this present or brother or friend veridigue or familiar freke.  Now understand and thy pleasure seek!  I have deceived thee with a deceit and thou lentest ear and lustedst.”  Replied the Bird, “I am one whom desire hath cast down and ignorance hath seduced and inordinate greed, one for whose neck the collar of destruction is fitted and I have fallen along with those who lowest fall!” Hereupon the Fowler came up with his knife to slaughter the Fowl-let and began saying, “How many a birdie have we taken in all ease for desire of its meat that we may dress their heads with rice or in Harisah [FN#293] or fried in pan and eat thereof pleasurably myself or feed therewith great men and grandees.  Also ’tis on us incumbent to feed privily upon half the bodies and the other half shall be for our guests whilst I will take the wings to set before my family and kinsmen as the most excellent of gifts."[FN#294] Hearing these words the Bird fell to speaking and saying,

“O Birder, my mother’s in misery * And blind with weeping my loss
     is she. 
I suffice not thy guest nor can serve for gift:  * Have ruth and
     compassion and set me free! 
With my parents I’ll bless thee and then will I * Fly a-morn and
     at e’en-tide return to thee.”

Presently resumed he, “Seest thou not how my meat be mean and my maw be lean; nor verily can I stand thee in stead of cate nor thy hunger satiate:  so fear Allah and set me at liberty then shall the Almighty requite thee with an abundant requital.”  But the Fowler, far from heeding his words, made him over to his son saying, “O my child, take this bird and faring homewards slaughter him and of him cook for us a cumin ragout and a lemonstew, a mess flavoured with verjuice and a second of mushrooms and a third with pomegranate seeds and a fourth of clotted curd[FN#295] cooked with Summak,[FN#296] and a fine fry and eke conserves of pears[FN#297] and quinces and apples and apricots hight the rose-water and vermicelli[FN#298] and Sikbaj;[FN#299] and meat dressed with the six leaves and a porridge[FN#300] and a rice-milk, and an ’Ajijiyah[FN#301] and fried flesh in strips and Kababs and meat-olives and dishes the like of these.  Also do thou make of his guts strings for bows and of his gullet a conduit for the terrace-roof and of his skin a tray-cloth and of his plumage cushions and pillows.”  Now when the Fowl-let heard these words (and he was still in the Fowler’s hand), he laughed a laugh of sorrow and cried, “Woe to thee, O Birder, whither be wended thy wits and thine understanding?  Art Jinn-mad or wine-drunken?  Art age-foolish or asleep?  Art heavy-minded or remiss in thought?  Indeed had I been that long-necked bird the ’Anka, daughter of Life, or were I the she-camel of Salih to be, or the ram of Isaac the sacrificed, or the loquent calf of Al-Samiri [FN#302] or even a buffalo fattened daintily all this by thee mentioned had never come from me.”  Hereat he fell to improvising and saying,