This Good Works Translation is made from the 1888 Arabic printed text of Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah. This passage gives Budhasaf's answer after the wound, Bilawhar's arrival in merchant disguise, and Bilawhar's first parables: the honored poor men, the four coffins, the seed, the physician and field, and the man in the well.

Translation

Then the boy said, "O king, do not be deceived by your saying that you will carry its sin and burden away from me. Here you are, in your kingdom, unable to heal me from the pain of a small knife. So how will you be able to keep back from me a kindled fire and a blazing Hell, when you are alone and solitary, when your kingdom has been stripped from you and left behind for someone else, when your authority has become void, your armies scattered, your fighters destroyed, and separation has been made between you and your treasures and stores?

"You will call, but you will not be answered. You will cry for help, but you will not be helped. You will have come to what you sent ahead from your works, and you will have no concern except concern for yourself. It has been said that all the delights the people of the world have gained until its passing away do not equal one hour of the punishment of the Fire prepared for its people in the hereafter."

The boy recovered from the wound in his hand and became well. His report and his mention spread through the horizons, and he became famous for his beauty, perfection, understanding, reason, renunciation of the world, and the world's lowliness in his eyes.

His report reached a man from among the ascetics, from the people of Sarandib, called Bilawhar. He said, "I will surely go to this living man confined among the dead and bring him out from among them."

He rode the sea until he came to the land of Shulabit. He made for the gate of the house of Budasaf, the king's son, after casting off the garb of the ascetic and putting on the garb of merchants. He kept returning to the gate of Budasaf's house for days, until he knew the family, the beloved companions, and the insiders.

When their condition had become clear, he learned the station of the attendant, the keeper of Budasaf's secret, his love for him, and his honor with him. So Bilawhar treated him with great gentleness until he found a private moment with him and the opportunity was possible.

He said, "I am a man from the merchants of Sindib. I arrived some days ago with a precious commodity of great worth. Since I wanted someone trustworthy for myself, my choice fell upon you. My merchandise is better than red sulfur: it makes the blind see, heals diseases, makes the deaf hear, strengthens from weakness, protects from madness, and gives victory over the enemy. I have not seen anyone more in need of it than this youth. I hope to gain access and obtain my need from him. If he has need of it, bring me in to him, and I will bring it to him. Its excellence will not be hidden from him once he has looked at it."

The attendant said, "You are certainly saying something astonishing. We have not heard anything like it from anyone before you, and I see no harm in you. Yet someone like me does not mention what he does not know and does not know what it is. Come, then, and show me your merchandise so that I may look at it. If I see something that I ought to mention, I will mention it to him. It would not be fitting for me to mention to the king's son a matter whose value I have raised in his eyes when he does not see confirmation of it by inspection and trial."

The merchant said, "Know that I am a physician. I see a weakness in your sight, and I fear that if you look at this jewel, it will flash upon your eyes. But know that the king's son is sound of sight and young in age. I do not fear any defect or deception from myself against him. He will only look at my merchandise. If he sees what pleases him, it will be offered to him as is fitting. If it is otherwise, no harm, deficiency, or loss will enter upon him. This is a grave matter, great in worth. It is not open to you to deprive him of it, nor to conceal it and fold it away from him."

The attendant went to Budasaf and told him the man's report. Budasaf's heart sensed that he had found his need, and he said to him, "Hurry to bring in this man. Let that be at night, in a hidden secret, for a matter like this is not to be treated lightly."

So the attendant commanded Bilawhar to prepare to enter before Budasaf. Bilawhar took a casket in which there were books and said, "My merchandise is in this casket." The attendant went with him and brought him in before Budasaf. Bilawhar greeted him, and Budasaf answered him well. The attendant went away, and Bilawhar sat.

The first thing Bilawhar said to Budasaf was this: "I saw you, O son of the king, increase me in greeting beyond what you do with the great men of your land and the nobles of the lands of your kingdom."

Budasaf said, "That is because of the greatness of what I have hoped for with you."

Bilawhar said, "If you have done that, then there was once, in some of the horizons and regions, a man from among the kings. He knew the truth, called to it, and hoped for its reward. While he was traveling one day with his procession and his troops, he passed two men walking barefoot. Their clothing was rags, and on them was the trace of misery and harm. When the king looked at them, he could not keep himself from falling from his beast to the ground. He greeted them, shook their hands, and embraced them.

"This greatly distressed his companions, and they looked down on him. His ministers went to a brother of his, one who was bold in speaking to him, and said to him, 'Today the king has lowered himself and disgraced the people of his kingdom, when he fell from his beast to the ground for two lowly poor men.'

"They asked him to rebuke the king for that and blame him, so that he would not return to anything like it. The king's brother did what they asked. He rebuked him; and when he had finished the speech in which he had exerted himself and spoken sharply, the king answered him with a certain answer. So he went away, not knowing whether the king was angry or pleased with what he had met him with.

"Then, after some days, the king commanded the herald of death to proclaim at the door of his brother's house and to beat the death drum in his courtyard. That was his custom with anyone he meant to kill. The wailing women and the weepers arose in the house of the king's brother. The king's brother put on his shrouds and came to the door of the king's house, weeping and plucking his beard and his hair.

"When this reached the king, he ordered him brought in. When he saw the king, he fell to the ground, cried out with woe, and raised his hands in supplication to the king. The king said to him, 'What is wrong with you, that you panic, fool?'

"He said, 'Why do you blame me, O king, for panicking, when you are announcing death to me?'

"The king said to him, 'Have you panicked because of a herald calling at your door by command of a created thing and not a creator, while I am your brother, and you know that you have no sin against me for which I would kill you? Yet you blame me for panicking at the herald of my Lord, when I looked at him and fell to the ground in panic at what he made me remember of death, to which I have been summoned since I was born, while I fear what I know of my sins. Go; my ministers only set you on and led you. They will know their error.'

"Then the king commanded that four coffins be made for him of wood. Two of them were plated with gold, and two of them with pitch. When they were finished, he ordered the two pitch coffins to be filled with gold, silver, rubies, pearls, beryl, and pearls. Then he ordered the two gold coffins to be filled with carrion, filth, blood, dead flesh, and hair. Then he commanded that the coffins be closed, and he ordered the ministers, the nobles, and the great men gathered, those whom he thought had disapproved of what he had done with the two men. He displayed the four coffins to them and commanded them to value them.

"They said, 'O king, according to the outward appearance of our judgment, the two gold coffins are beyond price and beyond valuation. Their excellence, greatness, and beauty are not hidden. As for the two pitch coffins, there is no price for them, because of their poor quality, their smallness, and the lowliness of what is in them. They are not worth anything.'

"The king said, 'Yes. This is your judgment in outward matters, and the reach of your opinion concerning them. As for the two pitch coffins,' their boards were removed from them, and the house shone with the jewels, pearls, rubies, and beryl that were in them.

"He said, 'This is the likeness of the two men whose clothes, outward appearance, and condition you despised. They are filled with knowledge, wisdom, righteousness, truth, and all the virtues of good, which are better and more precious than pearls, rubies, gems, beryl, and gold.'

"Then he commanded concerning the two gold coffins, and some of their boards were removed. The people shuddered at the sight of them and were harmed by their stench.

"The king said, 'This is the likeness of the people adorned in the outward show of clothing and ornament, while their insides are filled with ignorance, rancor, envy, arrogance, gloom, falsehood, greed, evil, and every vice of evil, which is more dreadful, more hideous, and fouler than carrion and blood and filth.'

"The people said, 'We have been admonished, we are certain, and we recognize the error of what we came with and the excellence of what you came with, O king.'"

Then Bilawhar said, "This is your likeness, O son of the king, in the greeting with which you met me because of your gladness."

