1. قال أَبو أَيوب ما هَذا المثل

    قال حِمار كانَ في بعض الحلل

    Abu Ayyub said: What is this parable?

    He said: A donkey lived in one of the settlements.

  2. فَقَصَد المَرعى فَخاضَ طينا

    فَظَل فيهِ موثقاً رَهينا

    So he made for the pasture and waded into mud,

    and remained there, bound fast and captive.

  3. وَكُلما رامَ الخُروج غاصا

    مثل خَنيق يَطلب الخَلاصا

    Whenever he tried to get out, he sank,

    like one being strangled, seeking release.

  4. إِذا تلكا في الخِناق وَاضطرب

    زادَ خِناقاً بِالمراس وَعطب

    When he falters in the noose and struggles,

    his struggling tightens the noose, and he perishes.

  5. كَذاكَ مَن يَحتال للرخاء

    قَبل اِنقِضاء مُدة البَلاء

    So too with whoever schemes for ease

    before the time of affliction is over:

  6. تَزيده حيلته بَلاء

    لأنَّهُ يُراغم القَضاء

    his scheming increases his affliction,

    because he defies fate.

  7. فَلَم يَزَل في الوَحل شَهراً كامِلاً

    يَرعى بِذاكَ المَرج رَوضاً باقِلا

    The donkey remained in the mire for a full month,

    grazing on a lush patch of green in that meadow,

  8. حَتّى غَدا مثل الفنيق المصعب

    وَعادَ في الشحم بزي معجب

    until he became like a prized, untamed camel stallion,

    and took on an impressive guise, clothed in fat.

  9. فَصارَ مِما نالَهُ مِن أَكل

    يَنهق وَهوَ غائص في الوَحل

    So, from the food he had taken in, he began

    to bray while sunk in the mire.

  10. فَجازَ للحين هناكَ أَسَد

    للصيد منذ مُدة يَجتَهد

    Then, as ill fate would have it, a lion passed that way,

    who had been striving to hunt for some time.

  11. فَسمع الصوت فَقال فرج

    لِكُل ضيق سعة وَمَخرَج

    He heard the sound and said: Relief!

    For every hardship there is ease and a way out.

  12. وَأتبع الصوت فَألفى الطينا

    دونَ الحِمار لثقا ثَخينا

    He followed the sound and found the mud

    sticky and thick, barring the way to the donkey.

  13. فَقالَ إِن خضت نَشبت فيه

    وَلَيسَ فيَّ قوة تَكفيه

    He said: If I wade in, I will be stuck in it,

    and I lack the strength to cope with it.

  14. أَموت في يَوم وَلا أَعيش

    إِذ لست مِمن أَكله الحَشيش

    I will die in a day; I will not survive,

    since I am not one whose food is grass.

  15. فَلَيس إِلا الكَيد وَالتَدبير

    وَالحَزم لا الأَقدام وَالتغرير

    There is nothing for it but cunning and planning,

    and prudence, not bold advance and recklessness.

  16. قالَ سَلام يا أَبا زِياد

    وَبِالوِداد تخدَع الأَعادي

    He said: Peace to you, Abu Ziyad!

    And with friendliness, enemies are deceived.

  17. إِني أَراك مُنذُ حين ماكِثاً

    بِذا المَكان مُطمَئِناً لابِثا

    I see you have been lingering for some time,

    staying in this place, settled and at ease.

  18. قالَ أَبا الحَرث عم صَباحا

    فَقَد غَدَوت ملكاً جحجاحا

    He said: Abu al-Harith, may your morning be good!

    For you have become a mighty, noble king.

  19. وَاللَّه ما اِختَرت المَقام هَهنا

    مَقال غُر لَم يَكُن مداهنا

    By God, I did not choose to remain here—

    the words of a guileless creature, not a flatterer.

  20. لَكِنني مُقَيد بِالوَحل

    في محنة شَديدة وَذُل

    But I am fettered in the mire,

    in grievous affliction and humiliation.

  21. وَإِنَّني أَرجوك أَن تُنقذني

    مِن وَرطَتي هَذي وَإِن تسعدني

    And I beg you to rescue me

    from this predicament of mine, and to come to my aid.

  22. فَإن يَكُن في طَبعك القَساوة

    وَبَينَنا البَغضاء وَالعَداوة

    Even if cruelty lies in your nature,

    and hatred and enmity stand between us,

  23. فامنن فَأَنتَ ملك كَبير

    وَها أَنا مُضطَهد أَسير

    grant me kindness, for you are a great king,

    and here I am, oppressed and captive.

  24. وَإِن مِن خَصائل الكِرام

    رَحمة ذي البَلاء وَالسقام

    Among the traits of the noble

    is compassion for the afflicted and the sick;

  25. وَإِن مِن شَرائط العلو

    العَطف في البُؤس عَلى العَدو

    and among the conditions of greatness

    is kindness to an enemy in distress.

