she said in times of old and in ages long gone before, a peacock abode with his wife on the sea shore. Now the place was infested with lions and all manner wild beasts, as well it abounded in trees and streams. So cock and hen were wont to roost by night upon one of the trees, being in fear of the beasts, and went forth by day questing food. And they did not stop thus to do till their fear increased on them and they searched for some place in which to dwell other than their old dwelling place; and in the course of their search behold, they happened on an island abounding in streams and trees. So they alighted there and ate of its fruits and drank of its waters. But whilst they were thus engaged, lo! up came to them a duck in a state of extreme terror, and stayed not faring forwards till she reached the tree on which were perched the two peafowl, when she seemed reassured in mind. The peacock doubted not but that she had some rare story; so he asked of her case and the cause of her concern, whereto she answered, "I am sick for sorrow and my horror of the son of Adam: so beware, and again I say beware of the sons of Adam!"

Rejoined the peacock, "Fear not now that you have won our protection." The duck cried, "praise be to God! Glory to God, who has done away my cark and care by means of you being near! For indeed I come of friendship glad with you twain." And when she had ended her speech the peacock's wife came down to her and said, "Well come and welcome and fair cheer! No harm shall hurt you: how can son of Adam come to us and we in this isle which lies In the very middle of the sea? From the land he cannot reach us neither can he come against us from the water. So be of good cheer and tell us what has happened you from the child of Adam." The duck answered, "Know, then, O you peahen, that of a truth I have dwelt all my life in this island safely and peacefully, nor have I seen any disquieting thing, till one night, as I was asleep, I sighted in my dream the semblance of a son of Adam, who talked with me and I with him. Then I heard a voice say to me, 'O you duck, beware of the son of Adam and be not imposed on by his words nor by that he may suggest to you; for he abounds in wiles and guiles; so beware with all wariness of his perfidy, for again I say, he is crafty and right cunning even as sings of him the poet,

'He'll offer sweetmeats with his edged tongue And fox you with the foxy guile of fox.

And know you that the son of Adam circumvents the fishes and draws them forth of the seas; and he shoots the birds with a pellet of clay, and trapps the elephant with his craft. None is safe from his mischief and neither bird nor beast escapes him; and in this way have I told you what I have heard concerning the son of Adam.' So I awoke, fearful and trembling, and from that hour to this my heart has not known gladness, for dread of the son of Adam, lest he surprise me unawares by his wile or trap me in his snares. By the time the end of the day overtook me, my strength was grown weak and my spunk failed me; so, desiring to eat and drink, I went forth walking, troubled in spirit and with a heart ill at ease. Now when I reached that mountain I saw a tawny lion whelp at the door of a cave; and sighting me he joyed in me with great joy, for my colour pleased him and my gracious shape; so he cried out to me saying, 'Draw close to me.' I went up to him and he asked me, 'What is your name, and what is your nature?'

Answered I, 'My name is Duck and I am of the bird kind;' and I added, 'But you, why tarriest you in this place till this time?' The whelp answered, 'My father the lion has for many a day warned me against the son of Adam, and it came to pass this night that I saw in my sleep the semblance of a son of Adam.' And he went on to tell me the like of that I have told you. When I heard these words, I said to him, 'O lion, I take asylum with you, that you may kill the son of Adam and be steadfast in resolve to his slaughter; truly I fear him for myself with extreme fear and to my fright affright is added for that you also dread the son of Adam, albeit you are Sultan of savage beasts.' Then I did not stop, O my sister, to bid the young lion beware of the son of Adam and urge him to slay him, till he rose of a sudden and at once from his stead and went out and he fared on, and I after him and I noted him lashing flanks with tail. We advanced in the same order till we came to a place where the roads forked and saw a cloud of dust arise which, presently clearing away, discovered below it a runaway naked ass, now galloping and running at speed and now rolling in the dust.

When the lion saw the ass, he cried out to him, and he came up to him in all humility. Then The lion said, 'Harkye, crack brain brute! What is your kind and what be the cause of your coming here?' He replied, 'O son of the Sultan! I am by kind an ass—Asinus Caballus— and the cause of my coming to this place is that I am fleeing from the son of Adam.' Asked the lion whelp, 'Do you fear then that he will kill you?' The ass answered, 'Not so, O son of the Sultan, but I dread lest he put a cheat on me and mount upon me; for he has a thing called Pack saddle, which he setts on my back; also a thing called Girths which he binds about my belly; and a thing called Crupper which he puts under my tail, and a thing called Bit which he places in my mouth: and he fashions me a goad and goads me with it and makes me run more than my strength. If I stumble he curses me, and if I bray, he revils me; and at last when I grow old and can no longer run, he puts on me a pannel of wood and delivers me to the water carriers, who load my back with water from the river in skins and other vessels, such as jars, and I do not stop to wone in misery and abasement and fatigue till I die, when they cast me on the rubbish heaps to the dogs.

So what grief can surpass this grief and what calamities can be greater than these calamities?' Now when I heard, O peahen, the ass's words, my skin shuddered, and became as goose flesh at the son of Adam; and I said to the lion whelp, 'O my lord, the ass of a verity has excuse and his words add terror to my terror.' Then the young lion to the ass said, 'where go you?' he said, 'Before sunrise I espied the son of Adam afar off, and fled from him; and now I am minded to flee forth and run without ceasing for the greatness of my fear of him, so Perhaps I may find me a place of shelter from the perfidious son of Adam.' Whilst the ass was thus discoursing with the lion whelp, seeking the while to take leave of us and go away, behold, appeared to us another cloud of dust, at which the ass brayed and cried out and looked hard and let fly a loud fart. After a while the dust lifted and discovered a black steed finely dressed with a blaze on the forehead like a dirham round and bright; handsomely marked about the hoof with white and with firm strong legs pleasing to sight and he neighed with affright. This horse did not stop running till he stood before the whelp, the son of the lion who, when he saw him, marvelled and made much of him and said, 'What is your kind, O majestic wild beast and Why fleest you into this desert wide and vast?'

He replied, 'O lord of wild beasts, I am a steed of the horse kind, and the cause of my running is that I am fleeing from the son of Adam The lion whelp wondered at the horse's speech and cried to him, 'Speak not such words for it is shame to you, seeing that you are tall and stout. And how comes it that you fear the son of Adam, you, with your bulk of body and your swiftness of running, when I, for all my littleness of stature am resolved to encounter the son of Adam and, rushing on him, eat his flesh, that I may allay the affright of this poor duck and make her dwell in peace in her own place? But now you have come here and you have wrung my heart with your talk and turned me back from what I had resolved to do, seeing that, for all your bulk, the son of Adam has mastered you and has feared neither your height nor your breadth, albeit, were you to kick him with one hoof you would kill him, nor could he prevail against you, but you would make him drink the cup of death.'

The horse laughed when he heard the whelp's words and replied, 'Far, far is it from my power to overcome him, O Prince. Let not my length and my breadth nor yet my bulk delude you with respect to the son of Adam; for that he, of the excess of his guile and his wiles, fashions me a thing called Hobble and applies to my four legs a pair of ropes made of palm fibres bound with felt, and gibbets me by the head to a high peg, so that I being tied up remain standing and can neither sit nor lie down. And when he is minded to ride me, he binds on his feet a thing of iron called Stirrup and lays on my back another thing called Saddle, which he fastens by two Girths passed under my armpits. Then he setts in my mouth a thing of iron he calls Bit, to which he ties a thing of leather called Rein; and, when he sits in the saddle on my back, he takes the rein in his hand and guides me with it, goading my flanks the while with the shovel stirrups till he makes them bleed.

So do not ask, O son of our Sultan, the hardships I endure from the son of Adam. And when I grow old and lean and can no longer run swiftly, he sells me to the miller who makes me turn in the mill, and I do not stop from turning night and day till I grow decrepit. Then he in turn vends me to the knacker who cutts my throat and flays off my hide and plucks out my tail, which he sells to the sieve maker: and he melts down my fat for tallow candles.' When the young lion heard the horse's words, his rage and vexation redoubled and he said, 'When did you leave the son of Adam?' The horse replied, 'At mid day and he is upon my track.' Whilst the whelp was thus conversing with the horse lo! there rose a cloud of dust and, presently opening out, discovered below it a furious camel gurgling and pawing the earth with his feet and never ceasing so to do till he came up with us. Now when the lion whelp saw how big and buxom he was, he took him to be the son of Adam and was about to spring upon him when I said to him, 'O Prince, of a truth this is not the son of Adam, this be a camel, and he seems to be fleeing from the son of Adam.'

As I was thus conversing, O my sister, with the lion whelp, the camel came up and saluted him; whereupon he returned the greeting and said, 'What brings you here?' he replied, 'I came here fleeing from the son of Adam.' the whelp said, 'And you, with your huge frame and length and breadth, how comes it that you fear the son of Adam, seeing that with one kick of your foot you would kill him?' the camel said, 'O son of the Sultan, know that the son of Adam has subtleties and wiles, which none can withstand nor can any prevail against him, save only Death, for he puts into my nostrils a twine of goat's hair he calls Nose ring, and over my head a thing he calls Halter; then he delivers me to the least of his little children, and the youngling draws me along by the nose ring, my size and strength not withstanding. Then they load me with the heaviest of burdens and go long journeys with me and put me to hard labour through the hours of the night and the day. When I grow old and stricken in years and disabled from working, my master keeps me not with him, but sells me to the knacker who cutts my throat and vends my hide to the tanners and my flesh to the cooks: so do not ask the hardships I suffer from the son of Adam.' 'When did you leave the son of Adam?' asked the young lion; and he answered, 'At sundown, and I suppose that coming to my place after my departure and not finding me there, he is now in search of me: Why let me go, O son of the Sultan, that I may flee into the wolds and the wilds.' The whelp said, 'Wait awhile, O camel, till you see how I will tear him, and give you to eat of his flesh, whilst I craunch his bones and drink his blood ' The camel replied, 'O King's son, I fear for you from the child of Adam, for he is wily and guilefull.' And he began repeating these verses:

'When the tyrant enters the subjects' land, nothing remains for the subjects but quick remove!'

Now whilst the camel was speaking with the lion whelp, behold, there rose a cloud of dust which, after a time, opened and showed an old man scanty of stature and lean of limb; and he bore on his shoulder a basket of carpenter's tools and on his head a branch of a tree and eight planks. He led little children by the hand and came on at a trotting pace, never stopping till he drew near the whelp. When I saw him, O my sister, I fell down for excess of fear; but the young lion rose and walked forward to meet the carpenter and when he came up to him, the man smiled in his face and said to him, with a glib tongue and in courtly terms, 'O King who defends from harm and lord of the long arm, Allah prosper yours evening and yours endeavouring and increase your valiancy and strengthen you! Protect me from that which has distressed me and with its mischief has oppressed me, for I have found no helper save only yourself.' And the carpenter stood in his presence weeping and wailing and complaining. When the whelp heard his sighing and his crying he said, 'I will succour you from that you fear. Who has done you wrong and what are you, O wild beast, whose like in my life I never saw, nor ever espied one goodlier of form or more eloquent of tongue than you? What is your case?'

The man replied, 'O lord of wild beasts, as to myself I am a carpenter; but as, to who has wronged me, truly he is a son of Adam, and by break of dawn after this coming night he will be with you in this place.' When the lion whelp heard these words of the carpenter, the light was changed to night before his sight and he snorted and roared with ire and his eyes cast forth sparks of fire. Then he cried out saying, 'By God, I will assuredly watch through this coming night till dawn, nor will I return to my father till I have won my will.' Then he turned to the carpenter and asked, 'Of a truth I see you are short of step and I would not hurt your feelings for that I am generous of heart; yet do I deem you unable to keep pace with the wild beasts: tell me then where you go?' The carpenter answered, 'Know that I am on my way to your father's Wazir, the lynx; for when he heard that the son of Adam had set foot in this country he feared greatly for himself and sent one of the wild beasts on a message for me, to make him a house in which he should dwell, that it might shelter him and fend off his enemy from him, so not one of the sons of Adam should come at him. Accordingly I took up these planks and set forth to find him.'

Now when the young lion heard these words he envied the lynx and said to the carpenter, 'By my life there is no help for it but you make me a house with these planks before you make one for Sir Lynx! When you have done my work, go to him and make him whatever he wishes.' The carpenter replied, 'O lord of wild beasts, I cannot make you anything till I have made the lynx what he desires: then will I return to your service and build you a house as a fort to ward you from your foe.' Exclaimed the lion whelp, By God, 'I will not let you leave this place till you build me a house of planks.' So saying he made for the carpenter and sprang upon him, thinking to jest with him, and cuffed him with his paw, knocking the basket off his shoulder; and threw him down in a fainting fit, whereupon the young lion laughed at him and said, 'Woe to you, O carpenter, of a truth you are feeble and have no force; so it is excusable in you to fear the son of Adam. Now when the carpenter fell on his back, he grew exceeding wroth; but he dissembled his wrath for fear of the whelp and sat up and smiled in his face, saying, 'Well, I will make for you the house. With this he took the planks he had brought and nailed together the house, which he made in the form of a chest after the measure of the young lion.

And he left the door open, for he had cut in the box a large aperture, to which he made a stout cover and bored many holes within it. Then he took out some newly wrought nails and a hammer and said to the young lion, 'Enter the house through this opening, that I may fit it to your measure.' at that the whelp rejoiced and went up to the opening, but saw that it was strait; and the carpenter said to him, 'Enter and crouch down on your legs and arms!' So the whelp did thus and entered the chest, but his tail remained outside. Then he would have drawn back and come out; but the carpenter said to him, 'Wait patiently a while till I see if there be room for your tail with you.' The young lion did as he was bid when the carpenter twisted up his tail and, stuffing it into the chest, whipped the lid on to the opening and nailed it down; at which the whelp cried out and said, 'O carpenter, what is this narrow house you have made me? Let me out, sirrah!' But the carpenter answered, 'Far be it, far be it from your thought! Repentance for past avails nothing, and indeed of this place you will not come out.'

