Fayrouza, the rabbit, outwits the elephant king … arrogance of some Arab rulers ruins their countries
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DOCTORED-UP history is the true tragedy of Arabs. This is because they believed all those lies, and ended up adopting, or rather copying, the illusions in everything, even in the methods of governance and problems. If they dare to think, they reproduce the distorted solutions.
Such a reality leads to failed policies, and actually generates crises that almost wither their countries, and leave their people on the verge of despair due to the lack of anything that would suggest salvation.
Given that the rule in the Arab world is barren, the sycophants are the closest to the ruler, while people of sound opinion are kept away from him so as not to disturb his mind.
Therefore, anyone who contemplates our Arab reality is well aware of the weakness of the regimes in facing problems and searching for realistic solutions to these problems.
On this occasion, I recall the story of the elephant king and the rabbit Fayrouza in the book “Kalila and Dimna”. According to the story, a herd of elephants lived in a forest, and fed on the leaves of the wild trees and drank cool water from the stream that flowed through the forest.
One year, drought hit the area where the forest was located. Many animals fled the forest to other places that had no lack of water or food. The elephant king, who was known to take good care of his herd, was worried about his kingdom. He therefore sent his brothers to look for water. After a long search, they located a lake at the far end of the forest. The lake was called “Moon lake”.
The elephant king was happy to hear this news. He ordered all his followers to make their way towards the lake. This lake was full of water and never went dry even during times when it did not rain.
On the way to this lake, there was a settlement of rabbits. The elephants had to pass through this settlement of rabbits. Thousands of rabbits got crushed under the heavy feet of the elephants, and many others were wounded. The rabbits fled in terror. The situation was getting so severe that the king of the rabbits decided to call for a meeting.
During the meeting, the rabbit king said,” A herd of elephants is passing through our area. They have killed thousands among us. We are in a critical need to avoid more deaths. I want all of you to think of a way to save our race”. All the rabbits immediately went through a thought process.
Suddenly, a little rabbit called Fayrouza came up with a plan and said to the king, “Your Majesty, if you will send me as your messenger to the elephant king, I might find a solution to this problem”. The rabbit king approved the idea, and Fayrouza rushed towards the lake.
When she saw the herd of elephants returning from the lake, she realized that it was impossible to get near them. Then she thought about how she could talk to the king of elephants. She climbed up a hill and shouted, “O King of the Elephants, please listen to me”.
Upon hearing the rabbit’s voice, the elephant king stopped and asked, “Who are you? Where have you come from?”
The smart rabbit answered, “I am Fayrouza, the messenger of the moon”. The elephant king asked, “Why did you come here?”
Fayrouza replied, “Moon has sent a message to you. A messenger speaks only the truth. Please consider that a messenger is never punished for what he has to say. He is only doing his job so you must not be angry with me”.
The elephant king assured Fayrouza that she won’t be harmed in any way.
Fayrouza then said, “The Moon is angry with you because you have brought your herd to his holy lake and have disturbed the peace. You have crushed thousands of rabbits to death on the way to the lake. Rabbits are under the special protection of the Moon.
Since you have bothered the Moon and his special creatures, he is extremely annoyed with you and wants you to leave his kingdom at once. If not, then you might face terrible consequences”.
The elephant king became scared after hearing this message from the Moon.
He said, “You are right. We have killed many rabbits on our way to the lake. However, that was done in ignorance. I will see that you do not suffer anymore. I want to request the Moon to pardon me for my sins. Please advise me what I should do”.
The rabbit replied, “Ok, I will take you to pay your homage to the moon, and ask him to forgive you for the crime you have committed. Come with me”.
At night, Fayrouza led the elephant king to the lake. Both Fayrouza and the elephant king stood near the bank of the lake, and there they saw the reflected image of the Moon in the still water.
Just then, a mild breeze blew, disturbing the water of the lake, and the moon seemed to move to and from. When the elephant king saw this, he thought that the Moon was really angry with him. He bowed in panic.
Fayrouza said, “O Moon, the king of elephants has committed a sin in ignorance. Please forgive him. He is taking away his herd from here and promises never to come back”.
The frightened king bowed once again and left the place with his herd immediately, and the rabbits lived happily ever after in their settlement.
In many cases, elephants represent the problems that a ruler does not solve well because he does not consult or hear opinions that do not agree with his whims. The wisdom of the rabbit Fayrouza had caused fear in the hearts of the greatest among the animals, saved her land, restored stability to her people, and preserved the source of her life, which is the lake.
How many rabbits like the wise Fayrouza does the Arab world need? How many rulers who fear for the future of their country are willing to take the opinion of the wise?
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
This news has been read 32685 times!
