Reijo Elsner
The Tale of the Bull and the Ass
KNOW, O my daughter, that there was once a merchant who owned much money and
many men, and who was rich in cattle and camels. He had also a wife and family,
and he dwelt in the country, being experienced in husbandry and devoted to
agriculture. Now Allah Most High had endowed him with understanding the tongues
of beasts and birds of every kind, but under pain of death if he divulged the
gift to any. So he kept it secret for very fear. He had in his cow house a bull
and an ass, each tethered in his own stall, one hard by the other. As the
merchant was sitting near-hand one day with his servans and his children were
playing about him, he heard and bull say to the ass:
"Hail and health to
thee O Father of Waking! for that thou enjoyest rest and good ministering. All
under thee is clean-swept and fresh-sprinkled. Men wait upon thee and feed thee,
and thy provaunt is sifted barley and thy drink pure spring water, while I
(unhappy creature!) am led forth in the middle of the night, when they set on my
neck the plow and a something called yoke, and I tire at cleaving the earth from
dawn of day till set of sun. I am forced to do more than I can and to bear all
manner of ill-treatment from night to night. After which they take me back with
my sides torn, my neck flayed, my legs aching, and mine eyelids sored with
tears. Then they shut me up in the byre and throw me beans and crushed straw
mixed with dirt and chaff, and I lie in dung and filth and foul stinks through
the livelong night. But thou art ever in a place swept and sprinkled and
cleansed, and thou art always lying at ease, save when it happens (and seldom
enough!) that the master hath some business, when he mounts thee and rides thee
to town and returns with thee forthright. So it happens that I am toiling and
distrest while thou takest thine ease and thy rest. Thou sleepest while I am
sleepless, I hunger still while thou eatest thy fill, and I win contempt while
thou winnest goodwill."
When the bull ceased speaking, the ass turned
toward him and said: "O Broad-o'-Brow, O thou lost one! He lied not who dubbed
thee bullhead, for thou, O father of a bull, hast neither forethought nor
contrivance. Thou art the simplest of simpletons, and thou knowest naught of
good advisers. Hast thou not heard the saying of the wise?
"For others
these hardships and labors I bear,
And theirs is the pleasure and mine is
the care,
As the bleacher who blacketh his brow in the sun
To whiten the
raiment which other men wear.
But thou, O fool, art full of zeal,
and thou toilest and moilest before the master, and thou tearest and wearest and
slayest thyself for the comfort of another. Hast thou never heard the saw that
saith 'None to guide and from the way go wide'? Thou wendest forth at the call
to dawn prayer and thou returnest not till sundown, and through the livelong day
thou endurest all manner hardships: to wit, beating and belaboring and bad
language.
"Now hearken to me, Sir Bull! When they tie thee to thy
stinking manger, thou pawest the ground with thy forehand and lashest out with
thy hind hoofs and pushest with thy horns and bellowest aloud, so they deem thee
contented. And when they throw thee thy fodder, thou fallest on it with greed
and hastenest to line thy fair fat paunch. But if thou accept any advice, it
will be better for thee, and thou wilt lead an easier life even than mine. When
thou goest afield and they lay the thing called yoke on thy neck, be down and
rise not again, though haply they swings thee. And if thou rise, lie down a
second time. And when they bring thee home and offer thee thy beans, fall
backward and only sniff at thy meat and withdraw thee and taste it not, and be
satisfied with thy crushed straw and chaff. And on this wise feign thou art
sick, and cease not doing thus for a day or two days or even three days; so
shalt thou have rest from toil and moil."
When the Bull heard these
words, he knew the ass to be his friend and thanked him, saying, "Right is thy
rede," and prayed that all blessings might requite him, and cried: "O Father
Wakener! Thou hast made up for my failings." (Now the merchant, O my daughter,
understood all that passed between them.) Next day the driver took the bull and,
settling the plow on his neck, made him work as wont. But the bull began to
shirk his plowing, according to the advice of the ass, and the plowman drubbed
him till he broke the yoke and made off. But the man caught him up and leathered
him till he despaired of his life. Not the less, however, would he do nothing
but stand still and drop down till the evening. Then the herd led him home and
stabled him in his stall, but he drew back from his manger and neither stamped
nor ramped nor butted nor bellowed as he was wont to do, whereat the man
wondered. He brought him the beans and husks, but he sniffed at them and left
them and lay down as far from them as he could and passed the whole night
fasting. The peasant came next morning and, seeing the manger full of beans, the
crushed straw untasted, and the ox lying on his back in sorriest plight, with
legs outstretched and swollen belly, he was concerned for him, and said to
himself, "By Allah, he hath assuredly sickened, and this is the cause why he
would not plow yesterday."
