Sufi parable from Rumi One day a lion called a wolf and a fox with him to hunt so that they would help him carry his prey on the way back. At the same time, the king of beasts violated the well-known rule that the lion hunts alone, but he decided that this would not diminish his greatness, just as the stars surrounding her did not diminish the brilliance of the Moon.
Their hunt did not take long, and soon a bison, a hare and a goat were caught. The lion's generosity was known, and his companions looked forward to a fair division of the spoils. But the lion noticed the greedy gleam in their eyes and decided to punish them for it. “I’ll give these beggars a good deal for their greed,” he thought and growled, instilling fear in his henchmen, and after that he said:
- Come on, wolf, so that none of you reproach me for injustice, divide the prey yourself!
The wolf, trembling with fear, suggested:
“You, lion, as the biggest hunter among us, eat a bison, but a skinny goat will do for me, and let the fox be content with a hare!”
The wolf's impudence angered the lion, and he growled in response:
“You’re not a wolf, but a filthy mongrel if you think your advice is worth anything!”
Having said this, he hit the wolf with his huge paw, and he fell dead. The lion turned to the fox:
- How will you divide this fresh meat now?
“I think you should eat a bison for breakfast,” the fox said with respect, “but you can have a goat for lunch.” And, oh my lord, please eat a hare for dinner, because a large dinner is harmful even for kings.
When the lion listened to the fox, his anger passed, and he exclaimed:
“Where did you, fox, learn such wisdom that allowed you not to make a mistake in front of me?”
“Oh, king of beasts,” answered the fox, “what gave me the most wisdom was that I saw what you did to the wolf.”
“You are dear to me, fox, because you were able to show cunning where it was needed, and cunning at all times was as important as intelligence and valor!” - said the lion.
The fox blessed her fate because the lion first turned to the wolf.
And we will add that blessed is the one who is able to learn from someone else’s happiness or misfortune and act on this experience.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru