The Book of Delight, and Other Papers | Page 7

but let thy servant take the water first, as the ancient
physicians advise; later I will take the wine, a little, without water."

When I had eaten and drunk with him, I asked for his name and his
purpose. "I come," said he, "from a distant land, from pleasant and
fruitful hills, my wisdom is as thine, my laws as thine, my name Enan
Hanatash, the son of Arnan ha-Desh." I was amazed at the name, unlike
any I had ever heard. "Come with me from this land, and I will tell thee
all my secret lore; leave this spot, for they know not here thy worth and
thy wisdom. I will take thee to another place, pleasant as a garden,
peopled by loving men, wise above all others." But I answered: "My
lord, I cannot go. Here are many wise and friendly; while I live, they
bear me on the wing of their love; when I die, they will make my death
sweet.... I fear thee for thy long limbs, and in thy face I see, clear-cut,
the marks of unworthiness; I fear thee, and I will not be thy companion,
lest there befall me what befell the leopard with the fox." And I told
him the story.
In this manner, illustrative tales are introduced throughout the poem.
Zabara displays rare ingenuity in fitting the illustrations into his
framework. He proceeds:
THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD
A leopard once lived in content and plenty; ever he found easy
sustenance for his wife and children. Hard by there dwelt his neighbor
and friend, the fox. The fox felt in his heart that his life was safe only
so long as the leopard could catch other prey, and he planned out a
method for ridding himself of this dangerous friendship. Before the evil
cometh, say the wise, counsel is good. "Let me move him hence,"
thought the fox; "I will lead him to the paths of death; for the sages say,
'If one come to slay thee, be beforehand with him, and slay him
instead.'" Next day the fox went to the leopard, and told him of a spot
he had seen, a spot of gardens and lilies, where fawns and does
disported themselves, and everything was fair. The leopard went with
him to behold this paradise, and rejoiced with exceeding joy. "Ah,"
thought the fox, "many a smile ends in a tear." But the leopard was
charmed, and wished to move to this delightful abode; "but, first," said
he, "I will go to consult my wife, my lifelong comrade, the bride of my
youth." The fox was sadly disconcerted. Full well he knew the wisdom

and the craft of the leopard's wife. "Nay," said he, "trust not thy wife. A
woman's counsel is evil and foolish, her heart hard like marble; she is a
plague in a house. Yes, ask her advice, and do the opposite.".... The
leopard told his wife that he was resolved to go. "Beware of the fox,"
she exclaimed; "two small animals there are, the craftiest they, by
far--the serpent and the fox. Hast thou not heard how the fox bound the
lion and slew him with cunning?" "How did the fox dare," asked the
leopard, "to come near enough to the lion to do it?"
The wife than takes up the parable, and cites the incident of
THE FOX AND THE LION
Then said the leopard's wife: The lion loved the fox, but the fox had no
faith in him, and plotted his death. One day the fox went to the lion
whining that a pain had seized him in the head. "I have heard," said the
fox, "that physicians prescribe for a headache, that the patient shall be
tied up hand and foot." The lion assented, and bound up the fox with a
cord. "Ah," blithely said the fox, "my pain is gone." Then the lion
loosed him. Time passed, and the lion's turn came to suffer in his head.
In sore distress he went to the fox, fast as a bird to the snare, and
exclaimed, "Bind me up, brother, that I, too, may be healed, as
happened with thee." The fox took fresh withes, and bound the lion up.
Then he went to fetch great stones, which he cast on the lion's head,
and thus crushed him. "Therefore, my dear leopard," concluded his
wife, "trust not the fox, for I fear him and his wiles. If the place he tells
of be so fair, why does not the fox take it for himself?" "Nay," said the
leopard, "thou art a silly prattler. I have often proved my friend, and
there is no dross in the silver of his love."
The leopard would not hearken to his wife's advice, yet he was
somewhat moved by