breach, and to see if I can find there anything that
may lead to perdition. Covetousness doth not
induce me to throw myself into destruction." He
then approached it, and, going round about ex-
amining it warily, beheld it ; and lo ! there was a
deep pit, which the owner of the vineyard had dug
to catch in it the wild beasts that despoiled the
vines ; and he observed over it a slight covering.
So he drew back from it, and said, " Praise be to
God that I regarded it with caution ! I hope that
my enemy, the wolf, who hath made my life miser-
able, may fall into it, so that I alone may enjoy
absolute power over the vineyard, and live in it
securely." Then, shaking his head, and uttering a
loud laugh, he merrily sang these verses

" Would that I beheld at the present moment in this

well a wolf,
Who hath long afflicted my heart, and made me drink

bitterness perforce !
Would that my life might be spared, and that the wolf

might meet his death!
Then the vineyard would be free from his presence,

and I should find in it my spoil."



166 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

Having finished his song, he hurried away until
he came to the wolf, when he said to him, " Verily
God hath smoothed for thee the way to the vine-
yard without fatigue. This hath happened through
thy good fortune. Mayest thou enjoy, therefore,
that to which God hath granted thee access, in
smoothing thy way to that plunder and that abun-
dant sustenance without any difficulty ! " So the
wolf said to the fox, "What is the proof of that
which thou hast declared?" The fox answered,
" I went to the vineyard, and found that its owner
had died ; and I entered the garden, and beheld the
fruits shining upon the trees."

So the wolf doubted not the words of the fox,
and in his eagerness he arose and went to the breach.
His cupidity had deceived him with vain hopes,
and the fox stopped and fell down behind him as
one dead, applying this verse as a proverb suited to
the case

"Dost thou covet an interview with Leyla? It is covetous-
ness that causeth the loss of men's heads."

When the wolf came to the breach, the fox said
to him, " Enter the vineyard ; for thou art spared
the trouble of breaking down the wall of the garden,
and it remaineth for God to complete the benefit."
So the wolf walked forward, desiring to enter the
vineyard, and when he came to the middle of the
covering of the hole, he fell into it ; whereupon the
fox was violently excited by happiness and joy, his



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 167

anxiety aiid grief ceased, and in merry tones he
sang these verses

" Fortune hath compassionated my case, and felt pity for

the length of my torment,
And granted me what I desired, and removed that which

I dreaded.
I will, therefore, forgive its offences committed in former

times ;
Even the injustice it hath shown in the turning of my

hair grey.

There is no escape for the wolf from utter annihilation ;
And the vineyard is for me alone, and I have no stupid

partner."

He then looked into the pit, and beheld the wolf
weeping in his repentance and sorrow for himself,
and the fox wept with him. So the wolf raised his
head towards him, and said, " Is it from thy com-
passion for me that thou hast wept, Abu-1-
Hoseyn 1 " " No," answered the fox, " by him who
cast thee into this pit ; but I weep for the length of
thy past life, and in my regret at thy not having
fallen into this pit before the present day. Hadst
thou fallen into it before I met with thee, I had
experienced refreshment and ease. But thou hast
been spared to the expiration of thy decreed term
and known period." The wolf, however, said to
him, " Go, evildoer, to my mother, and acquaint
her with that which hath happened to me ; perhaps
she will contrive some means for my deliverance."
But the fox replied, " The excess of thy covetous-
ness and eager desire has entrapped thee into de-



168 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

struction, since thou hast fallen into a pit from
which thou wilt never be saved. Knowest thou
not, ignorant wolf, that the author of the proverb
saith, 'He who thinks not of results will not be
secure from perils ? '" "0 Abu-1-Hoseyn !" rejoined
the wolf, " thou wast wont to manifest an affection
for me, and to desire my friendship, and fear the
greatness of my power. Be not, then, rancorous
towards me for that which I have done unto thee ;
for he who hath one in his power, and yet forgiveth,
will receive a recompense from God, and the poet
hath said

" ' Sow good, even ou au unworthy soil ; for it will not be

fruitless wherever it is sown.

Verily, good, though it remained long buried, none will
reap but him who sowed it.' "

" most ignorant of the beasts of prey ! " said the
fox, " and most stupid of the wild beasts of the
regions of the earth, hast thou forgotten thy haughti-
ness, and insolence, and pride, and thy disregarding
the rights of companionship, and thy refusing to be
advised by the saying of the poet 1

" ' Tyrannise not, if thou hast the power to do so ; for the

tyrannical is in danger of revenge,

Thine eye will sleep while the oppressed, wakeful, will
call down curses on thee, and God's eye sleepeth not.'"

