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O my son! a living dog is better than a dead poor man.

O my son! a poor man who does right is better than a rich man who is dead in sins.

O my son! keep a word in thy heart, and it shall be much to thee, and beware lost thou reveal the secret of thy friend.

O my son! let not a word issue from thy mouth till thou hast taken counsel with thy heart. And stand not betwixt persons quarrelling, because from a bad word there comes a quarrel, and from a quarrel there comes war, and from war there comes fighting, and thou wilt be forced to bear witness; but run from thence and rest thyself.

O my son! withstand not a man stronger than thyself, but get thee a patient spirit, and endurance and an upright conduct, for there is nothing more excellent than that.

O my son! hate not thy first friend, for the second one may not last.

O my son! visit the poor in his affliction, and speak of him in the Sultan's presence, and do thy diligence to save him from the mouth of the lion. [*2]

O my son! rejoice not in the death of thine enemy, for after a little while thou shalt be his neighbour, and him who mocks thee do thou respect and honour and be beforehand with him in greeting.

O my son! if water would stand still in heaven, and a black crow become white, and myrrh grow sweet as honey, then ignorant men and fools might understand and become wise.

O my son! if thou desire to be wise, restrain thy tongue from lying, and thy hand from stealing, and thine eyes from beholding evil; then thou wilt be called wise.

O my son! let the wise man beat thee with a rod, but let not the fool anoint thee with sweet salve. Be humble in thy youth and thou shalt be honoured in thine old age.

O my son! withstand not a man in the days of his power, nor a river in the days of its flood.

O my son! be not hasty in the wedding of a wife, for if it turns out well, she will say, 'My lord, make provision for me'; and if it turns out ill, she will rate at him who was the cause of it.

O my son! whosoever is elegant in his dress, he is the same in his speech; and he who has a mean appearance in his dress, he also is the same in his speech.

O my son! if thou hast committed a theft, make it known to the Sultan, and give him a share of it, that thou mayst be delivered from him, for otherwise thou wilt endure bitterness.

O my son! make a friend of the man whose hand is satisfied and filled, and make no friend of the man whose hand is closed and hungry.

'Peace and health and might and honour from Sennacherib king of Assyria and Nineveh, and from his vizier and his secretary Haiqar unto thee, O great king! Let there be pence between thee and me.

And he wrote also another letter in the name of Haiqar to Pharaoh king of Egypt. 'Let there be peace between thee and me, O mighty king!

O Haiqar, when this letter reaches thee, assemble all the soldiers who are with thee, and let them be perfect in clothing and in numbers, and bring them to me on the fifth day in the plain of Nisrin.

And Nadan said to him, 'Be not grieved, O king! nor be wroth, but let us go to the plain of Nisrin and see if the tale be true or not.'

And Nadan said to him, 'Hast thou seen, O my lord the king! what this wretch has done? but be not thou wroth and be not grieved nor pained, but go to thy house and sit on thy throne, and I will bring [paragraph continues] Haiqar to thee bound and chained with chains, and I will chase away thine enemy from thee without toil.'

And the king returned to his throne, being provoked about Haiqar, and did nothing concerning him. And Nadan went to Haiqar and said to him, 'W'allah, O my uncle! The king verily rejoiceth in thee with great joy and thanks thee for having done what he commanded thee.

Then said the king, 'O Haiqar, my Secretary, the Governor of my affairs, my Chancellor, the ruler of my State, tell me what evil have I done to thee that thou hast rewarded me by this ugly deed.'

Then Nadan screamed and said, 'O Haiqar, O blackface! what avails thee thy meditation or thy power in the doing of this deed to the king?'

Then Nadan screamed and said, 'O Haiqar, O blackface! what avails thee thy meditation or thy power in the doing of this deed to the king?'

Thus says the story-teller. And the name of the swordsman was Abu Samik. And the king said to him, 'O swordsman! arise, go, cleave the neck of Haiqar at the door of his house, and cast away his head from his body a hundred cubits.'

