第54章

Then the fox looked into the cleft and，seeing the wolf weeping in repentance and sorrow for himself，wept with him；whereupon the wolf raised his head to him and asked，'Is it of pity for me thou weepest，O Father of the Fortlet[152]？'Answered the fox，'No，by Him who cast thee into this pit！ I weep for the length of thy past life and for regret that thou didst not fall into the pit before this day；for hadst thou done so before I foregathered with thee，I had rested and enjoyed repose：but thou wast spared till the fulfilment of thine allotted term and thy destined time.'Then the wolf said to him as one jesting，'O evildoer，go to my mother and tell her what hath befallen me；haply she may devise some device for my release.'Replied the fox，'Of a truth thou hast been brought to destruction by the excess of thy greed and thine exceeding gluttony，since thou art fallen into a pit whence thou wilt never escape. Knowest thou not the common proverb，O thou witless wolf，'Whoso taketh no thought as to how things end，him shall Fate never befriend nor shall he safe from perils wend.''O Reynard，'quoth the wolf，'thou was wont to show me fondness and covet my friendliness and fear the greatness of my strength. Hate me not rancorously because of that I did with thee；for he who hath power and forgiveth，his reward Allah giveth；even as saith the poet，'Sow kindnessseed in the unfittest stead；'Twill not be wasted whereso thou shalt sow：

For kindness albe buried long，yet none Shall reap the crop save sower who garred it grow.'

Rejoined the fox，'O witlessest of beasts of prey and stupidest of the wild brutes which the wolds overstray！ Hast thou forgotten thine arrogance and insolence and tyranny，and thy disregarding the due of goodfellowship and thy refusing to be advised by what the poet saith？

'Wrong not thy neighbour e'en if thou have power；The wronger alway vengeanceharvest reaps：

Thine eyes shall sleep，while bides the wronged on wakeAcursing thee；and Allah's eye ne'er sleeps.'

'O Abu 'lHosayn，'replied the wolf，'twit me not with my past sins；for forgiveness is expected of the generous and doing kind deeds is the truest of treasures. How well saith the poet，'Haste to do kindness while thou hast much power，

For at all seasons thou hast not such power.'

And he ceased not to humble himself before the fox and say，'Haply，thou canst do somewhat to deliver me from destruction.'

Replied the fox，'O thou wolf，thou witless，deluded，deceitful trickster！ hope not for deliverance，for this is but the just reward of thy foul dealing and its due retaliation.'Then he laughed with chops wide open and repeated these two couplets，'No longer beguile me，Thou'lt fail of thy will！

What can't be thou seekest；

Thou hast sown so reap Ill！'

Quoth the wolf，'O gentlest of ravenous beasts，I fain hold thee too faithful to leave me in this pit.'Then he wept and complained and，with tears streaming from his eyes，recited these two couplets，'O thou whose favours have been out of compt，Whose gifts are more than may be numbered！

Never mischance befel me yet from time But that I found thy hand right fain to aid.'

'O thou ninny foe，'quoth the fox，'how art thou reduced to humiliation and prostration and abjection and submission，after insolence and pride and tyranny and arrogance！ Verily，I kept company with thee only for fear of thy fury and I cajoled thee without one hope of fair treatment from thee：but now trembling is come upon thee and vengeance hath overtaken thee.'And he repeated these two couplets，'O thou who seekest innocence to 'guile，Thou'rt caught in trap of thine intentions vile：

Now drain the draught of shamefullest mischance，And be with other wolves cut off，thou scroyle！'

Replied the wolf，'O thou clement one，speak not with the tongue of enemies nor look with their eyes；but fulfil the covenant of fellowship with me，ere the time of applying remedy cease to be.

Rise and make ready to get me a rope and tie one end of it to a tree；then let the other down to me，that I may lay hold of it，so haply I shall from this my strait win free，and I will give thee all my hand possesseth of wealth and fee.'Quoth the fox，'Thou persistest in conversation concerning what will not procure thy liberation. Hope not for this，for thou shalt never，never get of me wherewithal to set thee at liberty；but call to mind thy past misdeeds and the craft and perfidy thou didst imagine against me and bethink thee how near thou art to being stoned to death. For know that thy soul is about the world to quit and cease in it and depart from it；so shalt thou to destruction hie and ill is the abidingplace thou shalt aby！'[153] Rejoined the wolf，'O Father of the Fortlet，hasten to return to amity and persist not in this rancorous enmity. Know that whoso from ruin saveth a soul，is as if he had quickened it and made it whole；and whoso saveth a soul alive，is as if he had saved all mankind.[154] Follow not frowardness，for the wise forbid it：

and it were most manifest frowardness to leave me in this pit draining the agony of death and dight to look upon mine own doom，whenas it lieth in thy power to deliver me from my stowre. So do thy best to release me and deal with me benevolently.'Answered the fox，'O thou base and barbarous wretch，I compare thee，because of the fairness of thy professions and expressions，and the foulness of thy intentions and thy inventions to the Falcon and the Partridge.'Asked the wolf，'How so？'；and the fox began to tell The Tale of the Falcon[155] and the Partridge.[156]