" Abu-1-Hoseyn ! " exclaimed the wolf, " be not
angry with me for my former offences, for forgive-
ness is required of the generous, and kind conduct



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 169

is among the best means of enriching one's- self. How
excellent is the saying of the poet

" ' Haste to do good when thou art able ; for at every season
thou hast not the power.' "

He continued to abase himself to the fox, and
said to him, " Perhaps thou canst find some means
of delivering me from destruction." But the fox
replied, " artful, guileful, treacherous wolf ! hope
not for deliverance ; for this is the recompense of
thy base conduct, and a just retaliation." Then,
shaking his jaws with laughing, he recited these
two verses

" No longer attempt to beguile me ; for thou wilt not attain

thy object.

What thou seekest from me is impossible. Thou hast
sown, and reap, then, vexation."

" gentle one among the beasts of prey ! " re-
sumed the wolf, " thou art in my estimation more
faithful than to leave me in this pit." He then
shed tears, and repeated this couplet

" thou whose favours to me have been many, and whose

gifts have been more than can be numbered !
No misfortune hath ever yet befallen me but I have
found thee ready to aid me in it."

The fox replied, " stupid enemy, how art thou
reduced to humility, submissiveness, abjectness, and
obsequiousness, after thy disdain, pride, tyranny,
and haughtiness! I kept company with thee
through fear of thine oppression, and nattered thee



170 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

without a hope of conciliating thy kindness; but
now terror hath affected thee, and punishment
hath overtaken thee." And he recited these two
verses

" thoii who seekest to beguile ! thou hast fallen in thy

base intention.

Taste, then, the pain of shameful calamity, and be with
other wolves cut off."

The wolf still entreated him, saying, " gentle
one ! speak not with the tongue of enmity, nor look
with its eye ; but fulfil the covenant of fellowship
with me before the time for discovering a remedy
shall have passed. Arise and procure for me a
rope, and tie one end of it to a tree, and let down
to me its other end, that I may lay hold of it.
Perhaps I may so escape from my present predica-
ment, and I will give thee all the treasures that I
possess." The fox, however, replied, " Thou hast
prolonged a conversation that will not procure thy
liberation. Hope not, therefore, for thy escape
through my means; but reflect upon thy former
wicked conduct, and the perfidy and artifice which
thou thoughtest to employ against me, and how
near thou art to being stoned. Know that thy soul
is about to quit the world, and to perish and depart
from it : then wilt thou be reduced to destruction,
and an evil abode is it to which thou goest ! "
' Abu-1-Hoseyn ! " rejoined the wolf, " be ready in
returning to friendship, and be not so rancorous.



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 171

Know that he who delivereth a soul from destruc-
tion hath saved it alive, and he who saveth a soul
alive is as if he had saved the lives of all mankind.
Follow not a course of evil, for the wise abhor it ;
and there is no evil more manifest than my being
in this pit, drinking the suffocating pains of death,
and looking upon destruction, when thou art able
to deliver me from the misery into which I have
fallen." But the fox exclaimed, " thou barbarous,
hard-hearted wretch ! I compare thee, with respect
to the fairness of thy professions and the baseness
of thine intention, to the falcon with the partridge."
" And what," asked the wolf, " is the story of the
falcon and the partridge 1 "

The fox answered, "I entered a vineyard one day
to eat of its grapes, and while I was there, I beheld
a falcon pounce upon a partridge ; but when he had
captured him, the partridge escaped from him and
entered his nest, and concealed himself in it;
whereupon the falcon followed him, calling out to
him, ' idiot ! I saw thee in the desert hungry, and,
feeling compassion for thee, I gathered for thee
some grain, and took hold of thee that thou
mightest eat ; but thou fleddest from me, and I see
no reason for thy flight unless it be to mortify.
Show thyself, then, and take the grain that I have
brought thee and eat it, and may it be light arid
wholesome to thee.' So when the partridge heard
these words of the falcon, he believed him and



172 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

came forth to him ; and the falcon stuck his talons
into him, and got possession of him. The partridge
therefore said to him, ' Is this that of which thou
saidst that thou hadst brought for me from the
desert, and of which thou saidst to me, " Eat it, and
may it be light and wholesome to theel" Thou
hast lied unto me ; and may God make that which
thou eatest of my flesh to be a mortal poison in thy
stomach ! ' And when he had eaten it, his feathers
fell off, and his strength failed, and he forthwith
died."

