Violence of the boatman

At night he related to his father what had

happened in the boat, of the violence of the boatman and of the peasants, and

the treachery of the caravan. The father said, “0 son did I not tell you, at

the time of your departure, that the strong but poor man has his hand tied; and

that his foot, though resembling the paw of a lion, is broken? What an excellent

saying is that of the needy gladiator: ‘ A grain of gold is worth more than

fifty pounds of strength/ ” The son replied, “ 0 father of a truth, without

encountering difficulty you cannot acquire riches ; and without you endanger

your life, you cannot gain the victory over your enemy ; and without sowing

seed, you cannot fill your barn.

Don’t you perceive that, in return for the

little distress that I suffered, how much wealth I have brought with me; and

for the sting that I endured, what a stock of honey I have acquired? Although

we cannot enjoy more than what Providence has assigned us, we ought not to be

negligent in acquiring it. If the diver were to think of the jaw of the

crocodile, he would never get in his possession precious pearls. The lower

mill-stone does not move, and therefore sustains a great weight. What food can

a ravenous lion find in his den? What game can be taken by a hawk that cannot fly?

If you wait in your house for provision, your hands and feet will become as

thin as those of a spider.”

The father said, “0 son ! Heaven has

befriended you this time, and good fortune has been your guide, so that you

have been able to pluck the rose from the thorn and to extract the thorn from

your foot ; and a great man met with you, pitied and enriched you, and healed

your broken condition. But such instances are rare, and we ought not to expect

wonders. The hunter doth not always carry off the game : perchance himself may

one day become the prey of the tiger. In like manner, as it happened to one of

the kings of Persia, who, possessing a ring set with a valuable jewel, went

once on a party of pleasure, with some of his particular associates, to Mussula

Shiraz, and ordered that they should fix the ring on the dome of Asud, with a

proclamation, that whoever shot an arrow through the circlet of it should have

the ring.

It chanced there were at that time four

hundred experienced archers attending him, whose arrows all missed ; but as a

boy was playing on the terrace roof of the monastery, and shooting his arrows

at random, the morning breeze conducted one of them through the ring. The prize

was bestowed on him, together with other rich gifts. After this the boy burnt

his bow and arrows, and on their asking him, Why he had done so ? He replied, ‘

That this my first repute may be lasting.’ It may happen that the prudent

counsel of an enlightened sage does not succeed ; and it may chance that an

unskilful boy, through mistake, hits the mark with his arrow.”