## THE OWLS AND THE CROWS.
### "The danger of putting confidence in one's enemy"

<a href="https://steemit.com/story/@joseph/the-owls-and-the-crows"><<<  THE OWLS AND THE CROWS (Part I)</a> (read first)

https://s31.postimg.org/u9mj51ckr/monk.jpg

A monk had bought a fat kid for a sacrifice,
and led it away, but was observed by some
persons near him, who agreed amongst themselves
that they would endeavor to rob him of it ;
upon this one of them came up to him, and asked
him, what he intended to do with the dog which
he was leading away ; a second and then a third
repeated the same question, till at length he no
longer trusted his own eyes, but fancied he had
been cheated by the person who had sold him the 
kid, upon which he let it go, and the others 
went off with it.

https://s31.postimg.org/lkswr0mhn/monk1.png

 Thinking therefore on the present occasion
that we may accomplish all what we desire by
some device which will escape the penetration
of the owls, I entreat the king to order my
tail and all my feathers to be plucked out,
and to have me thrown at the foot of the tree,
and then to retire with all his attendants.

 This being done, the crow began to mourn,
and to send forth the most pitiful groans, 
till some of the owls having heard him were 
attracted by the noise, and coming and seeing 
the state in which he was, lost no time in
informing their king of it. The king determined 
to have the crow questioned, and commanded
an owl to ask him who he was, and where the 
other crows were ; upon which the crow told 
his name, and appealed to the state in which he 
was as a reason for giving credit to what he 
might say. It was then told to the king of the 
owls, that this was the vizier and principal 
counselor of the king of the crows, and it was 
immediately agreed upon to find out, if possible, 
by interrogating him, what the crime could be 
for which he had been so severely punished ; 
and to the questions which were put to him for 
this purpose the crow answered in the following manner. 

The king was one day taking the advice of 
his counselors on the important question of 
peace or war between you and us, and as I 
happened to be present, I took the liberty of 
observing to his majesty, that we were totally 
unable to contend with the owls, who were 
both more powerful and more intelligent than 
us ; and I gave it as my opinion, that we should 
make peace, even though we might be reduced 
to the necessity of purchasing it ; that if the 
terms were accepted by the owls, we should be 
at liberty to fly about unmolested wherever we 
chose ; whereas, on the other hand, if we
obstinately preferred war, that the issue could not 
under any supposition but be unfavorable to us.

 At the same time I dwelt on the comparative
advantages of peace and war, enforcing 
my arguments by illustrations, and examples 
taken from the histories of former times,
tending to show the irreconcilable hatred of an 
enemy, who has the means of avenging any affront
that is offered to his power and superiority ;
and I instanced the tender plant which, 
yielding to the gale which passes over it 
escapes being broken, as a proof of the good 
policy of timely submission ; but nothing that I 
could advance had any weight, but on the contrary
produced an opposite effect, and rather 
inflamed than mitigated the ardor for war; 
and more than this I was suspected of treachery,
and of being secretly attached to the 
interest of the owls ; and the advice which I 
had conscientiously given was rewarded in the 
manner you see, and from that period I have 
heard nothing either of the king or his people. 

The king of the owls was no sooner acquainted
with the speech of the crow, than he 
called upon one of his viziers for his opinion, as 
to the manner in which he ought to be treated ;

who replied, My advice is, that the utmost
dispatch should be used in putting him to death ; 
for as long as he lives, we can never be sure 
that he will not contrive some plot against us ; 
and as he is without doubt one of the principal 
crows, his loss to the community will be very 
sensibly felt. It has been truly said, that it is 
no proof of wisdom to miss a favorable opportunity
of striking a decisive blow, when the prospect
of almost certain success challenges the attempt ;
and that where the means which were in our power
of accomplishing a vast undertaking have been
neglected, we deserve to be reminded hereafter
of our folly and irresolution, by seeing our hopes
for ever annihilated; and whoever spares an enemy
whose inability to defend himself renders his
destruction inevitable, will at last see his error,
when the increasing though unsuspected power of
resistance renders his purpose no longer practicable.

