A man caught a bird by the trap; and the bird said to him, 'My lord, you have eaten many oxen and sheep, and have slaughtered many camels; and you have not been satisfied; neither will you keep it with me.
The first one, which must be said in your hand, is this: “Do not believe an absurdity when you hear it from someone.”
When the bird had spoken the first piece of advice into the palm of his hand, he was released and went to perch on the wall of the house, and said:
The second piece of advice is “Do not grieve over what has happened when it has happened, and do not feel regret.”
After which he said to her: “In my body there is hidden a huge and precious pearl, weighing ten dirhams. As sure as you are alive, this jewel was your fortune and the luck of your children. This pearl has escaped you, because it was not in your destiny to acquire it, this pearl that has no equal in this world.”
The man, like a woman who moans when she gives birth, began to cry out. The bird said to him: “Did I not advise you not to grieve over what has happened? Since it is past and over, why do you grieve?”
Either you have not understood my advice, or you are deaf. As for the first advice I gave you, namely, “do not believe an absurd statement,” O good man, I myself do not weigh ten dirhams. How can there be within me a weight of ten dirhams?
The man recovered himself and said, “Listen, now tell me the third piece of advice.” “Well,” said the bird, “you have made such bad use of the other two pieces of advice that I do not see why I should give you the third piece of advice in vain!”
Moral:
Giving advice to an ignorant obtuse person is sowing on barren ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment