THE SPARROW AND THE PEACOCK
There was once upon a time a sparrow, that used every day to
visit a certain king of the birds and ceased not to wait upon him
in the mornings and not to leave him till the evenings, being the
first to go in and the last to go out. One day, a company of
birds chanced to assemble on a high mountain and one of them said
to another, "Verily, we are waxed many, and many are the
differences between us, and there is no help for it but we have a
king to look into our affairs; so shall we all be at one and our
differences will disappear." Thereupon up came that sparrow and
counselled them to choose for King the peacock (that is, the
prince he used to visit). So they chose the peacock to their
King and he, become their sovereign, bestowed largesse upon them
and made the sparrow his secretary and Prime Minister. Now the
sparrow was wont by times to quit his assiduous serve in the
presence and look into matters in general. So one day he
absented himself at the usual time, whereat the peacock was sore
troubled; and, while things stood thus, he returned and the
peacock said to him, "What hath delayed thee, and thou the
nearest to me of all my servants and the dearest of all my
dependents?" replied the sparrow, "I have seen a thing which is
doubtful to me and whereat I am affrighted." Asked the peacock,
"What was it thou sawest?"; and the sparrow answered, "I saw a
man set up a net, hard by my nest, peg down its pegs, strew grain
in its midst and withdraw afar off. And I sat watching what he
would do when behold, fate and fortune drave thither a crane and
his wife, which fell into the midst of the net and began to cry
out; whereupon the fowler rose up and took them. This troubled
me, and such is the reason for my absence from thee, O King of
the Age, but never again will I abide in that nest for fear of
the net." Rejoined the peacock, "Depart not thy dwelling, for
against fate and lot forethought will avail the naught." And the
sparrow obeyed his bidding and said, "I will forthwith arm myself
with patience and forbear to depart in obedience to the King."
So he ceased not taking care of himself, and carrying food to his
sovereign, who would eat what sufficed him and after feeding
drink his water and dismiss the sparrow. Now one day as he was
looking into matters, lo and behold! he saw two sparrows fighting
on the ground and said in his mind, "How can I, who am the King's
Wazir, look on and see sparrows fighting in my neighbourhood? By
Allah, I must make peace between them!" So he flew down to
reconcile them; but the fowler cast the net over the whole number
and the sparrow happened to be in their very midst. Then the
fowler arose and took him and gave him to his comrade, saying,
"Take care of him, " I never saw fatter or finer." But the
sparrow said to himself, "I have fallen into that which I feared
and none but the peacock inspired me with false confidence. It
availed me naught to beware of the stroke of fate and fortune,
since even he who taketh precaution may never flee from destiny.
And how well said the poet in this poetry,
"Whatso is not to be shall ne'er become; *
No wise! and that to be must come to pass;
Yea it shall come to pass at time ordained, *
And th' Ignoramus[FN#173] aye shall cry ‘Alas!'"
Whereupon quoth the King, "O Shahrazad, recount me other of these
tales!"; and quoth she, "I will do so during the coming night, if
life be granted to by the King whom Allah bring to honour!"--And
Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Fifty-third Night,
She said:--I will relate the