 The king then desired to know the sentiments of 
another vizier, who said, My opinion is, that 
you should not kill the crow, for a needy
and unprotected enemy is an object of pity, 
and should disarm the hand which is raised 
against his life ; and if his defenseless state
does not give him a right to be treated with
kindness, it should at least procure him pardon,
and no worse treatment than the thief experienced 
from the merchant, of whom it is told, that he 
was very rich, and married to a handsome wife; 
and one night a thief got into his house with 
the intention of robbing it, and found the merchant
asleep, but his wife was awake ; and she 
being frightened at what she saw, kept close to 
the side of her husband, a mark of affection and 
love which he had been a long while unsuccessfully
waiting for ; the novelty of his situation at length
awoke the merchant, and whilst he was asking his wife
the reason of this sudden passion, he discovered the
thief, and not doubting that he had been the occasion
of the good fortune which had happened to him, he told
him to keep what he had stolen, as a recompense for 
the services he had rendered.

 The king then ordered a third vizier to declare
what he thought should be done with the crow, and
he gave it as his opinion, that he should be well
treated, on account of the information which it might 
be in his power to give; for a sensible man, 
said he, will always take advantage of the dissension
which exists between his enemies, and torn their mutual
animosity to his own profit, as was the case with the monk,
who owed his safety to the quarrel between the robber and 
the evil genius. The king desired to hear the 
story related, and the vizier continued. 

A monk had bought from a man a milk 
cow, which he was leading away to his home, 
when a robber met him, who wished to steal from 
him his beast; and not far off was an evil genius, 
who was thinking by what means he could get 
the monk into his power, and who came up to 
the robber, and asked him who he was, and 
was answered, I am a robber, who intend to 
steal this cow when the monk is asleep ; and 
now have the goodness to give an account of 
yourself, said he, addressing himself to his
inquisitive companion, who replied, I am an evil 
genius, and I purpose carrying off the monk 
himself when he is asleep. By this time the 
monk had arrived at his house, and having tied 
up his cow, he supped and went to bed. Then 
the robber and the evil genius disputed, who 
should first put his plan into execution; and the 
evil genius said to the robber. If you begin by 
stealing the cow, the monk will probably be 
awakened by the noise, and assemble the
people in the house, and my purpose will be 
entirely frustrated ; I therefore beg of you to 
look quietly on, whilst I am employed in securing 
the monk, and you will then be unmolested in 
your attempt to steal the cow. This proposal 
did not please the robber, who thought that the 
monk would awake at the first effort which 
the evil genius might make to secure him and 
that he should therefore be deprived of the booty 
which he anticipated; so he proposed to the 
evil genius to give him the precedence in the 
accomplishment of their projected plans ; and 
they continued quarreling in this manner, till 
at length each of them proclaiming in an audible
voice what the other intended to do, the monk
and his neighbors were awakened by the noise,
and the two rogues fled away in haste. 

Then the vizier who had first spoken, and 
who had advised the killing of the crow, said, 
I think that the object of the crow has been to 
deceive us, and his words, owing to their not 
having been duly weighed and examined, seem 
likely to produce inattention to a measure which 
our real interest imperiously calls for ; 
I therefore take the liberty of cautioning the king
against embracing a determination, which may 
be productive of mischief to him, and expose 
him to the risk of being as fatally deceived, as 
the carpenter was, who chose rather to give 
credit to what he heard, than to believe what 
his own eyes had witnessed ; for it is told of 
him, that he had a wife, of whom he was very 
fond, but who was secretly attached to another 
man ; and the husband being informed of this, 
was desirous of hailing some stronger proof, than 
public rumor of his wife's infidelity ; 
he therefore told her that he had received orders to
go to a city at some distance on business of the 
king, and desired her to get ready what was 
necessary for his journey. The wife was delighted
at the prospect of her husband's departure,
which would remove every impediment to her
enjoying the society of her lover. Then 
the husband pretended as if he would leave the 
house, and told his wife to shut the door after 
him ; but instead of going out, he stole privately 
into a corner behind the door, where he remained
hid till his wife retired ; he then removed 
quietly into his bed room, and concealed himself 
under the bed. Now the wife had lost no time 
in sending to her lover, to beg him to come to
her, and he obeyed the summons, and went 
and passed the night with her.. The merchant 
at length grew very drowsy, and fell asleep; 
and having stretched out his legs from under 
the bed, his wife immediately recognized them; 
and calling to her aid all her presence of mind 
against the danger of discovery, with which 
she was threatened, she said to her lover. Ask 
me with a loud voice whom I love most, my 
husband or you : and as soon as he had put 
the question to her, as she desired, she answered 
angrily. What authorizes you to ask me this 
question ? do you not know, that the heart and 
affections of a woman take no part in the most 
intimate and unequivocal intercourse which she 
allows her friend, whereas a husband awakens 
all the tender feelings which either a son or a 
brother are capable of exciting, and is as dear 
to his wife as her own existence! As soon 
as the husband heard these words, the bad 
opinion which he had entertained of his wife gave 
way to other thoughts ; and though he was distressed
at the suspicious appearances to which her frailty
had given rise, every feeling of rancor or ill will
quickly subsided, in the persuasion which he felt
of the sincerity of her attachment; he did not
however think it prudent to leave his hiding-place
till the morning, when he was sure that his rival
was gone ; then he came out from under the bed, and
found his wife asleep, and he sat down by her, being
unwilling to disturb her ; and when she awoke, he 
said to her, O joy of my heart, sleep on, for 
you have passed a restless night ; and I have 
only been restrained, by a regard for your 
honor and reputation, from calling your visitor 
to an open account. 

