第9章 THE WOLF AND THE FOX.(1)

A fox and a wolf once dwelt in the same den，harbouring therein together day and night；but the wolf was cruel and oppressive to the fox. They abode thus awhile，till one day the fox exhorted the wolf to use gentle dealing and leave evil-doing，saying，If thou persist in thine arrogance，belike God will give the son of Adam power over thee，for he is past master in guile and craft and knavery. By his devices he brings down the birds from the air and draws the fish forth of the waters and sunders mountains in twain and transports them from place to place. All this is of his craft and wiliness；wherefore do thou betake thyself to equity and fair dealing and leave evil and tyranny；and thou shalt fare the better for it.'But the wolf rejected his counsel and answered him roughly，saying，Thou hast no call to speak of matters of weight and stress.'And he dealt the fox a buffet that laid him senseless；but，when he revived，he smiled in the wolfs face and excused himself for his unseemly speech，repeating the following verses：

If I have sinned in aught thats worthy of reproach Or if Ive made default against the love of you，Lo，I repent my fault；so let thy clemency The sinner comprehend，that doth for pardon sue.

The wolf accepted his excuse and held his hand from him，saying，Speak not of that which concerns thee not，or thou shalt hear what will not please thee.'I hear and obey，'answered the fox；

henceforth I will abstain from what pleaseth thee not；for the sage says，'Speak thou not of that whereof thou art not asked；

answer not，when thou art not called upon；leave that which concerns thee not for that which does concern thee and lavish not good counsel on the wicked，for they will repay thee therefor with evil.'And he smiled in the wolfs face，but in his heart he meditated treachery against him and said in himself，Needs must I compass the destruction of this wolf.'So he bore with his ill usage，saying in himself，Verily arrogance and falsehood lead to perdition and cast into confusion，and it is said，'He who is arrogant suffers and he who is ignorant repents and he who fears is safe： fair dealing is a characteristic of the noble，and gentle manners are the noblest of gains.'It behoves me to dissemble with this tyrant，and needs must he be cast down.'Then said he to the wolf，Verily，the Lord pardons his erring servant and relents towards him，if he confess his sins；and I am a weak slave and have sinned in presuming to counsel thee. If thou knewest the pain that befell me by thy buffet，thou wouldst see that an elephant could not stand against it nor endure it： but I complain not of the pain of the blow，because of the contentment that hath betided me through it；for though it was exceeding grievous to me，yet its issue was gladness. As saith the sage，'The blow of the teacher is at first exceeding grievous，but the end of it is sweeter than clarified honey.'Quoth the wolf，I pardon thine offence and pass over thy fault；but be thou ware of my strength and avow thyself my slave；for thou knowest how rigorously I deal with those that transgress against me.'

Thereupon the fox prostrated himself to the wolf，saying，May God prolong thy life and mayst thou cease never to subdue thine enemies！'And he abode in fear of the wolf and ceased not to wheedle him and dissemble with him.

One day，the fox came to a vineyard and saw a breach in its wall；

but he mistrusted it and said in himself，Verily，there must be some reason for this breach and the adage says，'He who sees a cleft in the earth and doth not shun it or be wary in going up to it，is self-deluded and exposes himself to destruction.'Indeed，it is well known that some folk make a semblant of a fox in their vineyards，even to setting before it grapes in dishes，that foxes may see it and come to it and fall into destruction. Meseems，this breach is a snare and the proverb says，'Prudence is the half of cleverness.'Now prudence requires that I examine this breach and see if there be ought therein that may lead to perdition；and covetise shall not make me cast myself into destruction.'So he went up to the breach and examining it warily，discovered a deep pit，lightly covered （with boughs and earth），which the owner of the vineyard had dug，thinking to trap therein the wild beasts that laid waste his vines. Then he drew back from it，saying in himself，I have found it as I expected.

Praised be God that I was wary of it！I hope that my enemy the wolf，who makes my life miserable，will fall into it；so will the vineyard be left to me and I shall enjoy it alone and dwell therein in peace.'So saying，he shook his head and laughed aloud，repeating the following verses：

Would God I might see，even now，A wolf fallen into yon pit，That this long time hath tortured my heart And made me quaff bitters，God wit！

God grant I may live and be spared And eke of the wolf be made quit！

So the vineyard of him shall be rid And I find my purchase in it.

Then he returned in haste to the wolf and said to him，God hath made plain the way for thee into the vineyard，without toil. This is of thy good luck；so mayst thou enjoy the easy booty and the plentiful provant that God hath opened up to thee without trouble！'What proof hast thou of what thou sayest？asked the wolf；and the fox answered，I went up to the vineyard and found that the owner was dead，having been devoured by wolves： so I entered and saw the fruit shining on the trees.'The wolf misdoubted not of the foxs report and gluttony got hold on him；

so he rose and repaired to the breach，blinded by greed；whilst the fox stopped short and lay as one dead，applying to the case the following verse：

Lustest after Leilas favours？Look thou rather bear in mind That tis covetise plays havoc with the necks of human kind.