Then he went to the merchant and reported: "O
my master, the bull is ailing. He refused his fodder last night- nay, more, he
hath not tasted a scrap of it this morning." Now the merchant-farmer understood
what all this meant, because he had overheard the talk between the bull and the
ass, so quoth he, "Take that rascal donkey, and set the yoke on his neck, and
bind him to the plow and make him do bull's work." Thereupon the plowman took
the ass, and worked him through the livelong day at the bull's task. And when be
failed for weakness, he made him eat stick till his ribs were sore and his sides
were sunken and his neck was rayed by the yoke. And when he came home in the
evening he could hardly drag his limbs along, either forehand or hind legs. But
as for the bull, he had passed the day lying at full length, and had eaten his
fodder with an excellent appetite, and he ceased not calling down blessings on
the ass for his good advice, unknowing what had come to him on his account.
So when night set in and the ass returned to the byre, the bull rose up
before him in honor, and said: "May good tidings gladden thy heart, O Father
Wakener! Through thee I have rested all this day, and I have eaten my meat in
peace and quiet." But the ass returned no reply, for wrath and heartburning and
fatigue and the beating he had gotten. And he repented with the most grievous of
repentance, and quoth he to himself: "This cometh of my folly in giving good
counsel. As the saw saith, I was in joy and gladness, naught save my
officiousness brought me this sadness. And now I must take thought and put a
trick upon him and return him to his place, else I die." Then he went aweary to
his manger while the bull thanked him and blessed him.
And even so, O my
daughter (said the Wazir) thou wilt die for lack of wits. Therefore sit thee
still and say naught and expose not thy life to such stress, for, by Allah, I
offer thee the best advice, which cometh of my affection and kindly solicitude
for thee. "O my father," she answered, "needs must I go up to this King and be
married to him." Quoth he, "Do not this deed," and quoth she, "Of a truth I
will." Whereat he rejoined, "If thou be not silent and bide still, I will do
with thee even what the merchant did with his wife." "And what did be?" asked
she.
Know then (answered the Wazir) that after the return of the ass the
merchant came out on the terrace roof with his wife and family, for it was a
moonlit night and the moon at its full. Now the terrace overlooked the cow
house, and presently as he sat there with his children playing about him, the
trader heard the ass say to the bull, "Tell me, O Father Broad-o'-Brow, what
thou purposest to do tomorrow." The bull answered: "What but continue to follow
thy counsel, O Aliboron? Indeed it was as good as good could be, and it hath
given me rest and repose, nor will I now depart from it one tittle. So when they
bring me my meat, I will refuse it and blow out my belly and counterfeit crank."
The ass shook his head and said, "Beware of so doing, O Father of a Bull!" The
buff asked, "Why?" and the ass answered, "Know that I am about to give thee the
best of counsel, for verily I heard our owner say to the herd, 'If the bull rise
not from his place to do his work this morning and if he retire from his fodder
this day, make him over to the butcher that he may slaughter him and give his
flesh to the poor, and fashion a bit of leather from his hide.' Now I fear for
thee on account of this. So take my advice ere a calamity befall thee, and when
they bring thee thy fodder, eat it and rise up and bellow and paw the ground, or
our master will assuredly slay thee. And peace be with thee!"
Thereupon
the bull arose and lowed aloud and thanked the ass, and said, "Tomorrow I will
readily go forth with them." And he at once ate up all his meat and even licked
the manger. (All this took place and the owner was listening to their talk.)