When Budasaf heard this from Bilawhar, he sat upright before him and said, "Now you have reached the place of my need. Give me another parable: the parable of sowing and its growth."

Bilawhar said, "The best knowledge is that which points to the knowledge of God Most High and to working good. Understand what I say to you.

"The sower goes out with his good seed to sow it. When he has filled his hand with it and scattered it, some of it falls on the edge of the road. It does not remain long before the birds pick it up. Some of it falls on a rock where water and damp clay have reached; it sprouts, but when its roots come to the dryness of the rock, it dies. Some of it falls in ground that has thorns. When it has put forth ears and almost bears fruit, the thorns choke it and kill it. A little of it falls in good, cleared ground, and it survives, purifies, becomes good, and grows.

"The interpretation of this, O son of the king, is that the sower is the bearer of wisdom. As for the good seed, it is right speech. As for what fell on the edge of the road and the birds snatched away, that is what did not pass beyond hearing before it passed by lightly. As for what fell on the damp rock and then dried when its roots reached the rock, that is what its possessor found sweet for an hour at the time of hearing, because of an open place in his heart, and understood with his understanding, but did not bind it to himself by preservation, intention, or reason. As for what sprouted and nearly bore fruit, but the thorns destroyed it, that is what its possessor retained and understood until he came to the work that is its fruit; then desires choked it and destroyed it. As for what fell in the good ground, survived, purified, became good, and grew, that is what sight gathered, hearing retained, the heart preserved, and resolve carried out by subduing desires, purifying the heart from defilement, and acting by it."

Budasaf said, "I hope that what you sow with me will be what survives, purifies, grows, and becomes good. Attend to my need."

Bilawhar said, "When the gentle physician sees a body that the corrupt humors have destroyed, if he wants to strengthen it and make it fat, he does not begin with the food from which flesh and strength come, because he knows that putting food upon corrupt humors will have no benefit or strength for it. Rather, he begins with medicines by which he lessens the corrupt humors from it and cleanses the vessels of its body and its veins. When he has finished that, he turns to what will make it sound from food and drink. Then it finds the benefit of food, takes on flesh and fat, and increases in strength.

"The likeness of that is the likeness of land that is sown. If its owner does not begin by clearing it of thorns, digging its streams and drainage places, then choosing for it the best seed he can, sowing that in its season and time, carefully guarding it from the harms that injure it, from birds of the air, crawling things of the earth, and other things, and continually tending its watering in the time of its thirst, then that crop will not stand firm. If it grows, it will not thrive. Its owner's labor will become waste, his toil will fade away, his hope will be disappointed, his expectation cut off, and his seed will come back without effect."

Budasaf said, "Give me a parable about the meaning of the world and its people's delusion by it."

Bilawhar said, "They claim that a man went out into a desert. While he was traveling through it, a rutting elephant charged him. The man set off fleeing, turning away from it, and the elephant followed him until night covered him. It forced him to a well, and he lowered himself into it and held onto two branches growing on its rim. His feet landed on something that supported them across the width of the well.

"When morning came, he looked at the two branches, and there at their root were two rats, one white and the other black, gnawing the two branches without ceasing. He looked beneath his feet, and there were four snakes raising their heads from their holes. He looked at the bottom of the well, and there was a dragon, its mouth gaping, expecting to swallow him. Then he raised his head toward the root of the two branches, and there above them was some honey. He brought the two branches close to his mouth and tasted a little of the sweetness of that honey. The sweetness he found in the little he tasted, in the immediate pleasure of it, distracted him from concern and reflection on the two branches to which he was clinging, though he had seen the speed of the two rats in them; and from the four serpents upon which he was held, not knowing when one of them would come out against him; and from the dragon with gaping mouth, though he did not know what his end would be when he fell into its abyss.

"As for the well, it is this world, filled with harms and afflictions. As for the two branches, they are this blameworthy life. The white rat is day, and the black one is night. Their speed through the two branches is the speed of days and nights through lifespans. The four serpents are the body's humors, which are deadly poisons. The dragon with gaping mouth to swallow him is death lying in wait. The elephant is the appointed term that seeks him. The honey is the deception of the deluded by the little that people obtain in their world from the pleasure of life."

