples and asked him to raise her. The disciple did as his master asked and raised the girl with kindness. When her days of childhood were over the holy man said, “Daughter, you are grown and need a husband. Choose whom you will of humans and fairies and I will give you to him.”
The girl said, “I want a strong and powerful husband who can acquire all sorts of strength and glory.”
“Would you want the sun?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
The holy man said to the sun, “This girl is beautiful and well-formed. I want her to be under your protection, for she has asked for a strong and powerful husband.”
{91} “I will show you someone stronger than myself,” said the sun. “He can cover my light and deprive the people of the world of the beauty of my countenance. It is the cloud.”
The holy man went at once to the cloud and repeated his offer.
“The wind is stronger than I am,” it said. “It can take me anywhere it wants. Next to him I am but a plaything.”
The holy man went to the wind and repeated his offer.
“Absolute strength belongs to the mountain,” he said. “He calls me light-headed and dusty-footed. He considers my constant movement a defect. He is constant and immobile, and my effect on him is no more than a whisper in a deaf ear.”
The holy man made his offer to the mountain.
“The mouse is more puissant than I am,” said the mountain. “He can gnaw into me and make his home in my heart, and I cannot even think of getting rid of him.”
“He is right,” the girl said. “He will be my husband.”
The holy man made his offer to the mouse.
“My mate must be of my own species,” said the mouse.
“Pray for me to turn into a mouse,” said the girl.
The holy man lifted his hands in prayer and asked the Deity, and his prayer was granted. He gave them to each other and departed.
“You are just like this, and your actions, deceitful traitor, are of the same sort.”
The king of the owls, as it always is with those slated for misfortune, did not listen to this advice and refused to consider the consequences. Every day the crow would tell amusing stories and amazing tales and so made his way into the owls’ confidence that he learned their most closely held secrets.
All of a sudden, he absconded and went back to the crows. When the king of the crows saw him he asked what had transpired.
“ ‘Rejoice, for fate is obedient and time submits to your command,’ ” he said. “Thanks to Your Majesty’s good fortune I have achieved what had to be done.”
“We will follow your advice,” said the king. “Tell us what to do that we may give the order.”
{92} “All the owls are on a mountain, and they spend their days in a cave. There is much firewood in the vicinity. Let the king of crows have some of it carried to the mouth of the cave. In the camp of some shepherds who graze their flocks nearby there is fire. I will bring some embers from that fire and put them under the firewood. When the king gives the order the crows will fan them with their wings. Once the fire has caught, any of the owls that come out will be burned, and any who remain in the cave will die from the smoke.”
Off they went to execute this plan, and all the owls were burned. The crows achieved a major victory and returned triumphant. The king and his army were effusive in thanking the crow for his efforts. He praised the king and said, “Everything that happened was due to the king’s good fortune. I saw signs of this victory on the day they launched their attack.”
One day during consultation the king asked him, “How were you able to abide being with them for so long? Nobles are seldom able to tolerate being with the base.”
“It is so,” he replied, “but a wise man does not avoid difficulties when it comes to his lord’s pleasure and will eagerly embrace any trial that comes his way. A man of determination does not give way to distress at every failure and difficulty. When one is involved in a great labor and important mission and one’s life, tribe, kingdom, and territory are at stake, if it is necessary to demean oneself and suffer humiliation to exterminate the enemy, when it is certain that the end result will be victory and triumph, a wise man will attach little importance to what he has to suffer. The author of the law has said that the touchstone of an affair is its end results.”
“Tell us something of the owls’ perspicacity and knowledge,” said the king.
“I saw no clever person among them,” he said, “except for the one who advised killing me, but they belittled his opinion and refused to accept his advice. Little did they suspect that I, who had advanced to a high position among them and was thought to have some intelligence, would betray them. It never occurred to them. Neither did they listen to good advice nor did they keep their secrets from me. It is said that kings should exercise the utmost of {93} precaution in keeping their secrets, most especially from desperate friends and fearful enemies.”
