Once upon a time, there was a farmer who owned two bulls: Shatraba and Bandaba. One day, the bulls were pulling their owner’s cart when Shatraba fell into a pit of mud. The farmer and his friends tried pulling him out but couldn’t, so they left him to die. Fortunately, the mud dried up and Shatraba was able to free himself. He ended up in a meadow rich in grass and water. Time passed where Shatraba felt safe, got fat and started bellowing happily.
Nearby the meadow was a small jungle where the lion was the king of many beasts including tigers and wolves. The lion had never seen or heard of bulls before, so when he heard Shatraba’s bellows, he was anxious and rarely left his den. Among his soldiers where two jackal siblings: Kaleela and Dimna. Kaleela was wise and full of moral stories that he used whenever he conversed with his imprudent brother. Alternately, Dimna was ambitious and had hopes of becoming the king’s adviser. He attended the king’s court and was able to gain his trust with his vast knowledge and feigned wisdom. The lion confessed to him his fear of Shatraba; just imagine the size of the creature with such bellows!
Dimna seized the opportunity of the lion’s unease and asked to be sent out to solve the mystery, to which the king agreed. After a few hours, Dimna came back and told the king about the bull; a creature that despite his massive size was really harmless and the lion shouldn’t worry about. The king wasn’t convinced and insisted on meeting him. Shatraba agreed after taking Dimna’s word for protecting him from becoming the lion’s next meal. The meeting went well and the lion liked the bull as he found him sensible and well-mannered. Soon they became inseparable and Shatraba became his adviser.
Dimna was jealous of this newly founded friendship and complained to Kaleela, who warned him against doing something stupid that would betray their king’s trust but Dimna never paid heed. He was absent from the court for a few days and when returning and being asked by the king, he claimed that he’d heard Shatraba boasts about his own powers that were much greater than the lion’s in front of the other soldiers.
The king was troubled by the news and decided to face Shatraba with it but Dimna advised him otherwise: to note Shatraba’s agitated behaviour as it will be an indicator for his betrayal. Dimna then went to Shatraba and told him that he’d heard the lion planning to eat him and feed his friends as well. Shatraba was to watch the king for the following signs: he’d be sitting on his tail with his ears pulled back and his mouth wide open.
When the two met and observed the signs foretold by Dimna, the king attacked Shatraba instantly and killed him.
Then he was overcome with great sadness and remorse for murdering his wise friend although Dimna assured him that it was the right thing to do. When Dimna went home, his brother blamed him for his foolishness. It happened that the tiger was passing by their house that night and heard the berating.
He went straight to the king’s mother and told her what he heard. The next morning, she came to the lion and retold the story without mentioning the source. The soldiers arrested Dimna and after a fair trial by the rest of the beasts he was killed for being treacherous. Moral of the story: no good emerges out of deception and intrigue.
(Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com)
Rasha al Raisi
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