Next morning the trader and his wife went to the bull's crib and sat down, and
the driver came and led forth the bull, who, seeing his owner, whisked his tail
and brake wind, and frisked about so lustily that the merchant laughed a loud
laugh and kept laughing till he fell on his back. His wife asked him, "Whereat
laughest thou with such loud laughter as this?" and he answered her, "I laughed
at a secret something which I have heard and seen but cannot say lest I die my
death." She returned, "Perforce thou must discover it to me, and disclose the
cause of thy laughing even if thou come by thy death!" But he rejoined, "I
cannot reveal what beasts and birds say in their lingo for fear I die." Then
quoth she: "By Allah, thou liest! This is a mere pretext. Thou laughest at none
save me, and now thou wouldest hide somewhat from me. But by the Lord of the
Heaven, an thou disclose not the cause I will no longer cohabit with thee, I
will leave thee at once." And she sat down and cried.
Whereupon quoth
the merchant: "Woe betide thee! What means thy weeping? Fear Allah, and leave
these words and query me no more questions." "Needs must thou tell me the cause
of that laugh," said she, and he replied: "Thou wettest that when I prayed Allah
to vouchsafe me understanding of the tongues of beasts and birds, I made a vow
never to disclose the secret to any under pain of dying on the spot." "No
matter!" cried she. "Tell me what secret passed between the bull and the ass and
die this very hour an thou be so minded." And she ceased not to importune him
till he was worn-out and clean distraught. So at last he said, "Summon thy
father and thy mother and our kith and kin and sundry of our neighbors." Which
she did, and he sent for the kazi and his assessors, intending to make his will
and reveal to her his secret and die the death; for he loved her with love
exceeding because she was his cousin, the daughter of his father's brother, and
the mother of his children, and he had lived with her a life of a hundred and
twenty years.
Then, having assembled all the family and the folk of his
neighborhood, he said to them, "By me there hangeth a strange story, and 'tis
such that if I discover the secret to any, I am a dead man." Therefore quoth
every one of those present to the woman, "Allah upon thee, leave this sinful
obstinacy and recognize the right of this matter, lest haply thy husband and the
father of thy children die." But she rejoined, "I will not turn from it till he
tell me, even though he come by his death." So they ceased to urge her, and the
trader rose from amongst them and repaired to an outhouse to perform the wuzu
ablution, and he purposed thereafter to return and to tell them his secret and
to die.
Now, Daughter Scheherazade, that merchant had in his outhouses
some fifty hens under one cock, and whilst making ready to farewell his folk he
heard one of his many farm dogs thus address in his own tongue the cock, who was
flapping his wings and crowing lustily and jumping from one hen's back to
another and treading all in turn, saying: "O Chanticleer! How mean is thy wit
and how shameless is thy conduct! Be he disappointed who brought thee up. Art
thou not ashamed of thy doings on such a day as this?" "And what," asked the
rooster, "hath occurred this day?" when the dog answered; "Dost thou not know
that our master is this day making ready for his death? His wife is resolved
that he shall disclose the secret taught to him by Allah, and the moment he so
doeth he shall surely die. We dogs are all a-mourning, but thou clappest thy
wings and clarionest thy loudest and treadest hen after hen. Is this an hour for
pastime and pleasuring? Art thou not ashamed of thyself?"
"Then by
Allah," quoth the cock, "is our master a lackwit and a man scanty of sense. If
he cannot manage matters with a single wife, his life is not worth prolonging.
Now I have some fifty dame partlets, and I please this and provoke that and
starve one and stuff another, and through my good governance they are all well
under my control. This our master pretendeth to wit and wisdom, and she hath but
one wife and yet knoweth not how to manage her." Asked the dog, "What then, O
Cock, should the master do to will clear of his strait?" "He should arise
forthright," answered the cock, "and take some twigs from yon mulberry tree and
give her a regular back-basting and ribroasting till she cry: 'I repent, O my
lord! I will never ask thee a question as Ion, as I live!' Then let him beat her
once more and soundly, and when he shall have done this, he shall sleep free
from care and enjoy life. But this master of ours owns neither sense nor
judgment."