Now the king was not convinced by the 
arguments of his vizier, but ordered that the 
crow should be taken care of, and treated with 
kindness and attention; and some time after, 
the crow being in the presence of the king, with 
several of the owls, amongst whom was the 
visor who had recommended his death, said to 
his majesty. You are now fully informed, O 
king, of what I have experienced from the 
crows, and will find it pardonable, that I seek 
to be revenged for the insult which has been 
offered to me ; but having considered the matter, 
I am persuaded that I never. shall be able to 
accomplish what I wish, as long as I remain in 
my present state ; but there is a tradition handed
down to us by the sages of old, that whoever 
commits his body to the flames, performs the 
most acceptable sacrifice to heaven; and that 
whatever he prays for whilst he is burning in 
the fire, is instantly accorded to him ; if
therefore it meets with the approbation of the king, 
I will undergo the trial, and pray to be chained 
into an owl, by which means I shall become 
a more certain and hurtful enemy to the crows, 
and have it in my power to execute my purpose
of vengeance.
 Upon this the vizier, who had advised putting
the crow to death, interrupted him, and said.
When I consider the speciousness of your language,
which is intended to throw a cloak over the corrupt
motives of your conduct, I can only compare you
to wine, that has a good taste and smell, though
it is mixed with poison. Do you think that your 
substance and composition will be changed by 
the burning of your body, or would you persuade
us that this experiment will produce an 
alteration in your person and being? Nature 
will maintain her right as inviolably, as in the 
case of the female mouse, who having the choice 
of a husband between the sun, the wind, the
cloud, and the mountain, became at last the 
partner of the male of her own species. 

It is told of a religious man, who never failed 
to obtain what he prayed for, that he was one 
day sitting on the shore of the sea, and a kite 
flew by him with a young mouse in its claws, 
which falling down near him, he took it, and 
wrapped it up in a leaf, and carried it home ; 
but fearing that it would be difficult for him to 
bring it up in his family, he prayed to heaven 
that it might be changed into a young girl ; and 
his prayer was heard, and his petition immediately
granted : he then carried her to his wife 
and told her that it was his adopted daughter, 
and desired that she might be treated as if she 
were his own child. And when the girl had 
reached the age of woman, the religious man 
said to her. My daughter, it is now time for 
you to think of marrying, and I leave you the 
free choice of your husband. She replied, that 
as he had left her at liberty to consult her 
own inclinations, she should prefer a husband 
who was possessed of uncommon strengths 
Perhaps, said the religious man, you would 
have no objection to the sun : Upon which he
went and addressed the sun, saying, I have a 
young woman, who is in search of a husband 
and his principal qualification must be his 
strength; have you any objection to marry her? 
The sun answered, I will direct; you to some 
one who is stronger than I am, and that is the 
cloud, which is able to prevent the heat of my 
rays from reaching the earth, and eclipses the 
brightness of my light. Upon this the religious 
man .made a proposal of marriage to the cloud 
who refused his consent after the example of the 
sun, but recommended the wind as the most 
suitable husband, who blows, said he, violently 
against me, and drives me about in the heavens 
from the east to the west. The religious 
man then addressed himself to the wind, who 
referred him to the mountain, whose power 
and resistance, he added, defied all his attempts 
to move it : so he went to the mountain, and 
the mountain, having heard what he had to say, 
said, that the mouse was his superior in strength, 
as was proved by his being obliged to afford 
him a habitation. At length then the religious 
man offered his daughter to the mouse ; and the 
mouse asked how it would be possible for him 
to marry her, as the hole where he lived was
too small to contain her ; and besides this, a 
mouse was accustomed to marry one of his 
own species: then the religious man prayed 
that his adopted daughter might be transformed 
into her first state, and she returned to what 
she had been : and this is a faithful picture of 
what we may expect from you.

