Ch 01 Manner Of Kings Story 04 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AA BBBCDEFG HIJKLM NCOPQRST KU VFWSOPXYVZA2B2 C2P D2E2F2G2 YVH2 G2G2PG2I2J2K2I2G2 G2L2G2I G2M2P QG2J2 VQVG2G2G2N2O2 P2 Q2R2N2WPO2 S2ET2U2G2V2| A | |
| A | |
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| A band of Arab brigands having taken up their position on the top of | B |
| a mountain and closed the passage of caravans the inhabitants of | B |
| the country were distressed by their stratagems and the troops of | B |
| the sultan foiled because the robbers having obtained an inaccessible | C |
| spot on the summit of the mountain thus had a refuge which they | D |
| made their habitation The chiefs of that region held a consultation | E |
| about getting rid of the calamity because it would be impossible to | F |
| offer resistance to the robbers if they were allowed to remain | G |
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| A tree which has just taken root | H |
| May be moved from the place by the strength of a man | I |
| But if thou leavest it thus for a long time | J |
| Thou canst not uproot it with a windlass | K |
| The source of a fountain may be stopped with a bodkin | L |
| But when it is full it cannot be crossed on an elephant | M |
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| The conclusion was arrived at to send one man as a spy and to wait | N |
| for the opportunity till the brigands departed to attack some people | C |
| and leave the place empty Then several experienced men who had | O |
| fought in battles were despatched to keep themselves in ambush in a | P |
| hollow of the mountain In the evening the brigands returned from | Q |
| their excursion with their booty divested themselves of their arms | R |
| put away their plunder and the first enemy who attacked them was | S |
| sleep till about a watch of the night had elapsed | T |
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| The disk of the sun went into darkness | K |
| Jonah went into the mouth of the fish | U |
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| The warriors leapt forth from the ambush tied the hands of every | V |
| one of the robbers to his shoulders and brought them in the morning to | F |
| the court of the king who ordered all of them to be slain There | W |
| happened to be a youth among them the fruit of whose vigour was | S |
| just ripening and the verdure on the rose garden of whose cheek had | O |
| begun to sprout One of the veziers having kissed the foot of the | P |
| king's throne and placed the face of intercession upon the ground | X |
| said 'This boy has not yet eaten any fruit from the garden of life | Y |
| and has not yet enjoyed the pleasures of youth I hope your majesty | V |
| will generously and kindly confer an obligation upon your slave by | Z |
| sparing his life ' The king being displeased with this request | A2 |
| answered | B2 |
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| 'He whose foundation is bad will not take instruction from the good | C2 |
| To educate unworthy persons is like throwing nuts on a cupola | P |
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| 'It is preferable to extirpate the race and offspring of these | D2 |
| people and better to dig up their roots and foundations because it is | E2 |
| not the part of wise men to extinguish fire and to leave burning coals | F2 |
| or to kill a viper and leave its young ones | G2 |
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| If a cloud should rain the water of life | Y |
| Never sip it from the branch of a willow tree | V |
| Associate not with a base fellow | H2 |
| Because thou canst not eat sugar from a mat reed ' | - |
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| The vezier heard these sentiments approved of them nolens volens | G2 |
| praised the opinion of the king and said 'What my lord has uttered is | G2 |
| the very truth itself because if the boy had been brought up in the | P |
| company of those wicked men he would have become one of themselves | G2 |
| But your slave hopes that he will in the society of pious men profit | I2 |
| by education and will acquire the disposition of wise persons Being | J2 |
| yet a child the rebellious and perverse temper of that band has not | K2 |
| yet taken hold of his nature and there is a tradition of the prophet | I2 |
| that every infant is born with an inclination for Islam but his | G2 |
| parents make him a Jew a Christian or a Majusi ' | - |
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| The spouse of Lot became a friend of wicked persons | G2 |
| His race of prophets became extinct | L2 |
| The dog of the companions of the cave for some days | G2 |
| Associated with good people and became a man | I |
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| When the vezier had said these words and some of the king's | G2 |
| courtiers had added their intercession to his the king no longer | M2 |
| desired to shed the blood of the youth and said 'I grant the | P |
| request although I disapprove of it ' | - |
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| Knowest thou not what Zal said to the hero Rastam | Q |
| 'An enemy cannot be held despicable or helpless | G2 |
| I have seen many a water from a paltry spring | J2 |
| Becoming great and carrying off a camel with its load ' | - |
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| In short the vezier brought up the boy delicately with every | V |
| comfort and kept masters to educate him till they had taught him | Q |
| to address persons in elegant language as well as to reply and he | V |
| had acquired every accomplishment One day the vezier hinted at his | G2 |
| talents in the presence of the king asserting that the instructions | G2 |
| of wise men had taken effect upon the boy and had expelled his | G2 |
| previous ignorance from his nature The king smiled at these words and | N2 |
| said | O2 |
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| 'At last a wolf's whelp will be a wolf | P2 |
| Although he may grow up with a man ' | - |
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| After two years had elapsed a band of robbers in the locality joined | Q2 |
| him tied the knot of friendship and when the opportunity presented | R2 |
| itself he killed the vezier with his son took away untold wealth and | N2 |
| succeeded to the position of his own father in the robber cave where | W |
| he established himself The king informed of the event took the | P |
| finger of amazement between his teeth and said | O2 |
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| 'How can a man fabricate a good sword of bad iron | S2 |
| O sage who is nobody becomes not somebody by education | E |
| The rain in the beneficence of whose nature there is no flaw | T2 |
| Will cause tulips to grow in a garden and weeds in bad soil | U2 |
| Saline earth will not produce hyacinths | G2 |
| Throw not away thy seeds or work thereon | V2 |
| To do good to wicked persons is like Doing evil to good men ' | - |
Saadi Shirazi
(1)
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