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Tale of the Bull and the Ass, Ch. 2 of the Thousand and One Nights
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00:00section two tale of the bull in the ass know oh 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
00:25now 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
00:39he had in his cow-house a bull and an ass each tethered to his own stall one hard by the other as the merchant was sitting near hand one day with his servants and his children playing about him he heard the bull say to the ass
00:55hail and health to thee o father of walking for that thou enjoyest rest and good ministering all under thee is clean swept and fresh sprinkled men wait upon thee and feed thee
01:07and 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 plough and a something called yoke and i tire at cleaving the earth from dawn of day till set of sun
01:25i 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 soared with tears
01:40then they shut me up in the byre and throw me beans and crushed straw mixed with dirt and chaff and a lie in dung and filth and foul stinks through the livelong night
01:52but thou art ever in a place sweet 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
02:08so it happens that i am toiling and distress 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 good will
02:25when the bull ceased speaking the ass turned towards him and said o broader brow o thou lost one he lied not when he dubbed thee bull head for thou o father of a bull hast neither forethought nor contrivance
02:41thou 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 labours i bear and theirs is the pleasure and mine is the care as the bleacher who blacketh his brow in the sun
02:58to 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 says
03:15none to guide and from the way go wide thou wendest forth at the call to dawn prayer and thou returnest not until sundown and through the livelong day thou endurest all manner hardships
03:29to wit beating and belabouring and bad language now hearken to me sir bull when they tie thee to thy stinking manger thou pour'st the ground with thy forehand and rushest out with thy hind hoofs and pushest with thy horns and bellowest aloud so they deem thee contented
03:48and when they throw thee thy fodder thou fallest on it with greed and hastenest to line thine fair fat paunch but if thou accept my advice it will be better for thee and thou wilt lead an easier life even than mine
04:03when thou goest afield and there lay the thing called yoke on thy neck lie down and rise not again though haply they swinge thee
04:14and if thou rise lie down a second time and when they bring thee home and offer thee thy beans fall backwards and only sniff at thy meat and withdraw thee and taste it not
04:26and be satisfied with thy crushed straw and chaff and on this wise fain 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
04:40when the bull heard these words he knew the ass to be his friend and thanked him saying write is thy reed and they prayed that all blessings might requite him and cried o father wakener thou hast made up for my failings
04:56now the merchant o my daughter understood all that passed between them next day the driver took the bull and settling the plough on his neck made him work as wont
05:08but the bull began to shirk his ploughing according to the advice of the ass and the ploughman 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
05:21not 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
05:31but he drew back from his manger and neither stamped nor rammed nor butted nor bellowed as he was wont to do whereat the man wandered
05:40he 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
05:49the 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
06:01he was concerned for him and said to himself by allah he has assuredly sickened and this is the cause why he would not plough yesterday
06:12then he went to the merchant and reported oh my master the bull is ailing he refused his fodder last night nay more he has not tasted a scrap of it this morning
06:23now 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 plough and make him do bull's work
06:40thereupon the ploughman took the ass and worked him through the life-long day at the bull's task and when he failed for weakness he made him eat stick till his ribs were sore and his sides were sunken and his neck was hayed by the yoke and when he came home in the evening he could hardly drag his limbs along
06:59either 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
07:17so when night set in and the ass returned to the bite the bull rose up before him in honour 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
07:32but the ass did not reply for wrath and heart-burning and fatigue and the beating he had gotten and he repented with the most grievous of repentance and quoth he to himself
07:44this cometh of my folly in giving good counsel as the sore saith i was in joy and gladness nought save my officiousness brought me this sadness
07:55but i will bear in mind my innate worth and the nobility of my nature for what saith the poet
08:01shall the beautiful hue of the basil fail though the beetle's foot o'er the basil crawl and though spider and fly be its denizens shall disgrace attach to the royal hall the cowrie i ken shall have the currency but the pearl's clear drop shall its value fall
08:22and 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
08:37thou wilt die for lack of wits therefore sit thee still and say nought 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
08:51o my father she answered needs must i go up to the king and be married to him quoth he do not this deed and quoth she of a truth i will
09:03whereat 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 he asked she
09:15know 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
09:27now 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 broader brow
09:39what thou purposest to do to-morrow the bull answered what but continue to follow thy counsel o aliberon indeed it was as good as good could be and it hath given me rest and repose
09:52nor will i now depart from it one little 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
10:07the bull asked why and the ass answered know that i am about to give thee the best of counsel for verily i heard our owners say to the herd
10:18if 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
10:31now 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 pour the ground or our master will assuredly slay thee and peace be with thee
10:47thereupon the bull arose and loud aloud and thanked the ass and said to-morrow 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
11:04next 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 in break wind and frisked about so lustily that the merchant laughed a loud laugh and kept laughing till he fell on his back
