1. وَهوَ ظَليم كانَ بِاليَمامه

    حَديثه باق إِلى القِيامه

    He was a male ostrich living in al-Yamamah,

    whose tale endures until the Resurrection.

  2. خلَّى سَفاها بيضه وحضنا

    بيض القَطاة إِذ رآه حَسَنا

    Foolishly he abandoned his eggs and brooded on

    the sandgrouse's eggs, which he thought beautiful.

  3. وَظنه يفقص عن رئال

    أحسَن مِن رئاله في الحال

    He imagined they would hatch into ostrich chicks

    finer than his own chicks at the time.

  4. فَلم يَكُن ذاكَ وَضاع فعله

    وَبيضه أَيضاً وَذَم عَقله

    But that did not happen; his effort was wasted,

    and his eggs too, and he blamed his own judgment.

  5. فَاجتَمع القَوم عَلى عِنادي

    وَعذرَهُم في ذاكَ عِندي باد

    So the people united in hostility to me,

    and their excuse for that is plain to me.

  6. أَما الَّذي خَصصته ببري

    فَهوَ لَئيم الأَصل غَير حُر

    As for the one I singled out for my kindness,

    he is base in origin, not noble.

  7. فَإِنَّني ظَلَمته بِذاكا

    وَكانَ ما جئت لَهُ هَلاكا

    For I wronged him by doing so,

    and what I brought him was his ruin.

  8. كَأَنني كَلفته ما لَم يطق

    وَلَم يَكُن في طَبعِهِ لَما خَلق

    As though I had burdened him with what he could not bear,

    and what was not in his nature when he was created.

  9. طَلَبت مِن أَصل اللئيم شُكراً

    وَمِن زَنيم وَجَهول نَصرا

    I sought gratitude from one of base stock,

    and support from a baseborn man and a fool.

  10. وَلَيسَ في طَبع اللئيم الشُّكر

    وَلَيسَ في الأَصل الدني نَصر

    Gratitude is not in a base man's nature,

    nor is support found in lowly stock.

  11. وَإِن مَن أَلزَمه وَكَلفه

    ضد الَّذي في طَبعِهِ ما أَنصَفه

    And whoever obliges him and burdens him

    with the opposite of his nature has not treated him fairly.

  12. وَهوَ إِذا حَققت مثل جرول

    لَما غَدا يَشتار أَرى الحَنظَل

    If you look closely, he is like Jarwal,

    when he went gathering honey from colocynth.

  13. إِذ غَرهُ صفرته وَحُسنه

    فَلم يَكُن فيهِ الَّذي يَظنه

    Its yellowness and beauty deceived him,

    but it contained none of what he imagined.

  14. وَمَن سَقى العَوسج يَبغي وَرده

    وَمَن غَدا الذئب يَروم وده

    And like one who waters boxthorn, seeking its roses,

    and one who feeds a wolf, seeking its affection,

  15. وَحاضن للجهل بيض الحيه

    كَفى بِذاكَ سبة وَغيه

    and one who ignorantly broods on a snake's eggs—

    that is disgrace and folly enough.

  16. وَكُنت في جَهلي مثل اللقلق

    في حضنِهِ بيضة صل مطرق

    In my ignorance I was like the stork,

    brooding over the egg of an asp with lowered head.

  17. من كَلَف النفوس ضَد طَبعِها

    وَراضها مُجتَهداً في نَزعِها

    Whoever burdens souls against their nature,

    and diligently trains them to draw them away from it,

  18. أَتعبها عَن خَلقِها وَتعبا

    وَلَم يَنَل مِن خَيرِها ما طَلَبا

    wearies them away from their nature, and grows weary himself,

    and gains none of the good he sought from them.

  19. وَإِن مَن خَصَّ اللئيم بِالنَّدى

    وَجَدتهُ كَمَن يُرَبي أَسَدا

    And whoever singles out a base man for generosity,

    you will find him like one who raises a lion.

  20. فَإِن بر الجاهل اللئيم

    مثل جَفاء الفاضل الكَريم

    For kindness to an ignorant, base man

    is like harshness toward a virtuous, noble one.

  21. وَكانَ في جَزيرَتي سُلطان

    كَأَنَّهُ مِن جَورِهِ شَيطان

    There was a ruler on my island,

    as though his tyranny made him a devil.

  22. لَكنه لا يظهر العُدوانا

    فَيفسد القُلوب وَالأَعوانا

    But he did not openly display aggression,

    lest he corrupt hearts and supporters.

  23. وَيتقي الذمَّ وَشر ما اِتَقى

    وَيظهر النسك رِياء وَالتقى

    He guarded against blame and the worst of what he feared,

    and displayed devotion and piety for show.

  24. وَيَعمل الكَيد الخَفي وَالحيل

    تَوصلا إِلى هواه بِالعِلل

    He devised hidden plots and stratagems,

    to attain his desires through pretexts.