"Now, Daughter Scheherazade," continued the Wazir, "I will do
to thee as did that husband to that wife." Said Scheherazade, "And what did he
do?" He replied, "When the merchant heard the wise words spoken by his cock to
his dog, he arose in haste and sought his wife's chamber, after cutting for her
some mulberry twigs and hiding them there. And then he called to her, "Come into
the closet, that I may tell thee the secret while no one seeth me, and then
die." She entered with him and he locked the door and came down upon her with so
sound a beating of back and shoulders, ribs, arms, and legs, saying the while
"Wilt thou ever be asking questions about what concerneth thee not?" that she
was well-nigh senseless. Presently she cried out: "I am of the repentant! By
Allah, I will ask thee no more questions, and indeed I repent sincerely and
wholesomely." Then she kissed his hand and feet and he led her out of the room
submissive, as a wife should be. Her parents and all the company rejoiced and
sadness and mourning were changed into joy and gladness.
Thus the
merchant learnt family discipline from his cock and he and his wife lived
together the happiest of lives until death. And thou also, O my daughter!
continued the Wazir, unless thou turn from this matter I will do by thee what
that trader did to his wife. But she answered him with much decision: "I will
never desist, O my father, nor shall this tale change my purpose. Leave such
talk and tattle. I will not listen to thy words and if thou deny me, I will
marry myself to him despite the nose of thee. And first I will go up to the King
myself and alone and I will say to him: 'I prayed my father to wive me with
thee, but he refused, being resolved to disappoint his lord, grudging the like
of me to the like of thee'." Her father asked, "Must this needs be?" and she
answered, "Even so."
Hereupon the Wazir, being weary of lamenting and
contending, persuading and dissuading her, all to no purpose, went up to King
Shahryar and, after blessing him and kissing the ground before him, told him all
about his dispute with his daughter from first to last and how he designed to
bring her to him that night. The King wondered with exceeding wonder, for he had
made an especial exception of the Wazir's daughter, and said to him: "O most
faithful of counsellors, how is this? Thou wettest that I have sworn by the
Raiser of the Heavens that after I have gone into her this night I shall say to
thee on the morrow's 'Take her and slay her!' And if thou slay her not, I will
slay thee in her stead without fail." "Allah guide thee to glory and lengthen
thy life, O King of the Age," answered the Wazir. "It is she that hath so
determined. All this have I told her and more, but she will not hearken to me
and she persisteth in passing this coming night with the King's Majesty." So
Shahryar rejoiced greatly and said, "'Tis well. Go get her ready, and this night
bring her to me." The Wazir returned to his daughter and reported to her the
command, saying, "Allah make not thy father desolate by thy loss!"
But
Scheherazade rejoiced with exceeding joy and get ready all she required and said
to her younger sister, Dunyazade: "Note well what directions I entrust to thee!
When I have gone into the King I will send for thee, and when thou comest to me
and seest that he hath had his carnal will of me, do thou say to me: 'O my
sister, an thou be not sleepy, relate to me some new story, delectable and
delightsome, the better to speed our waking hours.' And I will tell thee a tale
which shall be our deliverance, if so Allah please, and which shall turn the
King from his bloodthirsty custom." Dunyazade answered "With love and gladness."
So when it was night, their father the Wazir carried Scheherazade to the
King, who was gladdened at the sight and asked, "Hast thou brought me my need?"
And he answered, "I have." But when the King took her to his bed and fell to
toying with her and wished to go in to her, she wept, which made him ask, "What
aileth thee?" She replied, "O King of the Age, I have a younger sister, and lief
would I take leave of her this night before I see the dawn." So he sent at once
for Dunyazade and she came and kissed the ground between his hands, when he
permitted her to take her seat near the foot of the couch. Then the King arose
and did away with his bride's maidenhead and the three fell asleep.
But
when it was midnight Scheherazade awoke and signaled to her sister Dunyazade,
who sat up and said, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, recite to us some new story,
delightsome and delectable, wherewith to while away the waking hours of our
latter night." "With joy and goodly gree," answered Scheherazade, "if this pious
and auspicious King permit me." "Tell on," quoth the King, who chanced to be
sleepless and restless and therefore was pleased with the prospect of hearing
her story. So Scheherazade rejoiced, and thus, on the first night of the
Thousand Nights and a Night, she began her recitations.