and made thee great after rearing thee with the best of rearing
and I educated thee so thou mightest become mine heir in lore and
contrivance and in worldly good. But thou soughtest my ruin and
destruction and thou desiredst for me doom of death; however, the
Lord, knowing me to be a wronged man, delivered me from thy
mischief, for God hearteneth the broken heart and abaseth the
envious and the vain-glorious. O dear my son,[FN#80] thou hast
been as the scorpion who when she striketh her sting[FN#81] upon
brass would pierce it. O dear my son, thou hast resembled the
Sajalmah-bird[FN#82] when netted in net who, when she cannot save
herself alive, she prayeth the partridges to cast themselves into
perdition with her. O dear my son, thou hast been as the cur who,
when suffering cold entereth the potter's house to warm himself
at the kiln, and when warmed barketh at the folk on such wise
that they must beat him and cast him out, lest after barking he
bite them. O dear my son, thou hast done even as the hog who
entered the Hammam in company with the great; but after coming
out he saw a stinking fosse a-flowing[FN#83] and went and therein
wallowed. O dear my son, thou hast become like the old and rank
he-goat who when he goeth in leadeth his friends and familiars to
the slaughter-house and cannot by any means come off safe or with
his own life or with their lives. O dear my son, a hand which
worketh not neither plougheth, and withal is greedy and
over-nimble shall be cut off from its armpit. O dear my son, thou
hast imitated the tree whom men hew down, head and branch, when
she said, 'Had not that in your hands been of me,[FN#84] indeed
ye would not have availed to my felling.' O dear my son, thou
hast acted as did the she-cat to whom they said, 'Renounce
robbing that we make thee collars of gold and feed thee with
sugar and almond cake!' But she replied, 'As for me, my craft is