Colophon

This Good Works Translation was made from the Arabic text of Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah, al-Matba' al-Safdari, 1888. The English body is newly written from the Arabic source.

Source Colophon

Primary source witness: Google Books volume vYacAQAACAAJ, Kitab Bilawhar wa-Budhasaf fi al-mawa'iz wa-al-amthal al-hikmiyah, al-Matba' al-Safdari, 1888, original from Harvard.

Translated passage: Budhasaf's answer after the wound, Bilawhar's journey to Shulabit, his entry to Budasaf in merchant disguise, the parable of the honored poor men and the four coffins, the parable of the seed, the physician and field comparison, and the parable of the man in the well, printed Arabic pages 37-48. The translated passage ends inside page 48, before the next three-companions parable begins.

Public source: https://books.google.com/books?id=vYacAQAACAAJ

Source Text

Arabic Text

وقال أيها الملك فلا تغترن بقولك إنك تحمل
عني إثمه ووزره وأنت في ملكك تعجز أن تشفيني من
ألم سكين صغير فكيف تقدر على أن تؤخر عني نارا
موقدة وجهنم مسجرة إذا كنت فريدا وحيدا قد سلبت
مملكتك وخلفتها لغيرك وبطل سلطانك وتبدد جنودك
وهلكت مقاتلك وفرق بينك وبين كنوزك وخزائنك
وتدعو فلا تجاب وتستغيث فلا تغاث وصرت إلى
ما قدمت من أعمالك فلا هم لك إلا هم نفسك قد قيل
إن جميع ما نال أهل الدنيا إلى انقضائها من اللذات
لا تعدل ساعة من عذاب النار المعدة لأهلها في الآخرة
وبرئ الغلام من جرح يده وصح وشاع خبره وذكره
في الآفاق وشهر بجماله وكماله وفهمه وعقله وزهادته
في الدنيا وهوانها عليه فبلغ خبره إلى رجل من النساك
من أهل سرنديب يقال له بلوهر فقال لأنتهين
إلى هذا الحي المحصور بين أظهر الأموات فأخرجه من
بينهم فركب البحر حتى أتى أرض شولابط فعمد إلى باب
دار بوداسف ابن الملك وقد طرح عنه زي الناسك
ولبس زي التجار فتردد إلى باب دار بوداسف
أياما حتى عرف الأهل والأحباء والدخلاء فلما استبان
حالهم عرف منزلة الحاضن صاحب سر بوداسف
وحبه له وكرامته عليه فلاطفه لطفا شديدا حتى
أصاب منه خلوة وأمكنته الفرصة فقال إني رجل
من تجار سنديب قدمت منذ أيام بسلعة نفيسة
عظيمة الخطر فأردت الثقة لنفسي فعليك وقع اختيارك
وسلعتي خير من الكبريت الأحمر هي تبصر العمي
وتداوي من الأسقام وتسمع الصم وتقوي من الضعف وتعصم
من الجنون وتنصر على العدو ولم أر أحدا هو أحوج إليها من
هذا الفتى وأنا أرجو أن أصيب وأنال بها حاجتي منه فإن
كانت له فيها حاجة أدخلني عليه فآتيته بها فإنه لن يخفى
عليه فضلها لو قد نظر إليها قال الحاضن إنك لتقولن
شيئا عجبا ما سمعنا به من أحد قبلك وما أرى بك بأسا