“It appears to me that the cause for the owls’ destruction was their hubris and the bad opinions of their ministers,” said the king.
“It is as the king says,” he replied. “Few are they who achieve victory without falling prey to hubris. Few are they who relish the company of women without being disgraced. Few are they who overeat without falling ill. Few are they who trust ministers of bad opinion and remain safe. It has been said that the arrogant should not lust for praise, the wicked should not look for many friends, the ill-bred should not think of nobility, the miserly should not expect to be charitable, the greedy should not presume to be innocent, and a negligent tyrant who has ministers with bad opinions should not imagine that his kingship will last or his subjects will be righteous.”
“You have undergone a difficult trial and humbled yourself before your enemies against your will,” said the king.
“Anyone who suffers pain with expectations of benefit must first rid himself of misplaced zeal and embarrassment, for only he can be called manly who, when he is determined to carry out a task, is first and foremost willing to risk his life and then steps into the field. The king will have heard of the snake that willingly served a frog when he saw that it was in his best interests to do so.”
“How was that?” asked the king.
The Snake That Served the Frog
It is related that a snake had grown so old and weak that he was unable to hunt. He wondered what to do since life without sustenance was impossible and without strength he could not hunt. He said to himself, “Youth cannot be regained, and old age does not last. To expect fidelity from time and to hope for kindness from fate are desires that would never occur to a wise person, for to look for dryness in water or coldness in fire is a fancy that can only result in disappointment. The past cannot be brought back, but it is important to plan for the future. From youth one does acquire experience from which one’s livelihood can be gained for the rest of one’s life. I must put fancies out of my head and resign myself to being harmless. I must not be bothered by censure that comes my way, for the world contains both good things and bad.”
{94} So saying, he went to the edge of a spring where there were many frogs, and they had a successful king whose word was obeyed. Making himself look dejected, he cast himself down. A frog asked him why he was so sad.
“Who is worthier of dismay than I?” he said. “My means of livelihood used to be catching frogs, but today I am so afflicted that even if I do catch one I cannot hold on to it.”
The frog went to inform his king of this good news. The king asked the snake, “How did this affliction come upon you?”
“I went after a frog,” he said, “but it got away and hid itself in a holy man’s house. I went in after it. The house was dark and the holy man’s son was there. I bit his toe thinking it was the frog. He died on the spot. In a rage over his son the holy man chased me and cursed me, saying, ‘I ask my deity to bring you low and make you carry frogs. You will not be able to eat a frog unless the king of the frogs gives you one in alms.’ I have therefore come here to serve you and submit to my destiny.”
This pleased the king of the frogs and, imagining it a great honor for himself, he got on the snake and swelled with pride.
After a while the snake said, “Long live the king. I must have sustenance to remain alive and carry out this service.”
“Yes,” said the king of the frogs, “it is necessary.” And the king assigned the snake an emolument of two frogs a day. He ate them and passed his days. Since he recognized the benefit to himself in that humiliation, he did not consider it blameworthy.
“If I forbore it was because the destruction of an enemy and the good of the tribe were involved. An enemy can be overcome sooner with kindness than with conflict and arrogance. Thus it is that it has been said that wisdom is better than manliness, for when one person, no matter how strong and courageous he is, goes into battle he can take down ten, or at most twenty, persons, but one man with great wisdom can bring down a kingdom and confound a massive army. Fire, with all its power, can burn only as much of a tree as is above ground. Water, with all its gentleness, can rip out the largest tree by the roots so that it can never grow again. The Prophet said, ‘Gentleness was never in anything without adorning {95} it, and harshness was never in anything without marring it.’ There are four things a little of which must be reckoned as much: fire, illness, enmity, and debt. All of this was accomplished thanks to the king’s foresight and fortune.
“It has been said that if two persons seek something and are both up to it, he will succeed who is superior in manliness. If they are equal in that, he who is the more determined will succeed. If they are equal in that, he who has more friends and helpers will win. If they are equal in that too, he who is the luckier will come out on top.
