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So I will pardon her all the sins She sinned against me once and again;
Since for the wolf there is no escape From certain ruin and bitter bane,
And now the vineyard is all my own And no fool sharer in my domain.
Then he looked into the pit, and seeing the wolf weeping for sorrow and repentance over himself, wept with him; whereupon the wolf raised his head to him and said, ‘Is it of pity for me thou weepest, O Aboulhussein?’[1] ‘Not so,’ answered the fox, ‘by Him who cast thee into the pit! I weep for the length of thy past life and for regret that thou didst not sooner fall into the pit; for hadst thou done so before I met with thee, I had been at peace: but thou wast spared till the fulfilment of thine allotted term.’ The wolf thought he was jesting and said, ‘O sinner, go to my mother and tell her what has befallen me, so haply she may make shift for my release.’ ‘Verily,’ answered the fox, ‘the excess of thy gluttony and thy much greed have brought thee to destruction, since thou art fallen into a pit whence thou wilt never escape. O witless wolf, knowest thou not the proverb, “He who taketh no thought to results, Fate is no friend to him, nor shall he be safe from perils?”’ ‘O Aboulhussein,’ said the wolf, ‘thou wast wont to show me affection and covet my friendship and fear the greatness of my strength. Bear me not malice for that I did with thee, for he who hath power and forgiveth, his reward is with God; even as saith the poet:
Sow benefits aye, though in other than fitting soil. A benefit’s never lost, wherever it may be sown;
And though time tarry full long to bring it to harvest-tide, Yet no man reapeth its fruit, save he who sowed it alone.’
‘O most witless of beasts of prey and stupidest of the
- ↑ “O thou of the little stronghold.” A sobriquet popularly bestowed on the fox, even as we call him “Reynard.”