He then laughed and resumed, 'truly you are fallen into the trap and from your duresse there is no escape, O vilest of wild beasts!' Rejoined the whelp, 'O my brother, what manner of words are these you addressest to me?' The carpenter replied, 'Know, O dog of the desert! That you have fallen into that which you fearedst: Fate has upset you, nor shall caution set you up.' When the whelp heard these words, O my sister, he knew that this was indeed the very son of Adam, against whom he had been warned by his sire in waking state and by the mysterious Voice in sleeping while; and I also was certified that this was indeed he without doubt; Why great fear of him for myself seized me and I withdrew a little apart from him and waited to see what he would do with the young lion. Then I saw, O my sister, the son of Adam dig a pit in that place close by the chest which held the whelp and, throwing the box into the hole, heap dry wood upon it and burn the young lion with fire. At this sight, O sister mine, my fear of the son of Adam redoubled and in my affright I have been these two days fleeing from him." But when the peahen heard from the duck this story,—

When it was the One Hundred and Forty seventh night

the duck said, "I fear lest some calamity come upon me by night, for no runaway can rid him of fate by flight." Rejoined the peahen, "Abide with us, and be like unto, us;" and did not stop to persuade her, till she yielded, saying, "O my sister, you know how weak is my resistance; but truly had I not seen you here, I had not remained." The peahen said, "That which is on our foreheads we must indeed fulfil, and when our doomed day draws near, who shall deliver us? But not a soul departs except it have accomplished its predestined livelihood and term." Now the while they talked thus, a cloud of dust appeared and approached them, at sight of which the duck shrieked aloud and ran down into the sea, crying out, "Beware! Beware! Though flight there is not from Fate and Lot!" After a while, the dust opened out and discovered under it an antelope; at which the duck and the peahen were reassured and the peacock's wife said to her companion,

"O my sister, this you see and would have me beware of is an antelope, and here he is, making for us. He will do us no hurt, for the antelope feeds upon the herbs of the earth and, even as you are of the bird kind, so is he of the beast kind. Be therefore of good cheer and cease care taking; for care taking wasts the body." Hardly had the peahen done speaking, when the antelope came up to them, thinking to shelter him under the shade of the tree; and, sighting the peahen and the duck, saluted them and said, "I came to this island to day and I have seen none richer in herbage nor pleasanter for habitation." Then he besought them for company and amity and, when they saw his friendly behaviour to them, they welcomed him and gladly accepted his offer. So they struck up a sincere friendship and sware thereto; and they slept in one place and they ate and drank together; nor did they cease dwelling in safety, eating and drinking their fill, till one day there came there a ship which had strayed from her course in the sea. She cast anchor near them and the crew came forth and dispersed about the island. They soon caught sight of the three friends, antelope, peahen and duck, and made for them; whereupon the peahen flew up into the tree and thence winged her way through air; and the antelope fled into the desert, but the duck abode paralysed by fear.

So they chased her till they caught her and she cried out and said, "Caution availed me nothing against Fate and Lot!"; and they bore her off to the ship. Now when the peahen saw what had happened the duck, she removed from the island, saying, "I see that misfortunes lie in ambush for all. But for that ship, parting had not befallen between me and this duck, because she was one of the truest of friends." Then she flew off and rejoined the antelope, who saluted her and gave her joy of her safety and asked for the duck, to which she replied, "The enemy has taken her, and I loathe the sojourn of this island after her." Then she wept for the loss of the duck and began repeating,

"The day of parting cut my heart in twain: In twain may Allah cut the parting day!

And she spoke also this couplet,

"I pray some day that we re union gain, So may I tell him Parting's ugly way."

The antelope sorrowed with great sorrow, but dissuaded the peahen from her resolve to remove from the island. So they abode there together with him, eating and drinking, in peace and safety, except that they did not stop to mourn for the loss of the duck; and the antelope said to the peahen, "O my sister, you see how the folk who came forth of the ship were the cause of our severance from the duck and of her destruction, so do you beware of them and guard yourself from them and from the wile of the son of Adam and his guile." But the peahen replied, "I am assured that nothing caused her death save her neglecting to say Subhán' Allah, glory to God; indeed I often said to her, 'Exclaim you, 'Praised be Allah, and truly I fear for you, because you neglectest to laud the Almighty; for all things created By God glorify Him in this way, and whoever neglects the formula of praise him destruction waylays.' " When the antelope heard the peahen's words he exclaimed, "Allah make fair your face!" And betook himself to repeating the formula of praise, and did not stop from it a single hour. And it is said that his form of adoration was as follows, "Praise be to the Requiter of every good and evil thing, the Lord of Majesty and of Kings the King!" And a tale is also told in this way of