The fox then continued, " Know, wolf, that he
who diggeth a pit for his brother soon falleth into
it himself ; and thou behavedst with perfidy to me
first." " Cease," replied the wolf, " from addressing
me with this discourse, and propounding fables, and
mention not unto me my former base actions. It is
enough for me to be in this miserable state, since I
have fallen into a calamity for which the enemy
would pity me, much more the true friend. Con-
sider some stratagem by means of which I may save
myself, and so assist me. If the doing this occasion
thee trouble, thou knowest that the true friend
endureth for his own true friend the severest labour,
and will suffer destruction in obtaining his deliver-
ance ; and it hath been said, ' An affectionate friend
is even better than a brother.' If thou procure
means for my escape, I will collect for thee such
things as shall be a store for thee against the time



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 173

of want, and then I will teach thee extraordinary
stratagems by which thou shalt make the plenteous
vineyards accessible, and shalt strip the fruitful
trees : so be happy and cheerful." But the fox
said, laughing as he spoke,' " How excellent is that
which the learned have said of him who is exces-
sively ignorant like thee ! " " And what have the
learned said ] " asked the wolf. The fox answered,
" The learned have observed that the rude in body
and in disposition is far from intelligence, and nigh
unto ignorance ; for thine assertion, perfidious
idiot ! that the true friend undergoeth trouble for
the deliverance of his own true friend is just as
thou hast said ; but acquaint me, with thine ignor-
ance and thy paucity of sense, how I should bear
sincere friendship towards thee with thy treachery.
Hast thou considered me a true friend unto thee
when I am an enemy who rejoiceth in thy misfor-
tune] These words are more severe than the
piercing of arrows, if thou understand. And as to
thy saying that thou wilt give me such things as
will be a store for me against the time of want, and
will teach me stratagems by which I shall obtain
access to the plenteous vineyards and strip the
fruitful trees how is it, guileful traitor ! that
thou knowest not a stratagem by means of which to
save thyself from destruction ? How far, then, art
thou from profiting thyself, and how far am I from
receiving thine advice? If thou know of stratagems,



174 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

employ them to save thyself from this predicament
from which I pray God to make thine escape far
distant. See, then, idiot ! if thou know any
stratagem, and save thyself by its means from
slaughter, before thou lavish instruction upon
another. But thou art like a man whom a disease
attacked, and to whom there came a man suffering
from the same disease to cure him, saying to him,
' Shall I cure thee of thy disease ] ' The first man,
therefore, said to the other, 'Why hast thou not
begun by curing thyself 1 ' So he left him and went
his way. And thou, wolf, art in the same case.
Remain, then, in thy place, and endure that which
hath befallen thee."

Now when the wolf heard these words of the fox,
he knew that he had no kindly feeling for him ; so
he wept for himself, and said, " I have been careless
of myself; but if God deliver me from this affliction,
I will assuredly repent of my overbearing conduct
unto him that is weaker than I ; and I will cer-
tainly wear wool, and ascend the mountains, com-
memorating the praises of God (whose name be
exalted !) and fearing His punishment ; and I will
separate myself from all the other wild beasts, and
verily I will feed the warriors in defence of the re-
ligion and the poor." Then he wept and lamented ;
and thereupon the heart of the fox was moved with
tenderness for him. On hearing his humble expres-
sions, and the words which indicated his repenting



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 175

of arrogance and pride, he was affected with com-
passion for him, and, leaping with joy, placed him-
self at the brink of the pit, and sat upon his hind-
legs and hung down his tail into the cavity. Upon
this the wolf arose, and stretched forth his paw
towards the fox's tail, and pulled him down to him;
so the fox was with him in the pit. The wolf then
said to him, " fox of little compassion ! wherefore
didst thou rejoice in my misfortune ? Now thou hast
become my companion, and in my power. Thou
hast fallen into the pit with me, and punishment
hath quickly overtaken thee. The sages have said,
' If any one of you reproach his brother for deriving
his nourishment from miserable means, he shall
experience the same necessity/ and how excellent
is the saying of the poet