  26. كَفاكَ مِنها أَيُّها الكَبير

    أني مِنها بِكَ مُستَجير

    Let this suffice you concerning my plight, O great one:

    that I seek your protection from it.

  27. قالَ لَهُ الليث دَعَوت راحِما

    إِن العَظيم يَدفَع العَظائِما

    The lion said to him: You have called upon a merciful one.

    Indeed, a great one wards off great calamities.

  28. أَبشر فَإِني كاشف عَنكَ الكرب

    وَنازع دونك أَنياب النوب

    Take heart, for I shall lift your distress,

    and pluck out calamity's fangs in your defense.

  29. فَإِن مثلي يَدفَع الأَهوالا

    عَن العِدى وَيحمل الأَثقالا

    For one like me wards off terrors

    from enemies, and shoulders heavy burdens,

  30. لا سيما عَن مُستَجير بائس

    وَقانط مِن الحَياة آئس

    not least for a wretched seeker of refuge,

    despairing of life and bereft of hope.

  31. قَد قَضَت العُقول إِن الشفقه

    عَن الصديق وَالعَدو صَدقه

    Reason has decreed that compassion

    for friend and foe alike is charity.

  32. وَالمَرء لا يَدري مَتى يمتحن

    فَإِنُّه في دَهرِهِ مُرتَهن

    A person does not know when he will be tested,

    for he is held hostage throughout his life.

  33. وَمَن نَجا اليَوم فَلا يَنجو غَدا

    لا يأمن الآفات إِلا بِالردى

    Whoever escapes today will not escape tomorrow;

    only in death is one safe from calamities.

  34. وَمَن أَغاث البائس الملهوفا

    أَعانهُ اللَّه إِذا أخيفا

    And whoever rescues the distressed wretch,

    God will aid him when he is frightened.

  35. وَمَر للمكر وَلِلدهاء

    فَسد مِن فَوق مَسيل الماء

    Then he went off to use trickery and cunning,

    and blocked the watercourse upstream.

  36. فَانقطع الماء وَجَف الطين

    في مدة وَفَرح المسكين

    The water stopped flowing, and the mud dried

    after a while, and the poor creature rejoiced.

  37. وَكان في المُدة كُل يَوم

    يَأتيهِ في الصبح وَعِندَ النوم

    Throughout that time, every day he would

    come to him in the morning and at bedtime,

  38. بحزمة عَظيمة مِن العَلف

    يأكلها وَقالَ ثق وَلا تَخف

    with a large bundle of fodder

    for him to eat, saying: Have confidence, and do not fear.

  39. وَنشف الماء وَخَلى قَدر ما

    يَروي بِهِ غلته مِن الظمأ

    He drained the water, leaving just enough

    to quench his burning thirst.

  40. وَلَم يَزَل يَدعو لَهُ الحِمار

    وَلَيسَ يَدري أَنَّهُ مَكار

    The donkey kept praying for him,

    unaware that he was a schemer,

  41. حَتّى إِذا جَفَ عَلَيهِ الطين

    وَجسمه في جَوفِهِ دَفين

    until, when the mud had dried over him,

    and his body lay buried within it,

  42. وَهوَ أَسير لا يطبق الحَرَكة

    رَجا الخَلاص فَغداً في الشبكة

    while he was captive, unable to move,

    he hoped for release, but ended up in the net.

  43. واحتبس الضرغام عَنهُ عَمداً

    وَقَطع العُشب فَلاقى جهدا

    The lion deliberately stayed away from him,

    and cut off his grass, so he suffered hardship.

  44. وَجاءهُ الليث وَقالَ أَجبذك

    بِقوتي مِنهُ لَعَلي أنقذك

    Then the lion came to him and said: I will pull you

    out of it with my strength; perhaps I can save you.

  45. قالَ نَعم فَافعل فَأَنتَ عالم

    وَناصح كما تَقول راحم

    He said: Yes, do so, for you are knowledgeable,

    and a well-wisher, merciful as you say.

  46. فَعلقت مِن وَقتِهِ مَخالبه

    فيهِ وَعادَ الليث وَهوَ راكبه

    At once his claws fastened

    into him, and the lion was astride him.

  47. فدقه مِن وَقتِهِ وَافترسه

    وَيح أَبيه صائِداً ما أَكيسه

    He crushed him at once and devoured him.

    Woe to his father! How shrewd a hunter he was!

  48. وَإِنَّما ساعده في الشده

    وَساسَهُ بالبر تلكَ المُده

    He had only helped him in his distress

    and tended him kindly all that time

  49. لِنفسه وَهَكَذا الغَزاله

    ألطفها ببره ذؤاله

    for his own sake; likewise with the gazelle:

    Dhu'ala coaxed her with his kindness.

  50. قالَ لَهُ وَكَيفَ كانَ حالها

    وَكَيف نَحنُ في العَمى أَمثالها

    He said to him: And what was her condition?

    And how are we like her in our blindness?