 But nothing that his vizier could say had any
effect upon the mind of the king, who continued
to treat the crow with great kindness, and to
lavish upon him proofs of his consideration and 
regard ; so he spent his time very pleasantly ; 
till at length when his feathers had grown again, 
and he had made all the observations which 
suited his purpose, he flew away, and returned 
to his companions, and being admitted to an 
audience of the king, he begged permission to 
communicate the information which he had acquired;
which being granted, he spoke as follows. 

The owls are living upon a mountain abounding
with wood, and not far off there is a flock 
of sheep, and a man watching them ; we shall 
therefore have no difficulty in procuring a light, 
and having set fire to some dry wood, we will 
put it into the holes in which the owls are,
adding fresh fuel as often as is necessary, and 
fanning the flame with our wings, by which 
means our enemies will be suffocated by the 
smoke ; or if any one endeavors to escape by 
flying out, he will be burnt to death. The 
crows obeyed punctually the instructions they 
had received, and having in this manner destroyed
the owls, they returned quietly and unmolested to
their own homes. 

https://s31.postimg.org/ajxrlzu8r/fire.png

Then the king asked the crow, how he had 
been able to endure the company of the owls, 
as the society of the wicked must be so
insupportable to the good. It is very true,
replied the crow ; but a man of sense, when
any weighty matter seems pregnant with mischief
to himself and those with whom he is connected,
will submit without reluctance to the severest
trials of his patience, when he has the prospect
of a happy issue to his endurance and resignation ; 
he neither repines at the pains which he is 
obliged to undergo, nor at the mortifying humiliation
of a temporary compliance with the will of an inferior,
looking to the attainment of the object which he has
in view as a sufficient recompense for all his toils
and sufferings.

 The king then desired the crow to give him
some account of the intellectual attainment of 
the owls. I did not find, he replied, any one 
who possessed the least understanding, except 
A vizier who endeavored to procure my death. 
They proved their utter want of judgment and 
good sense, by the little attention which they 
paid to my case, and forgetting the credit in 
which I had stood with the crows, they were 
so far from having suspicions. of any plot which 
I might be contriving against them, that they 
not only rejected the advice of their counselor, 
whose apprehensions were so well founded 
but showed me the most unreserved confidence 
in making me the depository of their secrets, 
contrary to the maxim of the wise men, who 
condemn in a sovereign a gratuitous disclosure 
of his intentions in the presence of flatterers 
and sycophants. Nothing, said the king, has 
in my opinion occasioned the ruin of the owls, 
but the unreasonable and weak conduct of their 
king, in listening to the advice of evil counselor.

 The observation of your majesty replied the crow,
is perfectly just, and the truth which it contains
may rank for importance with those sayings, which
experience and time have stamped with the character
of incontrovertible maxims. Insolence, for instance,
and  naughtiness of behavior are almost inseparable 
attendants on great good fortune ; a passionate 
love of women is a source of more than probable 
evil ; in the indulgences of the table lie the seeds of
disease, as the ruin of a state is almost inevitable
under the administration of corrupt ministers.

 The same authority has also pronounced the proud
and imperious man to be an unsuccessful candidate
for fame; the false and deceitful companion to be
unworthy of finding a friend, and the man of bad
conduct incapable of arriving at distinction; nor
is it less true, that avarice, which in no instance
are free from blame, is often the parent of crimes, 
and that a sovereign, who either through idleness
and indifference neglects the affairs of state, or
through weakness, places the reins of government in
unserviceable hands, compromises the safety of his
kingdom, and the happiness of his subjects. 

