THE HEDGEHOG AND THE WOOD-PIGEONS
A hedgehog once too up his abode by the side of a date-palm,
whereon roosted a wood-pigeon and his wife that had built their
next there and lived a life of ease and enjoyment. So he said to
himself, "This pigeon-pair eateth of the fruit of the date tree
and I have no means of getting at it; but needs must I find some
fashion of tricking them. Upon this he dug a hole at the foot of
the palm tree and took up his lodgings there, he and his wife;
moreover, he built an oratory beside the hole and went into
retreat there and made a show of devotion and edification and
renunciation of the world. The male pigeon saw him praying and
worshipping, and his heart was softened towards him for his
excess of devoutness; so he said to him, "How many years hast
thou been thus?" Replied the hedgehog, "During the last thirty
years." "What is thy food?" "That which falleth from the palm-
tree." "And what is thy clothing?" "Prickles! and I profit by
their roughness." "And why hast thou chosen this for place
rather than another?" "I chose it and preferred it to all others
that I might guide the erring into the right way and teach the
ignorant!" "I had fancied thy case," quoth the wood-pigeon,
"other than this, but now I yearn for that which is with thee."
Quoth the hedgehog, "I fear lest thy deed contradict thy word and
thou be even as the husbandman who, when the seed-season came,
neglected to sow, saying, ‘Verily I dread lest the days bring me
not to my desire and by making hast to sow I shall only waste my
substance!' When harvest-time came and he saw the folk earing
their crops, he repented him of what he had lost by his tardiness
and he died of chagrin and vexation." Asked the wood-pigeon,
"What then shall I do that I may be freed from the bonds of the
world and cut myself loose from all things save the service of my
Lord?" Answered the hedgehog, "Betake thee to preparing for the
next world and content thyself with a pittance of provision."
Quoth the pigeon, "How can I do this, I that am a bird and unable
to go beyond the date-tree whereon is my daily bread? And even
could I do so, I know of no other place wherein I may wone."
Quoth the hedgehog, "Thou canst shake down of the fruit of the
date-tree what shall suffice thee and thy wife for a year's
provaunt; then do ye take up your abode in a nest under the
trunk, that ye may prayerfully seek to be guided in the right
way, and then turn thou to what thou hast shaken down and
transport it all to thy home and store it up against what time
the dates fail; and when the fruits are spent and the delay is
longsome upon you, address thyself to total abstinence."
Exclaimed the pigeon, "Allah requite thee with good for the
righteous intention wherewith thou hast reminded me of the world
to come and hast directed me into the right way!" Then he and
his wife worked hard at knocking down the dates, till nothing was
left on the palm-tree, whilst the hedgehog, finding whereof to
eat, rejoiced and filled his den with the fruit, storing it up
for his subsistence and saying in his mind, "When the pigeon and
his wife have need of their provision, they will seek it of me
and covet what I have, relying upon thy devoutness and
abstinence; and, from what they have heard of my counsels and
admonitions, they will draw near unto me. Then will I make them
my prey and eat them, after which I shall have the place and all
that drops from the date-tree to suffice me." presently, having
shaken down the fruits, the pigeon and his wife descended from
the tree-top and finding that the hedgehog had removed all the
dates to his own place, said to him, "O hedgehog! thou pious
preacher and of good counsel, we can find no sign of the dates
and know not on what else we shall feed." Replied the hedgehog,
"Probably the winds have carried them away; but the turning from
the provisions to the Provider is of the essence of salvation,
and He who the mouth-corners cleft, the mouth without victual
hath never left." And he gave not over improving the occasion to
them on this wise, and making a show of piety and cozening them
with fine words and false until they put faith in him and
accepted him and entered his den and had no suspicion of his
deceit. Thereupon he sprang to the door and gnashed his teeth,
and the wood-pigeon, seeing his perfidy manifested, said to him,
"What hath to-night to do with yester-night? Knowest thou not
that there is a Helper for the oppressed? Beware of craft and
treachery, lest that mishap befal thee which befel the sharpers
who plotted against the merchant." "What was that?" asked the
hedgehog. Answered the pigeon:--I have heard tell this tale of
The Merchant and the Two Shapers
In a city called Sindah there was once a very wealthy merchant,
who made ready his camel-loads and equipped himself with goods
and set out with his outfit for such a city, purposing to sell it
there. Now he was followed by two sharpers, who had made up into
bales what merchandise they could get; and, giving out to the
merchant that they also were merchants, wended with him by the
way. So halting at the first halting-place they agreed to play
him false and take all he had; but at the same time, each
inwardly plotted foul play to the other, saying in his mind, "If
I can cheat my comrade, times will go well with me and I shall
have all these goods for myself." So after planning this
perfidy, one of them took food and putting therein poison,
brought it to his fellow; the other did the same and they both
ate of the poisoned mess and they both died. Now they had been
sitting with the merchant; so when they left him and were long
absent from him, he sought for tidings of them and found the
twain lying dead; whereby he knew that they were sharpers who had
plotted to play him foul, but their foul play had recoiled upon
themselves. So the merchant was preserved and took what they
had. Then quoth the Sultan, "O Shahrazad, verily thou hast
aroused me to all whereof I was negligent! So continue to edify
me with these fables." Quoth she:--It hath reached me, O King,
that men tell this tale of