11:22his wife asked him where laughest thou with such loud laughter as this and he answered her a laugh at a secret something which i have heard and seen but cannot say lest i die my death
11:35she returned perforce thou must discover it to me and disclose the cause of thy laughing even if thy come to thy death but he rejoined i cannot reveal what beasts and birds say in their lingo for fear i die
11:52then quoth she by allah thou liest this is a mere pretext thou laughest at none save me and now thou wouldst hide somewhat from me
12:02but by the lord of the heavens and thou disclose not the cause i will no longer cohabit with thee i will leave thee at once and she sat down and cried
12:13whereupon quoth the merchant woe betide thee what means thy weeping bear allah and leave these words and query me no more questions
12:23needs must thou tell me the cause of that laugh said she and he replied thou wottest 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
12:39no 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
12:53so at last he said summon thy father and thy mother and our kith and kin and sundry of our neighbours which she did and he sent for the kazi and his assessors
13:05intending 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
13:13the daughter of his father's brother and the mother of his children and he had lived with her a life of an hundred and twenty years
13:21then having assembled all the family and the folk of his neighbourhood 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
13:35therefore quoth every one of those present to the woman allah upon thee leave this sinful obstinacy and recognise the right of this matter lest haply thy husband and thy father of thy children die
13:48but she rejoined i will not turn from it till he tell me even though he may come by his death so they ceased to urge her and the trader rose from amongst them and repaired to an outhouse to perform wuzu ablution
14:04and he purposed thereafter to return and to tell them his secret and to die now daughter shahrazad that merchant had in his outhouses some fifty hens under one cock and whilst making ready to farewell his folk
14:20he 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 hens back to another and treading all in turn saying o chanti clear how mean is thy wit and how shameless is thy conduct
14:37be 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
14:54his wife has 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
15:10is this an hour for pastime and pleasuring art thou not ashamed of thyself then by allah quoth the cock is our master a laquit and a man scanty of sense if he cannot manage matters with a single wife his life is not worth prolonging
15:27now i have some fifty dame partlets and i please this and provoke that and starve one and stuff another and through my governance they are all well under my control
15:39this our master pretendeth to wit and wisdom and he has but one wife and yet knoweth not how to manage her asked the dog what then o cock should the master do to win clear of his strait
15:54he should arise forthright answered the cock and take some twigs from yon mulberry tree and give her a regular back basting and rib roasting till she cry i repent o my lord i will never ask thee a question as long as i live
16:09then 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
16:21now daughter shahrazad continued the wazir i will do to thee as did that husband to that wife said shahrazad and what did he do he replied when the merchant heard the wise words spoken by his cock to his dog
16:40he 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
16:55she entered with him and he locked the door and came down with 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 concernest thee not
17:07that 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
17:25her parents and all the company rejoiced and sadness and mourning were changed into joy and gladness thus the merchant learned family discipline from his cock and he and his wife lived together the happiest of lives until death and thou also my daughter continued the wazir
17:45unless 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
17:57nor 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
18:08and 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
18:21her 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
18:38and 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
18:49the king wandered 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 watchest that i have sworn by the razor of the heavens
19:03that after i have gone into her this night i shall say to thee on the morrow's morning take her and slay her and if thou slay her not i will slay thee in her stead without fail
19:13allah 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 i have told her and more but she will not hearken to me and she persisteth in passing this coming night with the king's majesty
19:30so sharia rejoiced greatly and said tis well go get her ready and this night bring her to me
19:38the wazir returned to his daughter and reported to her the command saying allah make not thy father desolate by thy loss
19:46but shahrazad rejoiced with exceeding joy and got ready all she required and said to her younger sister daniazad note well what directions i entrust to thee
19:58when i have gone in to 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
20:08oh my sister and thou not be 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
20:20if so allah please and which shall turn the king from his bloodthirsty custom daniazad answered with love and gladness
20:30so when it was night their father the wazir carried shahrazad to the king who was gladdened at the sight and asked hast thou brought me my need and he answered i have
20:44but 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 ailest thee she replied o king of the age i have a younger sister and fief would i take leave of her this night before i see the dawn
21:01so he sent at once for daniazad and she came and kissed the ground between his hands when he permitted her to take her seat near the foot of the couch
21:10then the king arose and did away with his bride's maidenhead and the three fell asleep but when it was midnight shahrazad awoke and signalled to her sister daniazad
21:21who 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
21:33with joy in goodly gree answered shahrazad 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
21:49so shahrazad rejoiced and thus on the first night of the thousand nights and a night she began with the tale of the trader and the jinni
21:59the kings Aaaah
22:02phi 1
22:04but theudos et alic
22:13Jesus
22:15of course
22:17let's
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