A Collection of Thousand and One Nights Fairy Tales 1: Sparrows imitate goshawks.
There was a little sparrow flying over the sheepfold by chance, and it was very lively when it saw the sheep coming in and out. Driven by curiosity, it landed on a tree near the sheepfold to observe the sheep. At this time, disaster fell from the sky, and a huge and strong goshawk suddenly swooped down from the sky, rushed into the sheep, suddenly grabbed a newborn lamb, and immediately flew up and flew away safely.
This sudden scene is both thrilling and exciting. When the sparrow saw all this, it was surprised at first, and then it was very interesting. In his heart, he envied the goshawk, thinking that it was amazing that the goshawk, as a bird, could catch the livestock and fly to the sky. It thought to itself, I will be like the goshawk, and I can do it!
Thought of here, the sparrow spread its wings, flew into the sky, and then swooped down toward the flock, and suddenly landed on a huge sheep. Before it stood firm on the sheep, it used its small paws to grasp the thick fluff on the sheep and try to catch the sheep into the sky!
However, contrary to expectations, how can a small sparrow catch a large sheep! Not only that, because this big sheep was rolling around in the mud on the sheepfold, it got some mud on its body, which made its wool dirty. Sticky, little sparrow's paws got stuck in the mud wool and got entangled in it. The harder it struggled, the tighter its paws got, making it difficult to get away.
The little sparrow's behavior attracted the shepherd's attention. Just now, he watched helplessly as a big goshawk took away his beloved lamb, and he felt very sad and hated it. When he had nowhere to vent his anger, he saw the little sparrow imitating the behavior of the great eagle, trying to take away his big sheep, so he couldn't help but get angry and ran angrily into the sheepfold. He grabbed the little sparrow, plucked the feathers from its wings, tied its legs with a thread, and let the children play with it. When the children were tired of playing, they asked the shepherd:
"Dad, what is this?"
The shepherd said in a contemptuous tone, "This is a little thief. He tried to imitate a goshawk who is stronger than him, but he got himself into a trap and deserved it."
A Thousand and One Nights Fairy Tales Collection 2: Sparrows and Birds
There is a sparrow hawk that preys on birds for a living. When it is young and strong, it is violent, aggressive and overbearing. Many birds are afraid of it and avoid it. Nevertheless, many birds have fallen victim to its sharp beak and claws. It is awesome everywhere, domineering over others and doing many evil deeds.
As time flies, the sparrow hawk has finally reached its old age. In this case, the sparrow hawk is not what it used to be. It can no longer bully, kill birds and kill its own kind as in previous years, so its survival is unsustainable and forced by its livelihood. It has to change its face, give up its old habit of conquering similar hunting by force, transform itself, and resolutely adopt a peaceful way, showing gentleness. Trick them into relaxing their vigilance, but the sparrow hawk pounces on them, killing their prey and eating it in pieces to make a living. The sparrow hawk first conquered the weak birds by force, and then hunted them by deception in a seemingly peaceful way. No matter what means it changed, it aimed at harming others and benefiting itself.
A Thousand and One Nights Fairy Tales Collection 3: Fleas and Rats
Once upon a time, there was a mouse. The owner of the mouse was a wealthy businessman, so his life was rich.
One night, a hungry flea broke into the rich businessman's house and jumped into his bed. The flea was so happy to see that the rich businessman's skin was plump and greasy that it was better than any delicious food. The flea was so hungry that he opened his mouth wide and bit the rich businessman's white and tender skin hard, sucking his blood as much as possible until he was full of food and drink.
The wealthy businessman who was asleep was suddenly bitten by a flea and felt a stinging pain. He woke up, flew into a rage, and called all the handmaids and servants in a big fuss, and told them to work together to encircle and catch fleas.
The flea watched the handmaiden servants of the rich merchant holding their sleeves one by one, stroking their arms and coming around angrily. Knowing that they were in danger, he decided to take shelter for a while. He started to flee, and suddenly fell into the mouse hole. He thought that people would not come here to search it, so let's stay here for a while.