  25. أما عَدوي فَخشوا أَن يَفطنا

    لِسَعيهم بي فيقولوا قَد جَنى

    As for my enemy, they feared he would notice

    their intrigue against me, and they would say, 'He has offended.'

  26. إِن العَدو قَولهُ مَردود

    وَقلَّ ما يصدق الحَسود

    An enemy's word is rejected,

    and an envious man seldom speaks the truth.

  27. وَهوَ وَإِن كانَ ظَلوماً ناقِد

    لَيسَ تَجوز عِندَهُ المَكايد

    Though he was very unjust, he was discerning;

    schemes could not pass muster with him.

  28. وَالأَصدِقاء كَرِهوا أَن يَنسِبوا

    فيهِ إِلى اللوم وَأن يُؤنبوا

    And the friends were loath to be judged

    blameworthy in his case, or to be reproached,

  29. وَأن يُقال إِنَّهُم أَشرار

    وَكُلهم بِعَهدِهِ غَدار

    or to have it said that they were wicked,

    and every one a betrayer of his covenant,

  30. وَسَعيهم عَلى الصديق الصادق

    بَعد النوال الجم وَالمرافق

    and for their scheming against a faithful friend,

    after abundant gifts and favors.

  31. هبكم صدقتم في الَّذي حَكيتُم

    وَقُلتُم من ذاك ما رَأَيتُم

    Suppose you spoke truth in what you recounted,

    and told of it what you had seen:

  32. هَلا سَتَرتم وَكَتَمتم ما جَرى

    لأَيما حال ترادون ترى

    why did you not conceal and keep secret what happened?

    For what occasion are you needed, do you think?

  33. فموجب الصداقة المُساعده

    وَمُقتَضى المَودة المعاضده

    For friendship requires assistance,

    and affection calls for mutual support,

  34. لا سيما في النوب الشدائد

    وَالمحن العَظائم الأَوابد

    especially amid severe calamities,

    and great, appalling ordeals.

  35. لَو أَنكم أَفاضل أحرار

    ما ظَهَرَت بينكم الأَشرار

    Had you been virtuous, noble men,

    the wicked would not have emerged among you.

  36. قالوا فَما نَصنع حَتّى نُهلكه

    قيل انصبوا مِن المحال شَبكه

    They said, 'What shall we do to destroy him?'

    They were told, 'Set a net of falsehoods.'

  37. فَجَلَسوا في مَسجد وَسوق

    وَمجمع النسك أَو الفسوق

    So they sat in a mosque and a market,

    and gatherings of devotion or debauchery,

  38. وَغَيرهُم لَما يَقول يسمَع

    هَل صَحَّ عَن صبيح تِلكَ البدع

    while others listened to what he was saying:

    'Are those heresies truly reported of Subayh?'

  39. وَقالَ بَعضٌ مِنهُم في خفيه

    لِبَعضهم بحيلة وفريه

    And one of them said in secret

    to another among them, with trickery and fabrication:

  40. إِن كانَ ذا فَإِنَّهُ جسور

    وَقُربهُ لِشَرهِ مَحذور

    'If that is so, he is brazen,

    and his company must be avoided because of his wickedness.'

  41. قالَ لَهُ الآخر لَيسَ ما حَكى

    أَول كَيد دَسه للملك

    The other said to him, 'What he recounted is not

    the first plot he planted against the king.'

  42. وَقالَ ثان كَم لَهُ مَكيده

    في مُلكِهِ خافية شَديده

    A second said, 'How many schemes he has,

    hidden and formidable, within his kingdom!

  43. وَهوَ بِلا شَك يَتم أَمره

    فَقَد سَرى بَينَ الجُنود مَكره

    He will surely carry his design through,

    for his deceit has spread among the soldiers.

  44. وَحالفوه كُلهُم وَعاقدوا

    وَوعدوه نَصرهُم وَعاهَدوا

    They have all allied with him and made pacts,

    and promised him their support and pledged themselves.'

  45. قالَ لِمَن يَطلبه لِنَفسه

    أَو غَيره مِن قَومِه وَجنسه

    He said, 'For whom does he seek it—for himself,

    or another of his people and his kin?'

  46. فَقالَ شَيخ مِنهُم موقر

    المال أَطغاه وَيَبغي المكثر

    Then a dignified elder among them said:

    'Wealth has made him insolent, and the wealthy transgress.

  47. بقوة المال وَعز شانه

    سَعى بِلا شَك عَلى سُلطانه

    With the strength of wealth and his high standing,

    he has surely schemed against his ruler.

  48. أَما سمعتم قصة الحجام

    وَملك الأَهواز في الحَمام

    Have you not heard the tale of the bloodletter

    and the king of Ahwaz in the bathhouse?'