Then Haiqar knelt before the king, and said, 'Let my lord the king live for ever! and if thou desire to slay me, let thy wish be fulfilled; and I know that I am not guilty, but the wicked man bas to give an account of his wickedness; nevertheless, O my lord the king! I beg of thee and of thy friendship, permit the swordsman to give my body to my slaves, that they may bury me, and let thy slave be thy sacrifice.'

Then Haiqar took the swordsman aside apart from the company and said, 'O Abu Samik, dost thou not know that when Sarhadum the king, the father of Sennacherib, wanted to kill thee, I took thee and hid thee in a certain place till the king's anger subsided and he asked for thee?

And they wept and said: 'Alas for thee, O Haiqar! and for thy learning and thy courtesy! How sad about thee and about thy knowledge! Where can another like thee be found? and where can there be a man so intelligent, so learned, so skilled in ruling as to resemble thee that he may fill thy place?'

And they said to him, 'O our lord the king! know thou that there is none in thy kingdom who is acquainted with these questions except Haiqar, thy vizier and secretary.

Then the king called Nadan and said to him, 'Look at this letter and understand what is in it.' And when Nadan read it, he said, 'O my lord! who is able to build a castle between the heaven and the earth?'

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqar, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqar! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqar, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.

Ah! O my grief for thee to all time! O Haiqar, how have I killed thee! and I tarried not in thy case till I had seen the end of the matter.'

Ah! O my grief for thee to all time! O Haiqar, how have I killed thee! and I tarried not in thy case till I had seen the end of the matter.'

'O my lord! command thy servants to cut off my head.' Then said the king to him: 'Woe to thee, Abu Samik, what is thy fault?'

And the swordsman said unto him, 'O my master! every slave who acts contrary to the word of his master is killed, and I have acted contrary to thy command.'

Then the king said unto him. 'Woe unto thee, O Abu Samik, in what hast thou acted contrary to my command?'

And the swordsman said unto him, 'O my lord! thou didst command me to kill Haiqar, and I knew that thou wouldst repent thee concerning him, and that he had been wronged, and I hid him in a certain place, and I killed one of his slaves, and he is now safe in the cistern, and if thou command me I will bring him to thee.'

And the king said unto him. 'Woe to thee, O Abu Samik! thou hast mocked me and I am thy lord.'

And the swordsman said unto him, 'Nay, but by the life of thy head, O my lord! Haiqar is safe and alive.'

And he said to the swordsman, 'O trusty servant! if thy speech be true, I would fain enrich thee, and exalt thy dignity above that of all thy friends.'

And he shouted to him, saying, 'O Haiqar, I bring the greatest of joy, and happiness, and delight!'

And Haiqar said to him, 'What is the news, O Abu Samik?' And he told him all about Pharaoh from the beginning to the end. Then he took him and went to the king.

Then said Haiqar to the king, 'Let my lord the king live for ever! These be the deeds of the children of the world. I have reared me a palm-tree that I might lean on it, and it bent sideways, and threw me down. 30 But, O my Lord! since I have appeared fore thee, let not care oppress thee! And the king said to him: 'Blessed be God, who showed thee mercy, and knew that thou wast wronged, and saved thee and delivered thee from being slain.

Then he said to the king. 'Be not wroth, O my lord! I will go to Egypt, and I will return the answers to Pharaoh, and I will display this letter to him, and I will reply to him about the taxes, and I will send back all those who have run away; and I will put thy enemies to shame with the help of the Most High God, and for the Happiness of thy kingdom.'

Then leaving them he went to the king and said to him, 'O my lord! the work is finished according to thy desire. Arise with me that I may show thee the wonder.'

And the king and those who were with him wondered with a great wonder: and the king kissed Haiqar between his eyes and said to him, 'Go in peace, O my beloved! O pride of my kingdom! to Egypt and answer the questions of Pharaoh and overcome him by the strength of the Most High God.'

