Page:Gems of Arabic Literature.djvu/18

 the cock. The hawk answered, "It is that I see men treat you kindly, and provide you liberally with food and drink, and yet you flee from them, and avoid their approach. Now when they take one of us, they torture him, stitch up his eyes, and withhold from him food and drink. They then send him off, and he goes to a place where he is beyond their reach. When they call him back, he returns promptly, and hunts game and birds for them". Now, when the cock heard the words of the hawk he laughed loudly; whereupon the hawk exclaimed, "Why laughest thou, O cock?", "I am amazed at thy dense ignorance and self-conceit", replied the cock. "For truly, O hawk, hadst thou seen daily with thine own eyes a number of thy species stripped of their skins, their necks rung, (their bodies) roasted at the fire, or cooked in pots, thou wouldst have escaped from men in all haste, and not endured their society. Hadst thou been able thou wouldst have flown to the sky, and wouldst have known that there is no advantage in being near them; for safety lies in living far from them". The hawk realized the truth of his statement, and refrained from censuring him.

There is a story told about a sand-grouse that had a dispute with a crow about a pit in which water used to Collect, each alleging that it belonged to him. So they went to law together before the Cadi of Birds, who asked for evidence, but neither of them had any to adduce. The Cadi then awarded the pit to the sand-grouse. When the sand- grouse saw that the Cadi had decided the case in his favour without evidence-when, in fact, the pit belonged to the crow-he said to the Cadi, "O Cadi! what has induced thee to give judgment in my favour, though I have no evidence; and what has made thee give preference to my claim over that