Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/309

275 know that wicked viziers deal not honestly by their kings neither counsel them with sincere intent, wherefore be thou ware of them in this matter.’

The King gave ear to her speech and commanded to put his son to death; but the third vizier said [to his brother viziers,] ‘I will warrant you from the King’s mischief this day;’ and going in to him, kissed the earth before him and said, ‘O King, I am thy loyal counsellor and affectionately solicitous for thee and thine estate, and indeed, I give thee a true counsel; it is that thou hasten not to slay thy son, the solace of thine eyes and the fruit of thine entrails. Belike his offence is but a slight matter, which this damsel hath made great to thee; and indeed I have heard tell that the people of two villages once destroyed each other, because of a drop of honey.’ ‘How was that?’ asked the King, and the Vizier answered, saying, ‘Know, O King, that THE DROP OF HONEY.

A certain man used to hunt the wild beasts in the desert, and one day he came upon a grotto in the mountains, where he found a hollow full of bees’ honey. So he took somewhat thereof in a water-skin he had with him and throwing it over his shoulder, carried it to the city, followed by a hunting dog which was dear to him. He stopped at the shop of an oilman and offered him the honey for sale and he bought it. Then he emptied it out of the skin that he might see it, and in the act a drop fell to the ground, whereupon the flies flocked to it and a bird swooped down upon the flies. Now the oilman had a cat, which pounced upon the bird, and the huntsman’s dog, seeing the cat, sprang upon it and killed it; whereupon the oilman ran at the dog and killed it and the huntsman in turn leapt upon the oilman and killed him. Now the oilman