The king here observed to the crow, that he 
must have possessed a great deal of self-command,
not to have betrayed any impatience under the
humiliating character in which he appeared amongst
the owls : to which the crow replied, that the temper
of mind, which disposes us to support difficulties on
account of the profit which follows them, without
reluctance and peevishness, is highly praiseworthy;
and instanced the example of the serpent, who found 
a reward for the readiness with which he carried the
king of the frogs upon his back, in the plentiful
provision of food which it procured him.

https://s31.postimg.org/ywsl6szxn/serpent.png

 The king desiring to know how this happened,
the crow related the story as follows : 

There was a serpent of a very advanced age, 
whose sight began to grow dim, and his strength 
to fail to that degree, that it became almost 
impossible for him to hunt after his food, and 
he was therefore at times at a loss even for a 
morsel to eat ; one day however he crawled out 
in the hopes of finding something to support 
life, and went to a pond, where there were a 
great many frogs, and where in former times he 
had often been used to regale himself very 
plentifully, and he lay at the edge of the water 
exhibiting signs of great sorrow and affliction. 
Then a frog asked him the reason of his distress,
and he answered, that it was no small cause that
had occasioned it ; that he had hitherto lived
upon the frogs which he was able to catch,
whereas at present, owing to some fatality 
of which he was the victim, if he met with any, 
he was unable to draw them out of the water.
 
Upon this the frog went to his sovereign, and 
acquainted him with what the serpent had said. 
Then the king of the frogs came to the serpent, 
and asked him what was the matter; and the 
serpent replied, I was one evening employed 
in hunting a frog, which took refuge in the 
house of a religious man, and I followed it thither,
and as I was pursuing it in the dark, I 
bit the finger of the religious man's son, which 
I mistook for the frog, and he died of the wound : 
then I fled away as quickly as I could, and the 
father followed me, loading me with imprecations
for what I had done to his innocent child, 
and praying, that as a punishment for my crime 
I might be reduced to the servile condition of 
being rode upon by the king of the frogs, and 
of living from his charity and bounty. I am 
therefore come to you according to the curse 
which hangs over me, to await your will and 
pleasure. Then the king of the frogs was impatient
to ride the serpent, which he thought would 
be a great honor and distinction, and having
mounted upon him, he was highly pleased and 
satisfied. Upon this the serpent reminded the 
king of the state to which be had been doomed, 
and implored his charitable aid to save him 
from starving ; and the king of the frogs
acknowledged the justice of his claims, and that 
he fairly earned his livelihood by the case which 
was made of him ; and he commanded two 
frogs to be delivered to him very day, which 
were sufficient for his support ; and his servitude
and patient submission to his enemy were 
therefore in the result rather profitable than
injurious to him : in the same manner the security 
for our persons, and freedom from all apprehensions
for the future, which have been put beyond all
doubt by the destruction of our foes, were the
object, and have become the recompense, of the
inconveniences to which I submitted.

 I found too that meekness and a complying
temper would be more effectual in bringing
about the purpose which I had in view, 
than a haughty and assuming deportment, 
drawing a parallel in my own mind between 
the power and respective influence of the
various qualities which we betray in our conduct, 
and the natural but opposite phenomena of fire
and water, the former of which non-withstanding 
the intensity of its heat, will only consume the 
trunk and branches of a tree, whilst the latter 
by its chilling moisture will even destroy the 
roots. And it has been said that neither fire, 
nor a disease, nor an enemy, nor a debt, should 
be despised on account of their apparent
insignificance, a maxim which the king has always 
observed, and in which he has found his account ;
and it has been laid down as certain, 
that where two men are in pursuit of the same 
object, the strongest of the two is always
successful; but if they happen to be equal in 
strength, the victory will declare itself for the 
more persevering ; and if both are endowed with 
an equal measure of indefatigable patience, that 
the issue will be favorable to him who has 
made the greater preparation for the exertions 
which he will be called upon to employ : and 
whoever makes war against a king who uses 
foresight in the measures which he orders, and 
who is neither rendered arrogant by good fortune,
nor beat down by the pressure of ill luck, 
but like you, O king, determines prudently what 
is to be done, as well as the time and place for 
its execution, neither injuring his cause by
unseasonable violence and precipitation on the 
one hand, nor by procrastination and a timid 
forbearance on the other, but looking to the 
business in which he is engaged under every 
point of view in which it is possible to survey 
it, such a man must inevitably bring ruin upon 
his own head. 