And the king and those who were with him wondered with a great wonder: and the king kissed Haiqar between his eyes and said to him, 'Go in peace, O my beloved! O pride of my kingdom! to Egypt and answer the questions of Pharaoh and overcome him by the strength of the Most High God.'

And he said to him: 'O my lord the king! Sennacherib the king hails thee with abundance of peace and might, and honour.

But, O my lord the king! what thou hast said in it about the taxes of Egypt for three years--now the stability of a kingdom is strict justice, and if thou winnest and my hand hath no skill in replying to thee, then my lord the king will send thee the taxes which thou hast mentioned.

And king Pharaoh said to him, 'O man! what is thy name?' And he said, 'Thy servant is Abiqam, and I a little ant of the ants of king Sennacherib.'

And Haiqar said to him, 'O my lord the king! I would to God Most High that I may fulfil what is on thy mind, for God is with the weak that He may confound the strong.'

And king Pharaoh said to him, 'O Abiqam, whom am I like? and the nobles of my kingdom, to whom are they like?'

And Haiqar said to him, 'O my lord the kin I thou art like the idol Bel, and the nobles of thy kingdom are like his servants.'

And Pharaoh said to him 'O Abiqam, whom am I like? and the nobles of my kingdom, to whom are they like?'

And Abiqam said to him, 'O my lord! thou art like the sun, and thy servants are like its beams.' And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go to thy dwelling, and come hither to-morrow.'

And Pharaoh said to him, 'O Abiqam, whom am I like? and my nobles, to whom are they like?'

And Abiqam said to him, 'O my lord! thou art like the moon, and thy nobles are like the planets and the stars.' And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go, and to-morrow be thou here.'

And he said, 'O Abiqam, whom am I like? and my armies, to whom are they like?' And he said, 'O my lord! thou art like the month of April, and thy armies are like its flowers.'

And he said, 'O Abiqam, whom am I like? and my armies, to whom are they like?' And he said, 'O my lord! thou art like the month of April, and thy armies are like its flowers.'

And when the king heard it he rejoiced with a great joy and said, 'O Abiqam! the first time thou didst compare me to the idol Bel, and my nobles to his servants.

And the fourth time thou didst compare me to the month of April, and my nobles to its flowers. But now, O Abiqam! tell me, thy lord, king Sennacherib, whom is he like? and his nobles, to whom are they like?'

And when Pharaoh heard this speech, he was greatly perplexed and was wroth with a great wrath, and said to him: 'O man! tell me the truth, and let me know who thou really art.'

'Peace be to thee, O my brother! and what we make known to thee by this is that a brother has need of his brother, and kings of each other, and my hope from thee is that thou wouldst lend me nine hundred talents of gold, for I need it for the victualling of some of the soldiers, that, I may spend it upon them. And after a little while I will send it thee.'

And Pharaoh accepted this, saying, 'O Haiqar, it is the like of thee who are honest in the service of kings.

Blessed be God who hath made thee perfect in wisdom and hath adorned thee with philosophy and knowledge. 9 And now, O Haiqar, there remains what we desire from thee, that thou shouldst build as a castle between heaven and earth.'

Then said Haiqar, 'To hear is to obey. I will build thee a castle according to thy wish and choice; but, O my lord I prepare us lime and stone and clay and workmen, and I have skilled builders who will build for thee as thou desirest.'

And Haiqar said to him, 'O my lord! how shall we build a castle in the air? and if my lord the king were here, he would have built several castles in a single day.'

And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go, O Haiqar, to thy dwelling, and rest, for we have given up building the castle, and to-morrow come to me.'

Then Haiqar went to his dwelling and on the morrow he appeared before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqar, what news is there of the horse of thy lord? for when he neighs in the country of Assyria and Nineveh, and our mares hear his voice, they cast their young.'

