CHAPTER XXI. On the affairs of the King of the Flies. WHEN the man ceased speaking, the King turned his 66 thoughts to the animals. Presently a gentle voice fell upon his ear. He perceived the king-bee,1 the monarch of the flies, flying before him, and engaged in singing the praise and glory of God. He asked who he was, and the answer was, I am the king of the insects." The King then inquired why he had come, and why he had not, like the other animals, sent some one of his subjects or of his army as his messenger and representative." He replied that he felt solicitude and compassion for their state, so that no trouble might reach any one of them. The King observed, “This virtue is not (found) in any other animal; why then have you got it?" He said, "God Almighty, of His great favour and mercy, bestowed this virtue upon me, and besides this he has given to me many other distinctions and excellences." The King directed him to detail some little of his excellences that he . also might know them. He said, "God Almighty has given to me and to my ancestors many blessings, and has not made any animal to participate in them. Thus He has bestowed upon us the honour of sovereignty and the prophetic office, and has carried down this inheritance to my ancestors from generation to generation. He has not given these two blessings to any other animal. Besides this, God Almighty has taught us the "Yásúb," supposed to be a male, not a 'queen-bee" as we have it. science of geometry and many arts, so that we construct our habitations with great excellence. He has made the fruits and flowers of the whole earth lawful for us, so that we eat them without anxiety. From our saliva he has made honey, and from that comes healing to all mankind. There are texts of the Kurán which are explicit upon this our exaltation. 66 Our appearance and character are proofs to the heedless of the skill and power of the Almighty-for our forms are very delicate, and our appearance is exceedingly wonderful. The Lord has placed in our bodies three joints. The middle joint he has made square, the lower part of the body long, and the head round. He has also made for us four hands and feet resembling the ribs of a sexangular figure, with great beauty, and suitable to our size, by means of which we alight and rise up. We construct our houses upon such an excellent plan that the wind can never enter them, nor do any mischief to ourselves or our young ones. "By the strength of our hands and feet we collect the fruit, leaves, and flowers of trees, and whatever else we find, and store them in our dwellings. On our shoulders He has made four wings, by means of which we fly, and in our stings He has placed some poison, through which we are saved from the wrongs of our enemies. He has made our necks slender, so that we turn our heads with ease to the right and to the left. On both sides of our head He has given us two bright eyes, by the light of which we see everything. He has also made us a mouth by which we know the pleasures of eating, and two lips also he has given us, by the aid of which we collect the materials of our food. On our stomach He has bestowed such powers of digestion that it makes the juices into honey, which honey is food for ourselves and our young ones, in the same way as He has given to the teats of quadrupeds such power that by them the blood is transmuted, and becomes milk. Seeing then that the Almighty has bestowed all these blessings upon us, to what extent shall we show our gratitude? It is for this that, having consideration and kindness for my subjects, I have taken all this trouble upon myself, and have not sent any one of them." When the bee ceased from speaking the King cried, "Bravo! a hundred times bravo! You are very fluent and eloquent. True it is that God has bestowed these blessings on no animal besides you." After this he asked, "Where are your people and your troops?" He replied, "Upon the hills and mountains, and upon the trees; wherever they find convenience there they dwell. Some have gone into the countries of the men, and have selected their houses for their abodes." The King inquired how they found security from the hands of men, and he said, "Many hide themselves from them, and so escape; but whenever the men get an opportunity they annoy them, often even they break their honeycombs, destroy their young ones, and take away the honey and eat it among them." The King asked why they submitted patiently to man's tyranny. He said, “We bear all this tyranny; but sometimes we are so distressed that we depart from his territory. Then men, to make peace with us, bring forward many de vices. They send us all kinds of presents, ítr of roses, per fumes, &c.; they beat drums and tambourines, and, in fine, they satisfy us by giving to us all sorts of presents and rarities. In our nature there is no malignity or evil; we make peace with them and return to their abodes. But for all this they are not satisfied; without proof or reason they assert that they are masters, we are slaves." A CHAPTER XXII. Account of the obedience shown by the Fins to their FTER that the king-bee asked the King how the Jins showed obedience to their sovereign and chiefs, and begged him to state particulars. The King said, "They all carefully show their obedience and submission to their chief, and whatever command he issues they obey." The king-bee asked him to enter into details. The King said, "In the family of Jins there are good and bad, believers and unbelievers, just as there are among men. Those who are good show obedience and submission to their chiefs in a degree that is impossible for man. For the obedience and subserviency of the Jins is like that of the stars. Among these the sun holds the dignity of king, and all the stars stand in the position of soldiers and subjects. Thus Mars is commanderin-chief, Jupiter is judge, Saturn is treasurer, Mercury is minister, Venus is consort, the moon is heir-apparent, and the stars are like soldiers and subjects, because they are subject to the sun, and move according to his motion; when he stops, all are arrested, and they never transgress their customs and limits." The king-bee inquired where the stars had acquired this perfection of obedience and regularity. The King said, "This excellence has been obtained by them from the angels, who are all the soldiers of the Almighty, and render obedience to Him." The king-bee said, "Of what character is the obedience shown by the angels?" He said, “Such obedience as the five senses pay to the reasonable soul; they require no regulating or directing." The bee said, "Please to describe this fully." The King said, "The five senses need no command or prohibition in bringing to the notice and knowledge of the reason such things as are perceptible by them. When the mind directs its attention to the investigation of anything, they, without hesitation or delay, compare this with some other thing, and communicate (the result) to the mind. In this same way the angels show their obedience and subjection to God-whatever order is given they instantly execute. Among the Jins there are villains and infidels, and although in truth they pay no obedience to their king, still they are better than villainous men; for many Jins, notwithstanding their infidelity and error, made no failure in their obedience to King Solomon. Although he, by the force of his occult art, brought many sufferings and hardships upon them, still they stood firm in their obedience. Whenever a man, in any wild or jungle, repeats a prayer or formula through fear of the Jins, they inflict no kind of injury upon him so long as he remains in that place. If perchance a Jin obtains the mastery over a woman or a man, and an exorciser performs incantations and exorcisms to the chief of the Jins, for his deliverance, they instantly flee. And besides, there is this proof of the excellence of their obedience. The Prophet (may the peace of God and rest be with him!) was once reading the Kurán in a certain place where some Jins passed by. As soon as they heard it, all of them became Musulmans, and going back to their tribe, they called many to the Muhammadan religion, and caused them to share in the blessings of the true faith. There are several texts of the Kurán which speak upon this subject. "Men are the very reverse of this. Their dispositions are |