The king here disclaimed all merit for himself,
and told, the crow, that his judgment and 
sensible conduct, aided by the blessing which 
seemed to be attached by fate to every thing 
which he did, deserved all the praise; for that 
one prudent and intelligent person was of more 
use in counteracting the plans of an enemy, 
and converting them into engines of his destruction,
than a multitude, who had nothing to trust 
to except their courage and number ; and what 
surprises me the most, added he, is your conduct
in being able to listen for such a length of 
time to the vulgar discourse of the owls, without
letting fall a single expression, which might 
betray your secret views. I never for a moment 
lost sight of your instructions, answered the 
crow, and succeeded to the utmost of my 
wishes, by following uninterruptedly a mild 
and conciliatory course of action. Indeed, said
the king, I am convinced of your worth in this 
respect : it is true, I have had other vizirs, who 
could talk plausibly, but without giving any 
effect to what they uttered ; but in you I have 
found a strong and powerful support, so that I 
can now enjoy my meals in peace, and take my 
rest in whatever place I choose, without any 
apprehensions for my safety ; my present situation
reminds me of the state of a sick man, who 
can neither enjoy the pleasures of his table, nor 
taste the repose of his couch, till he is recovered 
from his illness ; or I may compare myself to 
the ambitious man, who is tormented by the 
desire of arriving at fortune and power, and is 
not at ease, till the bounty of his sovereign has 
crowned his schemes with success ; or to the 
man who, living in constant dread of his enemy, 
is a martyr to his fears, till the cause of them is 
removed ; for the mind is lightened by the
disappearance of the apprehensions which agitated 
it, as the hand is relieved by the removal of a 
heavy weight which it was carrying. I will 
pray, said the crow, to God, who alone has
been the destroyer of your enemy, that he will 
pour down upon you the blessings of his goodness,
and make the excess of his bounty to you
the measure of the happiness and prosperity of 
your subjects, for when a people. are not happy 
under the sway of their sovereign, he maybe 
compared to the excrescence, which grows under 
the throat of the milk goat, which the kid sucks; 
fancying it to be the teat of the udder, and is 
disappointed of its milk .

 Tell me thou faithful minister, said the king
what was the practice of the owls and their king
in their wars, and in the management of their affairs;

Their conducts answered the crow, was marked by
insolence, haughtiness, arrogance, weakness, and pride; 
this was the character both of the king and his 
viziers, with the exception of him who advised 
my death; he indeed was wise and intelligent, 
gifted with foresight and knowledge, and rarely 
to be equaled in firmness, understandings and 
sound judgment.

 The king; And what did you observe in his behavior,
which led you to form this opinion of him ?

The craw. Two circumstances, which struck me very
forcibly : one was, his recommendation that I should
be put to death; and the other, the freedom with which 
he delivered his opinion, notwithstanding the 
contempt it met with ; at the same time his 
speech was remarkable for moderation and temper ;
and in combating the arguments of his colleagues
he avoided every sort of personality, 
endeavoring to give weight to what he advanced
by examples and stories which bore upon the point
under discussion, by which he incurred no risk of
exciting the displeasure of the king : and I
distinctly heard him say to his sovereign, that
a king ought not to neglect, his affairs ; that
but few people were equal to the task of a great
undertaking, and that in no case could it be
successfully conducted without prudent management;
that the possession of a kingdom was a great acquisition,
but entailed upon the sovereign the necessity of
unceasing attention to the means of consolidating
and securing it; that in the uncertainty of its
duration it might be compared to the transitory shadow of 
the leaf of the lotus, and in the quickness 
with which it is lost to the passage of the wind ; 
in the instability of its most flourishing state to 
the casual and temporary connection which a 
noble-minded man may have formed with a person of
an opposite character ; and in its rapid 
decline to the bubbles of water, which are
momentarily occasioned by the falling rain.


>Book: Kalila and Dimna
Author: Ibn al-Muqaffaʻ
Translation: Wyndham Knatchbull
Corrections to digitized script: Joseph Stuhlman
Copyrights: Public Domain including images.