The Bull and the Donkey OK
The Bull and the Donkey
[001]Praise be to Allah, Scheherazade is married to the Sultan Sharyar.[007] All the many brides of the Sultan, who came before her have been put to death on the first morning of their marriage.[014] It is late in the night, and the dawn is but a few hours away.[020] The newly weds cannot sleep, and Scheherazade begins to tell her husband a story.
[028]There was once a merchant who was rich in cattle and camels.[034] He lived in the country with his wife and family and devoted himself to farming.[040] Now, Allah in his wisdom had given him the power to understand the speech of all kinds of animals and birds.[049] But this great gift came with a condition:[054] he must not tell any human being what he heard the animals say or he would surely die on the spot.
[063]One evening he was sitting by the stables while he watched his children playing in the hay,[070] when he heard his bull talking in his deep low voice:
[076]“Oh donkey,” he was saying to his fellow animal.[083] “How come you have the best barley, the freshest water, and the easiest life?[090] You stay here indoors all day while the men wait upon you like servants,[097] sweeping your stall, and brushing your coat until it shines.[102] But as for me, they lead me out to work at the call of the dawn prayer.[109] The men make me wear a thing called a yoke around my shoulders and it is heavy and uncomfortable.[117] They crack whips over my back and force me to pull the plough through the fields from morning to sunset.[126] My life is nothing but toil and trouble.[132] But your duties are light and pleasant.[135] Once every two weeks, you carry the master to the market on your back.[141] He is not fat, and the burden is not great, and on the way he learns to like you and appreciate you.[152] Your life is so much better than mine.[155] Dear donkey, pray do help me.[160] Tell me how I can live like you?”
[165]You can imagine how the merchant was intrigued by this conversation,[171] and how he tuned in his ears in to make sure that he did not miss a word.[177] He heard the donkey laugh with a great Eeeee-ore! and reply to the bull:
[184]“Why you big old fool! You are ten times as strong as I am,[189] and yet you let the humans treat you without any respect for your superior force.[194] Don’t you have any sense? Do your horns grow inside your head where your brains should be?[202] Listen to your wiser and better brother, and your problems shall be done and dusted.[209] Do not show willingness for work, or of course the men will take advantage of you.[216] When they come in the morning, and try to place the thing called a yoke over your neck, toss your head.[224] When they try to drive you out to the fields, lie down in your manger and refuse to move.[233] They cannot make a great hulk like you even budge an inch if you do not wish it.[240] Bellow like you are angry or ill.[245] They will soon get the message and leave you alone.”
[251]The merchant heard all the words of the donkey, and he was curious to see whether the bull would heed his advice.[263] It was therefore not entirely surprising to him when, the next morning,[269] the steward came to him, looking anxious and worried and and said:
[274]“Sir, something has got into the bull.[280] Perhaps it is a demon, or perhaps he is ill.[286] When we try to put the yoke on his neck, he tosses his head so that we cannot manage it.[293] When we try to drive him out of the stall, he bellows at us and paws the ground with his front leg.[302] And now, finally, he is lying down in the straw.[306] What are we to do sir? We cannot force the bull to go out into the fields if he does not wish it. [313]He is far to big and strong.”
[316]The merchant understood only too well what was wrong with the bull.[321] He was not ill, and no demon had bedevilled him.[326] All that had happened was that he was following the advice of his friend the donkey.[333] The merchant had already decided what must be done.[337] He would teach the donkey a lesson.[341] He said to his steward:
[344]“If the bull does not wish to work, then let him take a well earned rest.[350] Put the yoke on the donkey, and make him plough the fields today, [357]for it is only fair that he takes his share of the hard work.”
[362]And following their master’s orders, the men placed the yoke over the shoulders of the donkey, and they dragged him out to the fields.[372] When he stubbornly dug his heels into the ground, they cracked whips over his back.[379] He had no choice but to pull the heavy plough through the earth all day,[385] even though the sun was hot, and his mouth was dry.[390] When at last he came back to his stall in the evening, his legs were weak and and his whole body was weary.[399] He saw the bull lying down in clean straw, looking rested and happy.[407] Indeed the bull welcomed him home cheerily saying:
[411]“My true friend, the kind and wonderful donkey,[418] I have done exactly as you advised me, and today I have enjoyed rest, water, and good food.[428] I thank you from the bottom of my bull’s heart for your words of wisdom.”
[435]But the donkey had little to say just then.[439] He was unusually quiet beacuse he was so weary.[443] He took a long drink of water and lay down in his hay, utterly exhausted by his day’s work.
[451]When the morning came, the merchant rose early for he wanted to see how his animals had faired.[459] He peeped in through the window of the stables and he saw that the bull was swishing his tale happily.[466] They donkey was still lying down in his straw, feeling less than his best.[473] The bull was saying:
[477]“I am so looking forward to another day’s rest.[482] When the men come for me, I shall again toss my head, paw the ground, and bellow with my great voice.[491] Then I shall lie down and they will not be able to lead me out to work.”
[498]As the donkey stood up, he felt that his legs were still shaky from the previous day’s toil in the fields.[507] When he heard the bull’s plans to stay at home, he reflected:[513] “Oh foolish me! I am not half as clever as I thought.[519] I gave the bull good advice, but I did not foresee how it would rebound on me and how I would pay for it.[527] Now I must play a trick on him, or I shall suffer once more.”
