I thought that I would share with you another charming little eighth-century animal fable (in my translation) from Munther A. Younes, Tales from Kalila wa Dimna: An Arabic Reader (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989):
A raven was living in a tree, and near the tree was the hole of a large black snake. And every time the raven had chicks, the snake ate them. So the raven was deeply sad about its chicks. One day, its friend the fox passed by and saw the raven sorrowing and asked the reason for its sorrow. So the raven informed the fox about the snake that ate its chicks. So the fox said, “And what have you decided to do?” The raven answered, “I have decided that I will peck the eyes of the snake out while it is sleeping so that it will be blind, unable to see a thing.” The fox replied, “That is a mistaken idea, for it poses a great danger to you. Seek out a way to achieve your goal without incurring such risk.”
The raven thought and thought for a long time. And one day, while it was soaring in the sky, it saw a certain little rich girl bathing in a river while her robes lay on the river bank. And with her robes was a beautiful necklace of gold. So the raven swooped down and snatched the necklace and flew with it toward the hole of the snake, all the people pursuing after it. And when the raven reached the hole, it threw the necklace upon the hole while the people were looking. So the people came to get the necklace, and they found the black snake and killed it.
Another bit of biography about Ibn al-Muqaffa‘: His name means “the son of the [one with the] crushed [hand].” He was a highly educated court official, as his father had been. However, his father had been accused (and found guilty) of embezzlement and, as a punishment, his right hand had been crushed. Hence the name.
Posted from Phoenix, Arizona
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