Zgodba o zastrupljenem mleku

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Zgodba o zastrupljenem mleku

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate King, that when Sindbad said to the king’s son, “Give your answer, my son,” the prince replied, “I have heard that a merchant once received a guest in his house, and sent his maid to the market to buy milk in a jar. She filled her jar with milk and set off for her master’s house. As she was on her way, a kite flew over her, carrying a snake in its talons and squeezing it in its grip. A drop fell from the snake into the jar, without the maid knowing anything of it. When she reached the house, her master took the milk from her and drank it with his guests. Scarcely had it settled in their stomachs when they all died. Consider, then, O King: who was to blame in this affair?” One of those present said, “The blame lies with those who drank.” Another said, “The blame lies with the maid, who left the jar uncovered, without a lid.” Then Sindbad, the boy’s tutor, said, “And what do you say to this, my son?” The prince replied, “I say that these men are mistaken. Neither the maid nor those who drank were to blame. Their allotted lives had simply come to an end, along with their allotted sustenance, and it was decreed that they should die by this means.” When those present heard this, they marvelled exceedingly, raised their voices in prayers for the king’s son, and said to him, “Our lord, you have given an answer beyond compare. You are now the wisest man of your age.” Hearing them, the prince said, “I am no sage. The blind old man, the three-year-old boy, and the five-year-old boy are all wiser than I.” Then those assembled said to him, “Tell us, young prince, the stories of these three who are wiser than you.”