But the mouse was cold to the unexpected guest and said,
"You and I are neither kindred nor alike. Why did you suddenly break into my comfort zone? I want to tell you, if you stay in my cave, you will definitely suffer indignities. If you are unlucky, you may be driven out by violence. "
After a pause, the flea said to the mouse, "I came to you temporarily to escape and ask for help for my life. I don't intend to stay in your house for a long time, and I have no ambition to expel you and occupy this place. If you don't believe me, please read my words and deeds."
The mouse listened to the flea, became calm and said:
"In that case, you can settle down here in peace. I can assure you that you will live a safe and comfortable life with me. I share your interests and bear the risk. As long as I live, I will try to make you live better than me. You see, I am so open and sincere to you, just rest assured and live carefree. You must not live for the sake of nothing. Don't regret just sucking a little blood from him. The sages often warned people that they should be satisfied with the simple life that is easy to get, and be optimistic. Because only in this way can your safety and livelihood be guaranteed. A poet once sang a poem for warning people:
Poverty, simplicity and loneliness are my characteristics.
There is no shortage of daily necessities,
Not extravagant, not greedy, not desperate,
Be content with what you are, be content with what you are,
"This spirit of poverty alleviation, frugality and optimism is worth learning."
Flea listened to the mouse's advice, benefited a lot, felt deeply, and said:
"Your advice has benefited me a lot. I am determined to obey you and follow your instructions, and always remember your advice."
The mouse said, "You have such sincere feelings and determination, which shows that there is enough friendship between us."
Mice and fleas exchanged feelings, got to know each other better, and became best friends from now on. They stayed up all day and went out at night, and cooperated with each other tacitly. Every night, fleas jumped on the rich businessman, bit his white and tender skin gently, and took time to suck his inexhaustible blood. It stopped when it was good. Enough is enough, so as not to disturb the rich businessman again, just to enjoy it slowly.
One night, the rich merchant brought back some silver coins from the outside and hid in the bedroom alone to count them. The tinkling sound of silver coins aroused the mouse's vigilance. It stood up and looked up. When it saw the rich merchant hiding the counted silver coins under his pillow, it turned off the lights and went to sleep. The mouse had never seen so many silver coins, so it could not resist the temptation of money, and it gave birth to evil intentions. With an evil plan, it discussed with the flea: "You know, there is a lot under the rich merchant's pillow." I wonder if you have any clever ways to make all this money fall into our hands? "
Flea said, "No matter what you do, you should think twice before you do it, and before you act, you should know yourself and do what you can. If you don't do your best, even if you plan carefully, it will be futile, but you will only fail. For example, a small sparrow, who is weak, only looks down and greedily pecks at the grain, regardless of other things, then it will easily fall into the net and become a hunter's dish! At present, faced with so many silver coins, you can neither take them nor get them out of the house. As for me, I don't have the strength to take them. My body is so weak that it is difficult for the naked eye to find them. It is as difficult as moving mountains to move them. I don't know, what do you want to do with them? "
The mouse said, "I can tell you that I have built 70 exits in this room, so that I can escape at will under any circumstances. Besides, I have specially dug a big, deep and secret hole to store valuables. Now I only hope that you can cooperate closely with me and try your best to get the rich businessman out of this room, so that I can get all the silver coins under my pillow into the hole."
Seeing that the mouse was full of confidence, the flea decided to help it. It jumped into the bed of the rich merchant, aimed at the most sensitive place of the rich merchant, took a bite decisively and ruthlessly, and then quickly hid in a safe place. The rich merchant felt a stinging pain, patted the bitten place hard with his hand, scratched it with his hand, then turned over and fell asleep again. The flea made persistent efforts and went to the rich merchant again. The wealthy businessman was completely awakened from his dream. He looked at his gradually swollen skin and turned the quilt over in disgust. After shaking for a long time, he couldn't find the flea hiding in the shelter. The restless wealthy businessman couldn't sleep in the bed in the house, so he got out of bed impatiently and went to sleep on the bench outside the door.
When the mouse saw that the time had come, he climbed to the head of the bed without hesitation and moved the silver coins under the pillow into the hole one after another. The next morning, the rich merchant found that the silver coins under the pillow were missing and thought they had been stolen.