“The wise say that anyone who opposes a king who is assured of victory and safe from defeat invites his own death, especially when that king is aware of the subtleties and obscurities of affairs, does not confuse gentleness and harshness, wrath and contentment, or haste and hesitation, and can discriminate between today and tomorrow, can plan for the future from initial actions, and knows how to make up for losses. Never will he fail to exercise clemency and appeasement or ignore the code of might and wise policy. Today no king rules a country and safeguards his roads without first exercising precaution and determination. One cannot train one’s servants or encourage the arts and crafts without being smiled upon by fortune and being willing to sacrifice oneself for one’s subjects.”
“The success of this mission and the overthrow of our enemies are due to your wise counsel,” said the king. “In everything in which I relied upon your advice the results have been obvious. No one who entrusts the reins to a minister of good counsel will ever suffer misfortune. What is most astonishing is that for a long time you lived among enemies and never said a word about being suspected.”
“I took the king’s good character as my example,” he said, “and copied his finest traits, knowing that the success of my mission lay in following his good example, for the king combines nobility with good planning and splendor and magnificence with awesomeness and courage.”
“From among my servants at court I have found only you who combine eloquent speech with good action,” said the king, “and were able to achieve such a great thing by exercising determination and steadfastness so that God granted us this victory. I have not been able to enjoy food or drink or to rest or sleep for worry. No {96} one who is afflicted with an overpowering enemy can rest until he is delivered. The wise have said, ‘Until a sick person regains his health he cannot enjoy food, and until a porter lays down his heavy burden he cannot rest.’ Until people are secure from an overwhelming enemy, be it a thousand years, the burning in their breasts cannot be quenched. Now you must tell how you found the conduct of the owls’ king in battle and banquet.”
“I found everything he did to be based on inappropriate conceit, arrogance, pride, and hubris, and with all this his weakness was apparent. He lacked discernment and had no acumen. All of his followers were of the same ilk except for the one who advised killing me.”
“What traits in him seemed good to you and more clearly indicated his intelligence?” the king asked.
“First, his advice to kill me. Second, he withheld no advice from his master even when he knew that it would not be well received and would result in anger and distaste. Even then he remained obedient and never engaged in severity or disrespect. He spoke calmly and gently and most worthily maintained respect for his lord. If he saw an error in his master’s actions he would couch his warning in parables to avoid provoking his anger, and the parables contained palatable messages. Since he related the flaws of others in his stories and confessed to his own mistakes in them there was no occasion for him to be taken to task. One day I heard him say to the king, ‘A ruler enjoys high and lofty station that cannot be reached by striving or wishing. It is attained only by chance and good luck. When one has it one should cherish it and make every effort to keep it and protect it. It would therefore be appropriate for there to be little negligence or underestimation of affairs, for the permanence of a kingdom and good fortune are not possible without great determination, perfect justice, good counsel, and sharp swords.’ However, no attention was paid to his words, and his advice was not taken. Neither did they benefit from his intelligence and perspicacity nor did he escape calamity through his own wisdom and sagacity. Rightly have they said that he who is disobeyed sees nothing but loss. The Commander of the Faithful Ali has said, ‘He who is not obeyed has no opinion.’ ”
{97} This has been the story of being wary of treacherous plots and the deceits of enemies even if it involves great humiliation and debasement, for one lone crow, with all his weakness, was able to defeat a powerful opponent and numerous enemies because of their lack of judgment and little understanding. Otherwise he could never have accomplished his goal and could not even have dreamt of that victory. A wise man should learn from this example and realize that one should never trust an enemy or underestimate an opponent no matter how weak he may appear. The most beneficial store one can have and the most profitable trade one can engage in is the winning of good friends and worthy helpers. If one has those two one can keep one’s friends devoted and thankful and rid oneself of treacherous enemies and deceitful opponents and enjoy happiness in this world and the next.