وما مثلي يذكر ما لا يعرف وما لا يدري ما هو فهلم فاعرض
علي سلعتك حتى أنظر إليها فإن رأيت شيئا ينبغي لي أن
أذكره ذكرته له فإنه غير جميل أن أذكر لابن الملك أمرا
أرفع عنده خطره ولا يرى مصداق ذلك عند المعاينة
والابتلاء قال التاجر اعلم أني رجل طبيب وأنا أرى
في بصرك ضعفا وإني أخاف إن نظرت إلى هذا الجوهر
أن يلتمع ببصرك ولكن اعلم أن ابن الملك صحيح البصر حدث
السن ولست بخائف مني عليه عيبا ولا خديعة وإنما
ينظر إلى سلعتي فإن رأى ما يعجبه كانت مبذولة له
على ما يجب وإن كان غير ذلك لم يدخل عليه مرزية ولا
منقصة ولا وكس هذا أمر جسيم عظيم الخطر لا يسعك
أن تحرمه إياه ولا أن تكتمه وتطويه دونه فانطلق
الحاضن إلى بوداسف فأخبره خبر الرجل فأحس قلب
بوداسف أنه قد أصاب حاجته فقال له عجل علي بإدخال
هذا الرجل وليكن ذلك ليلا في سر مكتوم فإنه لا يتهاون
بمثل هذا فأمر الحاضن بلوهر بالتأهب للدخول على بوداسف
فأخذ بلوهر سفطا فيه كتب فقال سلعتي في هذا السفط
فانطلق به الحاضن فأدخله عليه فحياه بلوهر فأحسن
بوداسف إجابته وانصرف الحاضن وجلس بلوهر
فكان أول ما كلمه به بلوهر أن قال لبوداسف رأيتك
يا ابن الملك زدتني في التحية على ما تصنع بعظماء أهل
أرضك وأشراف أهل بلاد مملكتك فقال بوداسف
ذلك لعظم ما رجوت عندك قال بلوهر لئن فعلت
ذلك لقد كان في بعض الآفاق والنواحي رجل من الملوك
وكان يعرف الحق ويدعو إليه ويرجو ثوابه فبينا هو
يسير ذات يوم في موكبه وكتائبه إذ مر على رجلين
يمشيان حافيين لباسهما أطمار وعليهما أثر البؤس
والضر فلما نظر إليهما الملك لم يتمالك أن وقع إلى
الأرض عن دابته فحياهما وصافحهما وعانقهما فاشتد
جزع أصحابه من ذلك وازدروه فانطلق وزراؤه إلى
أخ كان له وكان على كلامه جريئا فقالوا له إن الملك في
هذا اليوم دلى بنفسه وفضح أهل مملكته إذ خر عن دابته
إلى الأرض لرجلين دنيين فقيرين وطلبوا منه أن يعاتبه على
ذلك ويذمه لئلا يعود إلى مثل ذلك ففعل أخو الملك
ما سألوا فعاتبه فلما قضى كلامه الذي احتفل فيه
واستحد به أجابه الملك ببعض جواب فانصرف وهو
لا يدري أساخط الملك أم راض مما استقبله به حتى
إذا كان بعد ذلك بأيام أمر الملك بمنادي الموت أن ينادي
على باب دار أخيه ويضرب بطبل الموت على فنائه وكانت
تلك سنته بمن أراد قتله فقامت النوائح والبواكي في دار
أخ الملك فلبس أخو الملك الأكفان وانتهى إلى باب دار
الملك يبكي ينتف لحيته وشعره فلما بلغ ذلك الملك
أمر به فأدخل عليه فلما عاين الملك وقع إلى الأرض نادى
بالويل ورفع يديه بالتضرع إلى الملك قال له الملك مالك
تجزع يا سفيه قال لم تلومني أيها الملك أن أجزع وأنت
تؤذنني بالموت قال له الملك أجزعت من منادي ينادي
على بابك بأمر مخلوق وليس بخالق وأنا أخوك وأنت
تعلم أنه ليس لك إلي ذنب أقتلك عليه وأنت تلومني
