Then the young man composed and recited these verses:
I have heard that once a partridge, led by Fate,
Was by a falcon seized upon;
Suspended from his claws the partridge hung,
And, absorbed in him, the falcon flew away.
Then, in bird-language, came a voice which said,
"Yes, thou hast conquered me, and I am captive;
But the hunger of thy like my like cannot appease,
For even when I'm eaten, as nothing shall I seem!"
At this the falcon smiled, touched by his self-abasement,
And set that partridge free.
The historian continues: "Then Hishâm smiled, and said, 'By my relationship to the Messenger of God! had he thus spoken at the first moment, and asked anything short of the Khalîfate, verily I would have given it to him. Here, attendant! cram his mouth with pearls and jewels, and be liberal in compensating him, and let him go about his business.'"
