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."

CHAPTER XXII.

Account of the obedience shown by the Fins to their
kings and chiefs.

AFTER 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

full of infidelity and wickedness; they are altogether puffed up and proud. Often to gain some advantage they turn aside from the path of righteousness and become infidels and apostates; they are always engaged in murder and strife on the face of the earth. Further, they pay no obedience even to their own prophets, and notwithstanding miracles and wonders they are become rank heretics. If they in appearance ever show obedience, still their hearts are not free from infidelity and wickedness, and inasmuch as they are stupid and erring they do not understand anything. But for all this their pretension is, that they are masters, we are slaves."

When the men saw that the King continued talking with the chief of the flies, they said, "It is very extraordinary that the chief of the insects should hold a position near the King which no other animal has attained." A sage of the Jins said, "Do not be surprised at this, for the king-bee is chief of the flies. Although he is small and thin in body, he is still very intelligent and wise; and he is the chief and orator of all the insects. He teaches to all animals the rules of

government and sovereignty. And it is the rule among kings to converse with such persons of their own race as share with them in royalty and rule, although they may differ in form and appearance. Do not take the idea into your head that the king, for any object or desire, will show partiality or indulgence to them.

In fine, the King, looking towards the men, said, “Whatever complaint the animals have made of your tyranny has been all heard by you, and they have also given their answer to the claim which you have made. Now then communicate all that there remains for you to say." The representative of the men said, "There are many excellences and talents in us which testify to the honesty of our claim." The King directed him to state them. The man of Rúm1 said, “We 1 "The Greek."

are acquainted with many sciences and arts, and we excel all animals in wisdom and counsel; the affairs of this world and of the next we carefully provide for. From this it is obvious that we are the masters and the animals are our slaves."

The King said to the animals, "What have you to say about those merits which he has described?" The congregation of animals having heard these words, bowed their heads, and no one gave any answer; but after an hour the representative of the flies said, “This man opines that men are acquainted with many sciences and artifices, in virtue of which they are masters and the animals their slaves; but if these men,would think and consider, they would learn after what fashion we order and settle our affairs, and that in wisdom and counsel we are superior to them. We have such proficiency in the science of geometry that without ruler or compass we draw circles of all sorts, and triangular and quadrangular figures; in our dwellings we construct all sorts of angles. Men have learned the rules of sovereignty and government from us; for we station porters and guards at our abodes so that no one can approach our king without permission. We extract honey from the leaves of trees, and when we have collected it, we sit down comfortably in our houses and eat it with our young ones. Whatever remains of our leavings, all these men pick out and take for their own use. "No one has taught us these arts, but they are revealed to us from the Almighty, so that without the help and aid of teachers we are versed in so many arts. If the men have the conceit to think that they are masters and the animals are their slaves, then why do they eat our leavings. It is not the practice for kings to eat the orts of slaves. There are many matters in which men have need of us, but there is not one in which we have any necessity for them. Therefore, this claim without proof cannot be gained by them.

"If this man would only look upon the doings of the ant;