أن أجزع من منادي ربي حين نظرت إليه بأن وقعت
إلى الأرض جزعا مما أذكره من الموت الذي قد نوديت به
منذ ولدت وأنا أتخوف ما أعرفه من ذنوبي فاذهب فإنما
استرسلك واستدلك وزرائي سيعلمون خطأهم
ثم أمر الملك بأربعة توابيت فصنعت له من خشب فطلى
اثنين منهم بالذهب اثنين منهم بالقار حتى إذا فرغ منهم
أمر أن يملأ تابوتا القار ذهبا وفضة وياقوتا ودرا و
زبرجدا ولؤلؤا ثم أمر أن يملأ تابوتا الذهب جيفا وعذرة
ودما وميتة وشعرا ثم أمر أن تطبق التوابيت وأمر أن
تجمع الوزراء والأشراف والعظماء الذين ظن فيهم أنهم
استنكروا صنيعته بالرجلين فعرض عليهم التوابيت الأربع
وأمرهم أن يقوموها فقالوا أيها الملك أما في ظاهر رأينا
فلا ثمن لتابوتي الذهب ولا قيمة لهما ولا خفاء لفضلهما
وعظمهما وحسنهما وأما تابوتا القار فلا ثمن لهما لرداءتهما
وصغرهما وخساسة ما فيهما فلا يساويان شيئا قال الملك
أجل هذا حكمكم في ظاهر الأمور ومبلغ رأيكم فيهما أما تابوتا
القار فنزعت عنهما ألواحهما فأضاء البيت بالجواهر والدر
والياقوت والزبرجد الذي كان فيهما فقال هذا مثل الرجلين
الذين ازدريتم لباسهما وظاهر هيئتهما وحالهما وهما مملوان
علما وحكمة وبرا وصدقا وسائر مناقب الخير التي هي أفضل
وأنفس من الدر والياقوت والجوهر والزبرجد والذهب
ثم أمر بتابوتي الذهب فنزعت عنهما بعض ألواحهما فاقشعر
القوم من منظرهما وتأذوا بريحهما فقال الملك هذا مثل
القوم المتزينين بظاهر الكسوة والحلية وأجوافهم مملوءة
جهلا وغلا وحسدا وكبرا وغما وكذبا وحرصا وشرا و
سائر مثالب الشر التي هي أفظع وأشنع وأقذر من الجيف
والدماء والعذرات قال القوم قد اتعظنا وأيقنا وعرفنا
خطأ ما جئنا به وفضل ما جئت به أيها الملك ثم قال بلوهر
فهذا مثلك يا بن الملك فيما تلقيتني به من تحيتك لبشرك
فلما سمع ذلك بوداسف من بلوهر انتصب له فقال الآن
قد وافيت موضع حاجتي فزدني مثلا مثل الزرع ونباته
قال بلوهر إن أحسن العلم ما يدل على معرفة الله
تعالى والعمل بالخير فتفهم ما أقول لك إن الزراع يخرج
ببذره الطيب ليبذره فلما ملأ كفه منه فنشره
وقع بعضه على حافة الطريق فلا يلبث شيئا حتى التقطه
الطير ووقع بعضه على صفا قد أصابه ماء وندى طين
فنبت حتى إذا هتن صارت عروقه إلى يبس الصفا
فيموت ووقع بعضه في أرض ذات شوكة حتى إذا سنبل
وكاد أن يثمر خنقه الشوكة فأماتته ووقع القليل
منه في أرض طيبة منقاة فسلم وزكا وطاب ونما و
تفسير هذا يا بن الملك أن الزراع هو حامل الحكمة وأما
البذر الطيب فصواب الكلام فأما ما وقع منه على حافة
الطريق فتخطفه الطير فذلك ما لم يجاوز السمع حتى
مر صفحا وأما ما وقع منه على الصفاة الندية ثم يبس
حين بلغت عروقه إلى الصفاة فذلك ما استحلاه
صاحبه ساعة عند السماع بفراغ من قلبه وعرفه بفهمه
ولم يعقد عليه بمحافظة ولا نية ولا عقل وأما ما