And Pharaoh sent to fetch Haiqar, and said to him, 'O Haiqar, wherefore dost thou flog thus and beat that dumb beast?'

And Pharaoh said to him, 'O Haiqar, I see from all this that thou art growing old and art in thy dotage, for between Egypt and Nineveh there are sixty-eight parasangs, and how did she go this very night and cut off the head of thy cock and come back?'

And Haiqar said to him, 'O my lord! if there were such a distance between Egypt and Nineveh how could thy mares hear when my lord the king's horse neighs and cast their young? and how could the voice of the horse reach to Egypt?'

And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqar, I want thee to make me ropes of the sea-sand.'

And Haiqar said to him, "O my lord the king! order them to bring me a rope out of the treasury that I may make one like it.'

And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqar, we have a millstone here and it has been broken and I want thee to sew it up.'

And he said to 'O my lord! I am a foreigner: and I have no tool for sewing.

And he said to him, 'Go in peace, O strength of his lord and pride of his Doctors! have any of the Sultans thy like? give my greetings to thy lord king Sennacherib, and say to him how we have sent him gifts, for kings are content with little.'

Then Haiqar arose, and kissed king Pharaoh's hands and kissed the ground in front of him, and wished him strength and continuance, and abundance in his treasury, and said to him, 'O my lord! I desire from thee that not one of our countrymen may remain in Egypt.'

And when the news reached king Sennacherib that Haiqar was coming, he went out to meet him and rejoiced over him exceedingly with great joy and embraced him and kissed him and said to him, 'Welcome home: O kinsman! my brother Haiqar, the strength of my kingdom, and pride of my realm.

Then said Haiqar unto him, 'O my lord the king, live for ever! Show favour, O my lord the king! to Abu Samik in my stead, for my life was in the hands of God and in his.'

Then said Haiqar unto him, 'O my lord the king, live for ever! Show favour, O my lord the king! to Abu Samik in my stead, for my life was in the hands of God and in his.'

Then said Sennacherib the king, 'Honour be to thee, O my beloved Haiqar! I will make the station of Abu Samik the swordsman higher than all my Privy Councillors and my favourites.'

O my lord! what can I do with wealth and its like? but if thou wilt show me favour, give me Nadan, my sister's son, that I may recompense him for what he has done to me, and grant me his blood and hold me guiltless of it.'

'O Nadan, my boy! I have done to thee all that is good and kind and thou hast rewarded me for it with what is ugly and bad and with killing.

'O my son! it is said in the proverbs: He who listeneth not with his ear, they will make him listen with the scruff of his neck.'

O my boy! thou hast been to me like the scorpion which when it strikes on brass, pierces it.

O my boy! thou art like the gazelle who was eating the roots of the madder, and it add me to-day and to-morrow they will tan they hide in my roots."

O my boy! thou hast been to who saw his comrade naked in the chilly time of winter; and he took cold water and poured it on him.

O my boy! thou hast been to me like a man who took a stone, and threw it up to heaven to stone his Lord with it. And the stone did not hit, and did not reach high enough, but it became the cause of guilt and sin.

O my boy! if thou hadst honoured me and respected me and hadst listened to my words thou wouldst have been my heir and wouldst have reigned over my dominions.

O my son! know thou that if the tail of the dog or the pig were ten cubits long it would not approach to the worth of the horse's even if it were like silk.

O my boy! I thought that thou wouldst have been my heir at my death; and thou through thy envy and thy insolence didst desire to kill me. But the Lord delivered me from thy cunning.

O my son! thou hast been to me like a trap which was set up on the dunghill, and there came a sparrow and found the trap set up. And the sparrow said to the trap, "What doest thou here?" Said the trap, "I am praying here to God."

O my boy! thou hast been to me (as) a lion who made friends with an ass, and the ass kept walking before the lion for a time; and one day the lion sprang upon the ass and ate it up.