[534]And so now he said to the bull:
[537]“My friend, I have advised you well once, and now I shall advise you again.[545] When the men come today, do not toss your head and refuse to take the yoke.[552] Nor should you bellow with rage or lie down in your straw, if you care for your life.[558] For yesterday, I heard the merchant speaking to his steward.[563] He gave orders that if the bull does not work,[567] he should take him to the butcher and make meat for the poor people, and leather for shoes and saddles.”
[575]The bull thanked the donkey for once again giving him wise advice,[580] and when the men came to fetch him from the stall,[583] he willingly took the yoke and went out to the fields for his day’s work.
[587]The merchant saw all that had happened,[590] and all day long he was laughing and smiling to himself whenever he thought of the trick that he had played on the donkey.
[598]Now the merchant had a wife, whom he had been married to for many years, and whom he loved dearly.[608] She did not fail to notice that he was smiling to himself all day, and she asked him the reason. He said:
[617]“My beloved, I am laughing at a conversation that I overheard between the animals,[625] but I cannot tell it to you for I will surely die on the spot.[630] Long ago, I prayed to Allah that I should understand the speech of all kinds of creatures,[638] and in return for this favour I offered that if ever I should betray what I heard to another human soul, then I should die immediately.”
[650]The merchant’s wife only grew more curious when she heard this reply,[656] and demanded more and more vehemently that he should tell her what he had heard the animals say and that she should share in his amusement.
[667]“But I shall surely die if I tell you!” he protested.
[673]“Nonsense! There can be no secrets between man and wife.[677] I shall leave you if you do not tell me! “ she replied.
[682]The argument went on so long that the merchant could bear her sulking no longer.[689] He sat down to write his will and worked with his steward to make sure that all his affairs were in order and his debts were paid before he died.[700] Then he called all his family and his servants to a meeting and told them of his decision:
[708]“This evening I shall relate to my wife what I heard of the conversation between the bull and the donkey, and then I must surely die.[723] And therefore this is my last farewell.[729] May Allah be praised and always be with you.”
[735]And so saying, he went about the family and servants distributing small gifts so that they would remember him well.
[749]Now when Scheherazade reached this part of the story, she said to the Sultan:
[756]“But great one, I must halt my tale, for the sunlight is at our window and it is time to rise and meet whatever the day holds in store for us.”
[768]And the Sultan, who had been listening very intently to the tale,[774] and was greatly amused by it, was anxious to hear what happened next.[780] Would the merchant really tell his wife what had happened, and die on the spot?[785] He begged Scheherazade to finish the tale,[789] but the call to Prayer was already echoing around the rooftops of the palace,[794] and the maids were busy sweeping the courtyards.
[799]The wise and lovely woman stroked the Sultan’s head, and said:[807] “If it so pleases you, great master, I shall finish telling the tale this following night.”
[816]And as the Sultan so wanted to know the end of the story, he gladly agreed to her suggestion,[824] and Scheherazade lived through that day as his queen.[830] The following night, she continued her story of the merchant:
[835]All of the merchant’s household was in tears and even the dogs got to hear of the terrible news and began to howl.[847] Only the cockerel strutted about the farm looking as proud and as pleased with himself as usual.[854] He made his call to the hens:
[857]“Cock-a-doodle-do!!”
[860]The behaviour of the cockerel angered the farm dogs who said:
[866]“Why do you make merry when we are in mourning for the master?[870] Have you not heard that he is about to die? Do you not have any respect for him?”
[876]And the proud cockerel replied:
[879]“I am not sorry for the master. I have 50 wives and he has but one.[887] He should understand better how to behave with his wife.”
[893]And it so happened that the merchant, was sitting in his study overlooking the farmyard, and when he overheard this conversation,[901] he felt ashamed that he had given in to despair and not handled the situation better. He thought to himself:
[911]“I am shrewd in business, and know all there is to know about farming,[916] but in my own home I am like a fool, and understand nothing of diplomacy.[924] I must be as cunning as…. as the donkey.”
[930]And with new hope in his heart, he went to his wife’s room, and knocked softly on the door:[936] His wife’s voice called out from within:
[940]“Are you now ready to tell me what you heard the animals say that was so amusing?”
[945]And the merchant replied that he was ready, and he came into the room:
[953]“My dear, it is all very simple,” he explained. “The bull spoke like this:”
[961]“LOWWWWWW!”
[965]And the donkey replied like this:
[968]“EEEE-AWWWW!
[970]And then the dogs said:
[972]“AOWWWWWW!”
[974]and the cockerel said:
[975]“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
[978]And when she heard her husband speak like this,[982] the wife laughed so much that she forgot her anger and was happy.
[989]And that was the very first story of 1001 Nights that Scheherazade told the Sultan,[997] enchanting and amusing the cruel tyrant with her words and in so doing softening his heart.[1004] When she had finished the tale, her sister, Dunyazad,[1009] who shared the room with them spoke up and said:
[1014]“Your excellence, do you wish my sister to tell you another tale?[1018] For she has a great many others, some even more wonderful than this one.
[1025]And the Sultan who was not sleepy, said that he would gladly hear another tale,[1031] if it was as entertaining as the one they had just heard, [1034]and so Scheherazade began the second story of 1001 Nights.