نبت منه وكاد أن يثمر ثم أهلكته الشوكة فهو ما وعاه
صاحبه وعقله حتى إذا كان عند العمل الذي هو ثمرته
خنقه الشهوات فأهلكته وأما ما وقع منه في الأرض
الطيبة فسلم وزكا وطاب ونما فهو ما اجتناه البصر
ووعاه السمع وحفظه القلب وأنفذه العزم على قمع
الشهوات وتطهير القلب من الدنس والعمل به قال
بوداسف إني لأرجو أن يكون ما تبذره عندي ما
يسلم ويزكو وينمو ويطيب فاعمل لحاجتي قال بلوهر
إن الطبيب الرفيق إذا رأى جسدا قد أهلكته الأخلاط
الفاسدة فأراد أن يقويه ويسمنه لم يبدأه بالطعام
الذي يكون منه اللحم والقوة لعلمه أن إدخال الطعام على
الأخلاط الفاسدة غير كائن لها نفعا ولا قوة ولكنه
يبدأ بالأدوية التي ينقص بها عنه الأخلاط الفاسدة
وينقي بها أوعية جسده وعروقه فإذا فرغ من ذلك أقبل
عليه بما يصلحه من الطعام والشراب حينئذ يجد منفعة
الطعام ويحمل اللحم والسمن ويزيد في قوته ومثل ذلك
مثل الأرض التي تزرع فإن لم يبدأ صاحبها بتنقيتها
من الشوك وحفر أنهارها ومغايضها ثم يختار لها من
البذر أجود ما يقدر عليه فيبذر ذلك في أوانه و
زمانه وينعم حفظه من آفاته المضرات به من طائر
الهواء وهوام الأرض وغير ذلك ويكون متعاهدا
لسقيه في زمان عطشه لم يثبت ذلك الزرع وإن
نبت لم يزك وصار عمل صاحبه ضياعا وعناءه
مضمحلا ورجاءه خائبا وأمله منقطعا ورجع بذره
غير نافذ قال بوداسف فاضرب لي مثلا في معنى
الدنيا وغرور أهلها بها قال بلوهر زعموا أن رجلا
خرج في مفازة فبينا هو يسعى فيها إذ حمل عليه فيل
مغتلم فانطلق الرجل هاربا موليا عنه واتبعه الفيل حتى
غشيه الليل فاضطره إلى بئر فتدلى فيها وتعلق بغصنين
نابتين على شفيرها ووقعت قدماه على شيء أعمدهما
في عرض البئر فلما أصبح نظر إلى الغصنين فإذا في أصلهما
جرذان أحدهما أبيض والآخر أسود يقرضان الغصنين
دائبين ونظر إلى ما تحت قدميه فإذا هو بأربعة أفاعي
طوالع برؤوسهن من أجحرهن ونظر إلى قعر البئر فإذا
هو بتنين فاغر فاه يتوقع التقامه ثم رفع رأسه
إلى أصل الغصنين فإذا في أعلاهما شيء من عسل النحل
فأدنى الغصنين إلى فيه فذاق من حلاوة ذلك العسل
شيئا قليلا فألهاه ما وجد من حلاوة ما تطاعم منها في
عاجل لذاتها عن الاهتمام والتفكر في الغصنين الذين
هو متعلق بهما وقد عاين إسراع الجرذين فيها وبالحيات
الأربع التي اعتقل عليهن لا يدري متى تخرج به واحدة
منهن وبالتنين الفاغر فاه الذي لا يدري كيف مصيره
عند وقوعه في هواته أما البئر فهذه الدنيا المملوة آفات
وبلايا وأما الغصنان فهذه الحياة المذمومة والجرذان الأبيض
منها النهار والأسود الليل وإسراعهما في الغصنين إسراع
الأيام والليالي في الآجال والأفاعي الأربعة أخلاط الجسد
التي هي السمام القاتلة والتنين الفاغر فاه لالتقامه الموت
الراصد والفيل الأجل الطالب له والعسل غرة المغرور بقليل
ما ينال الناس دنياهم من لذة العيش