Zgodba o dekletu in pastirju

Besedilo

Zgodba o dekletu in pastirju

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that the holy man divided his daily bread in two, keeping half for himself and setting aside the other half for the pair of pigeons. He prayed that they might have many offspring, and they multiplied greatly. The pigeons would roost nowhere but on the mountain where the holy man lived. What had drawn them to him was their constant praise of God, for it is said that the pigeon chants: “Glory be to the Creator of all creatures, the Apportioner of sustenance, the Builder of the heavens, and He who spread out the earths.” The pair and their offspring continued to live in the greatest ease until the holy man died; then their company was scattered, and they dispersed among the towns, villages, and mountains. It is also told that in a certain mountain there lived a shepherd, a man of faith, sound judgment, and chastity. He had sheep which he tended, making use of their milk and wool. The mountain where he dwelt abounded in trees, pasture, and beasts of prey, yet those beasts had no power to harm either the shepherd or his flock. He remained there in peace, untroubled by any worldly concern, content in his lot and devoted to worship. It happened that he fell gravely ill and took shelter in a cave in the mountain. His sheep would go out to pasture by day and return to the cave at night. God willed to try the shepherd and put his obedience and patience to the test, so He sent him an angel. The angel entered in the form of a beautiful woman and sat before him. When the shepherd saw the woman sitting beside him, his flesh shuddered, and he said to her, “Woman, what has brought you here? You have no business with me, nor is there anything between us that gives you cause to enter my dwelling.” She replied, “Man, do you not see my beauty and loveliness, or smell my sweet fragrance? Do you not know that men have need of women? What, then, keeps you from me? I have chosen to be near you and long to be joined with you. I have come willingly and will not resist you. There is no one here for us to fear. I wish to stay with you as long as you remain in these mountains and be your companion. I have offered myself to you because you need a woman’s care. If you lie with me, your sickness will leave you and your health return, and you will regret all the years of your life you have spent far from women. I have given you good counsel: accept it, and come close to me.”

The shepherd said, “Begone from me, deceitful, treacherous woman! I will neither trust you nor draw near you. I have no need of your company or your embraces, for whoever desires you turns away from the life to come, and whoever desires the life to come turns away from you. You have tempted the first generations and the last, but God Most High keeps watch over His servants. Woe to anyone afflicted with your company!” She said to him, “You who have strayed from sound judgment and lost the path of wisdom, turn your face toward me and look upon my charms. Seize the pleasure of my company, as the wise men before you did. They had greater experience than you and sounder judgment, yet they did not reject, as you do, the enjoyment of women. Rather, they desired the intimacy and embraces you disdain, and it harmed them neither in their faith nor in their worldly affairs. Change your mind, and you will be pleased with the outcome.” The shepherd replied, “What you speak of I abhor, and all you display I renounce, for you are deceitful and treacherous, keeping neither promise nor faith. How much ugliness you have hidden beneath your beauty! How many righteous men you have tempted, whose end was sorrow and regret! Leave me, you who adorn yourself to bring others to ruin.” Then he drew his cloak over his face so that he could not see her and occupied himself with the remembrance of his Lord.

When the angel saw how steadfastly he obeyed God, it departed and ascended to heaven. Near the shepherd’s dwelling was a village where a righteous man lived, unaware of his presence. This man dreamed that a voice said to him, “Near you, in such-and-such a place, there is a righteous man. Go to him and submit yourself to his guidance.” When morning came, he set out toward him. As the heat grew fierce, he reached a tree beside a flowing spring and sat in its shade to rest. While he was sitting there, wild beasts and birds came to drink from the spring, but when they saw the holy man, they took fright and fled. He said to himself, “My rest here has brought nothing but hardship to these beasts and birds.” Then he rose and rebuked himself, saying, “By sitting in this place today I have harmed these creatures. What excuse shall I offer my Creator and the Creator of these birds and beasts? I have driven them from their water and pasture. How ashamed I shall be before my Lord on the day when He exacts justice for the hornless sheep from the horned!” Tears streamed from his eyes, and he recited these verses:

By God, if mortals knew why they were made, they would not heedlessly lie down to sleep. Death comes, then resurrection, then the gathering, reproach and terrors vast beyond all measure. Yet when forbidden something or commanded, most of us sleep like the People of the Cave. Then he wept because he had sat beneath the tree beside the spring and kept the birds and beasts from drinking. He went on his way, wandering distractedly, until he reached the shepherd. He entered and greeted him, and the shepherd returned his greeting, embraced him, and wept. Then the shepherd asked, “What has brought you to this place, where no man has ever come to visit me?” The holy man replied, “In a dream I saw someone who described your dwelling to me and bade me journey here to greet you. I have come in obedience to that command.” The shepherd welcomed him, and his heart was gladdened by his company. The man stayed with him in the mountain, and together they worshipped God Most High in that cave, devout in their worship. They remained there worshipping their Lord, sustaining themselves on the flesh and milk of the sheep, free of wealth and children, until death, the certainty, came to them. And this is the end of their tale.

The king said, “Shahrazad, you have made me turn away from my kingship and filled me with remorse for the women and girls I have killed. Have you any tales of birds?” She replied, “Yes.”