" ' When fortune throweth itself heavily upon some, and

encampeth by the side of others,

Say to those who rejoice over us, " Awake : the re-
joicers over us shall suffer as we have done." '

"I must now," he continued, " hasten thyslaughter,
before thou beholdest mine." So the fox said within
himself, " I have fallen into the snare with this
tyrant, and my present case requireth the employ-
ment of artifice and frauds. It hath been said that
the woman maketh her ornaments for the day of
festivity ; and, in a proverb, ' I have not reserved
thee, my tear, but for the time of my difficulty ! '
and if I employ not some stratagem in the affair of



176 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

this tyrannical wild beast, I perish inevitably. How
good is the saying of the poet

"'Support thyself by guile; for thou livest in an age
whose sons are like the lions of the forest ;

And brandish around the spear of artifice, that the
mill of subsistence may revolve ;

And pluck the fruits ; or if they be beyond thy reach,
then content thyself with herbage.' "

He then said to the wolf, "Hasten not to kill
me, lest thou repent, courageous wild beast,
endowed with might and excessive fortitude ! If
thou delay, and consider what I am about to tell
thee, thou wilt know the desire that I formed ; and
if thou hasten to kill me, there will be no profit to
thee in thy doing so, but we shall die here together."
So the wolf said, " thou wily deceiver ! how is it
that thou hopest to effect my safety and thine own,
that thou askest me to give thee a delay ? Acquaint
me with the desire that thou formedst." The fox
replied, "As to the desire that I formed, it was
such as requireth thee to recompense me for it well,
since, when I heard thy promises, and thy confession
of thy past conduct, and thy regret at not having
before repented and done good ; and when I heard
thy vows to abstain from injurious conduct to thy
companions and others, and to relinquish the eating
of the grapes and all other fruits, and to impose
upon thyself the obligation of humility, and to clip
thy claws and break thy dog-teeth, and to wear



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 177

wool and offer sacrifice to God (whose name be
exalted !) if He delivered thee from thy present
state, I was affected with compassion for thee, though
I was before longing for thy destruction. So when
I heard thy profession of repentance, and what thou
vowedst to do if God delivered thee, I felt con-
strained to save thee from thy present predicament.
I therefore hung down my tail that thou mightest
catch hold of it and make thine escape. But thou
wouldst not relinquish thy habit of severity and
violence, nor desire escape and safety for thyself by
gentleness. On the contrary, thou didst pull me
in such a way that I thought my soul had departed,
so I became a companion with thee of the abode of
destruction and death ; and nothing will effect the
escape of myself and thee but one plan. If thou
approve of this plan that I have to propose, we shall
both save ourselves ; and after that, it will be
incumbent on thee to fulfil that which thou hast
vowed to do, and I will be thy companion." So
the wolf said, " And what is thy proposal that I am
to accept 1 " The fox answered, " That thou raise
thyself upright ; then I will place myself upon thy
head, that I may approach the surface of the earth,
and when I am upon its surface I will go forth and
bring thee something of which to take hold, and
after that thou wilt deliver thyself." But the wolf
replied, " I put no confidence in thy words ; for the
sages have said, ' He who confideth when he should



178 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

hate is iu error ' ; and it hath been said, ' He who
confideth in the faithless is deceived, and he who
maketh trial of the trier will repent.' How excel-
lent also is the saying of the poet

"'Let not your opinion be otherwise than evil; for ill
opinion is among the strongest of intellectual qualities.
Nothing casteth a man into a place of danger like the
practice of good, and a fair opinion ! '

" And the saying of another

" ' Always hold an evil opinion, and so be safe.

Whoso liveth vigilantly, his calamities will be few.
Meet the enemy with a smiling and an open face ; but
raise for him an army in the heart to combat him.'

" And that of another

" ' The most bitter of thine enemies is the nearest whom
thou trustest in : beware then of men, and associate
with them wilily.

