Prevod
She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that the vizier Shammas said to the king, “They will accomplish their purpose and bring about your destruction, and your plight will be like that of the foxes and the wolf.” The king asked, “And how was that?” He replied, “They say that a band of foxes went out one day in search of food. As they roamed about, they came upon a dead camel and said to themselves, ‘We have found enough to sustain us for a long time. Yet we fear that some of us may wrong the others, and that the strong may use their strength against the weak, so that the weak among us perish. We should therefore seek a judge to rule between us and allot him a share, so that the strong have no power over the weak.’ While they were consulting about this, a wolf came towards them, and they said to one another, ‘If you think it wise, let us appoint this wolf as our judge, for he is stronger than any of us, and his father was once our ruler. We pray to God that he will deal justly with us.’ So they approached him, told him what they had decided, and said, ‘We have appointed you to judge between us, so that you may give each of us enough to sustain him every day, according to his needs, lest our strong oppress our weak and we destroy one another.’ The wolf agreed to their proposal, took charge of their affairs, and that day divided among them enough to satisfy them.
“The next day, however, the wolf said to himself, ‘Dividing this camel among these feeble creatures brings me nothing beyond the portion they have allotted me. If I eat it all myself, they can do me no harm. Indeed, they themselves are prey for me and my household. Who, then, can prevent me from taking it for myself? Perhaps God has provided it for me, and I owe them no thanks for it! I would do better to keep it all to myself, and from this moment I shall give them nothing.’ That morning the foxes came to him as usual to ask for their food, saying, ‘O Abu Sirhan, give us our day’s provision.’ He answered, ‘I have nothing left to give you.’ They went away in great distress and said, ‘God has brought us into grievous trouble with this wicked traitor, who neither reveres God nor fears Him, and we have neither strength nor power.’ Then they said to one another, ‘It was only the pangs of hunger that drove him to this. Let us leave him to eat his fill today, and tomorrow we shall go to him.’ The following morning they went to him and said, ‘O Abu Sirhan, we appointed you over us only so that you might give each of us his sustenance and secure justice for the weak against the strong. When this food is gone, you are to strive to find us more, and we shall remain always under your protection and care. Hunger has afflicted us, and we have eaten nothing for two days. Give us our provision, and beyond that you are free to dispose of everything as you please.’ He gave them no answer, but only grew more ruthless. They pleaded with him again, yet he would not relent. So they said to one another, ‘We have no recourse but to go to the lion, throw ourselves upon his mercy, and offer him the camel. If he is kind enough to give us some of it, that will be a favour from him; otherwise, he has a better right to it than this villain.’ They went to the lion and told him what had happened between them and the wolf, then said, ‘We are your servants, and we have come seeking your protection. Deliver us from this wolf, and we shall become your slaves.’ When the lion heard the foxes’ words, he was stirred to righteous anger and indignation for the sake of God Most High, and went with them to the wolf. When the wolf saw the lion approaching, he tried to flee, but the lion pursued him, caught him, tore him to pieces, and restored the foxes’ prey to them. From this we learn that no king should neglect the affairs of his subjects. Accept my counsel, then, and believe what I have told you. Remember that before his death your father charged you to heed good advice. These are my last words to you, and peace be with you.” The king said, “I will heed you, and tomorrow, God Most High willing, I shall go out to them.” Shammas left him and told the people that the king had accepted his counsel and promised to come out to them the next day.
When the king’s wife heard what Shammas had reported, and became certain that the king would indeed go out to his subjects, she hurried to him and said, “How greatly I marvel at your submission and obedience to your servants! Do you not know that these viziers are your slaves? Why have you raised them to such a lofty station that you have led them to imagine it was they who gave you this kingdom, exalted you to this rank, and bestowed gifts upon you, when they could not inflict even the slightest harm upon you? It is not for you to submit to them; rather, it is for them to submit to you and carry out your commands. How, then, can you be so terrified of them? It has been said that unless your heart is like iron, you are not fit to be a king. Your forbearance has deceived these men until they have grown insolent towards you and cast off their obedience, though they ought to be compelled to obey you and forced to submit to your will. If you hasten to accept their words, leave them as they are, and grant them even the smallest request against your own wishes, they will become a burden to you and presume upon you, and this will become their habit. If you heed me, you will give none of them any importance, listen to none of their words, and give them no encouragement to treat you with insolence, lest you become like the shepherd and the thief.” The king asked her, “And how was that?”
