第48章

Then they load me with the heaviest of burdens and go long journeys with me and put me to hard labour through the hours of the night and the day. When I grow old and stricken in years and disabled from working，my master keepeth me not with him，but selleth me to the knacker who cutteth my throat and vendeth my hide to the tanners and my flesh to the cooks： so do not ask the hardships I suffer from the son of Adam.' 'When didst thou leave the son of Adam？' asked the young lion；and he answered，'At sundown，and I suppose that coming to my place after my departure and not finding me there，he is now in search of me： wherefore let me go，O son of the Sultan，that I may flee into the wolds and the wilds.' Said the whelp，'Wait awhile，O camel，till thou see how I will tear him，and give thee to eat of his flesh，whilst I craunch his bones and drink his blood.'

Replied the camel，'O King's son，I fear for thee from the child of Adam，for he is wily and guilefull.' And he began repeating these verses：

'When the tyrant enters the lieges' land，

Naught remains for the lieges but quick remove！'

Now whilst the camel was speaking with the lion whelp，behold，there rose a cloud of dust which，after a time，opened and showed an old man scanty of stature and lean of limb；and he bore on his shoulder a basket of carpenter's tools and on his head a branch of a tree and eight planks. He led little children by the hand and came on at a trotting pace，[140] never stopping till he drew near the whelp. When I saw him，O my sister，I fell down for excess of fear；but the young lion rose and walked forward to meet the carpenter and when he came up to him，the man smiled in his face and said to him，with a glib tongue and in courtly terms，'O King who defendeth from harm and lord of the long arm，Allah prosper thine evening and thine endeavouring and increase thy valiancy and strengthen thee！ Protect me from that which hath distressed me and with its mischief hath oppressed me，for I have found no helper save only thyself.' And the carpenter stood in his presence weeping and wailing and complaining. When the whelp heard his sighing and his crying he said，'I will succour thee from that thou fearest. Who hath done thee wrong and what art thou，O wild beast，whose like in my life I never saw，nor ever espied one goodlier of form or more eloquent of tongue than thou？

What is thy case？' Replied the man，'O lord of wild beasts，as to myself I am a carpenter；but as to who hath wronged me，verily he is a son of Adam，and by break of dawn after this coming night[141] he will be with thee in this place.' When the lion whelp heard these words of the carpenter，the light was changed to night before his sight and he snorted and roared with ire and his eyes cast forth sparks of fire. Then he cried out saying，'By Allah，I will assuredly watch through this coming night till dawn，nor will I return to my father till I have won my will.'

Then he turned to the carpenter and asked，'Of a truth I see thou art short of step and I would not hurt thy feelings for that I am generous of heart；yet do I deem thee unable to keep pace with the wild beasts： tell me then whither thou goest？' Answered the carpenter，'Know that I am on my way to thy father's Wazir，the lynx；for when he heard that the son of Adam had set foot in this country he feared greatly for himself and sent one of the wild beasts on a message for me，to make him a house wherein he should dwell，that it might shelter him and fend off his enemy from him，so not one of the sons of Adam should come at him. Accordingly I took up these planks and set forth to find him.' Now when the young lion heard these words he envied the lynx and said to the carpenter，'By my life there is no help for it but thou make me a house with these planks ere thou make one for Sir Lynx！ When thou hast done my work，go to him and make him whatso he wisheth.' The carpenter replied，'O lord of wild beasts，I cannot make thee aught till I have made the lynx what he desireth： then will I return to thy service and build thee a house as a fort to ward thee from thy foe.' Exclaimed the lion whelp，'By Allah，'I will not let thee leave this place till thou build me a house of planks.' So saying he made for the carpenter and sprang upon him，thinking to jest with him，and cuffed him with his paw knocking the basket off his shoulder；and threw him down in a fainting fit，whereupon the young lion laughed at him and said，'Woe to thee，O carpenter，of a truth thou art feeble and hast no force；so it is excusable in thee to fear the son of Adam.'