Thy favourable opinion of fortune is a weakness : think
evil of it, therefore, and regard it with apprehension ! ' "

" Verily," rejoined the fox, " an evil opinion is
not commendable in every case ; but a fair opinion
is among the characteristics of excellence, and its
result is escape from terrors. It is befitting, wolf,
that thou employ some stratagem for thine escape
from the present predicament ; and it will be better
for us both to escape than to die. Relinquish,
therefore, thine evil opinion and thy malevolence ;
for if thou think favourably of me, I shall not fail
to do one of two things ; either I shall bring thee
something of which to lay hold, and thou wilt escape
from thy present situation, or I shall act perfidiously



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 179

towards thee, and save myself and leave thee ; but
this is a thing that cannot be, for I am not secured
from meeting with some such affliction as that which
thou hast met with, and that would be the punish-
ment of perfidy. It hath been said in a proverb,
'Fidelity is good, and perfidy is base.' It is fit,
then, that thou trust in me, for I have not been
ignorant of misfortunes. Delay not, therefore, to
contrive our escape, for the affair is too strait for
thee to prolong thy discourse upon it."

The wolf then said, " Verily, notwithstanding my
little confidence in thy fidelity, I knew what was in
thy heart, that thou desiredst my deliverance when
thou wast convinced of my repentance ; and I said
within myself, ' If he be veracious in that which he
asserteth, he hath made amends for his wicked-
ness; and if he be false, he will be recompensed
by his Lord.' So now I accept thy proposal to
me, and if thou act perfidiously towards me, thy
perfidy will be the means of thy destruction." Then
the wolf raised himself upright in the pit, and took
the fox upon his shoulders, so that his head reached
the surface of the ground. The fox thereupon
sprang from the wolf's shoulders, and found himself
upon the face of the earth, when he fell down
senseless. The wolf now said to him, " my friend !
forget not my case, nor delay my deliverance."

The fox, however, uttered a loud laugh, and
replied, " thou deceived ! it was nothing but my



180 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

jesting with thee and deriding thee that entrapped
me into thy power ; for when I heard thy profession
of repentance, joy excited me, and I was moved
with delight, and danced, and my tail hung down
into the pit; so thou didst pull me, and I fell
by thee. Then God (whose name be exalted!)
delivered me from thy hand. Wherefore, then,
should I not aid in thy destruction when thou art
of the associates of the devil 1 Know that I dreamt
yesterday that I was dancing at thy wedding, and I
related the dream to an interpreter, who said to me,
' Thou wilt fall into a frightful danger, and escape
from it.' So I knew that my falling into thy
power and my escape was the interpretation of my
dream. Thou, too, knowest, deceived idiot ! that
I am thine enemy. How, then, dost thou hope,
with thy little sense and thine ignorance, that I will
deliver thee, when thou hast heard what rude
language I used? And how shall I endeavour to
deliver thee, when the learned have said that by
the death of the sinner are produced ease to man-
kind and purgation of the earth ? Did I not fear
that I should suffer, by fidelity to thee, such
affliction as would be greater than that which may
result from perfidy, I would consider upon means
for thy deliverance." So when the wolf heard the
words of the fox, he bit his paw in repentance. He
then spoke softly to him, but obtained nothing
thereby. With a low voice he said to him, " Verily,



THE FOX AND THE WOLF. 181

you tribe of foxes are the sweetest of people in
tongue, and the most pleasant in jesting, and this
is jesting in thee ; but every time is not convenient
for sport and joking." " idiot ! " replied the fox,
"jesting hath a limit which its employer trans-
gresseth not. Think not that God will give thee
possession of me after He hath delivered me from
thy power." The wolf then said to him, " Thou art
one in whom it is proper to desire my liberation,
on account of the former brotherhood and friendship
that subsisted between us ; and if thou deliver me,
I will certainly recompense thee well." But the
fox replied, " The sages have said, ' Take not as thy
brother the ignorant and wicked, for he will
disgrace thee, and not honour thee ; and take not as
thy brother the liar, for if good proceed from thee
he will hide it, and if evil proceed from thee he will
publish it ! ' And the sages have said, ' For every-
thing there is a stratagem, excepting death; and
everything may be rectified excepting the corruption
of the very essence ; and everything may be repelled
excepting destiny.' And as to the recompense
which thou assertest that I deserve of thee, I
compare thee, in thy recompensing, to the serpent
fleeing from the Hdwee, when a man saw her in a
state of terror, and said to her, ' What is the matter
with thee, serpent 1 ?' She answered, 'I have
fled from the Hawee, for he seeketh me ; and if
thou deliver me from him, and conceal me with



182 ORIENTAL FOLKLORE TALES.

thee, I will recompense thee well, and do thee every
kindness.' So the man took her, to obtain the
reward, and eager for the recompense, and put her
into his pocket ; and when the Ha wee had passed