English
The Ruined Village and the Wise Counselor
On the third day, at dawn, the king set out with his army toward the hunting grounds.
On his left rode Hormoz the headman, on his right the pure-minded priest.
They told him stories along the way, speaking of Jamshid and Fereydun.
With hounds and cheetahs ahead, and falcon and hawk, he passed the long day.
When the bright sun climbed to the top of the sky, he had found no trace of wild ass or gazelle.
As the shining sun began to set, he turned back from the hunt with a heavy heart.
Before him came into view a green place, full of people and cattle.
Many from that village came out to the road to watch the army pass.
The king was full of anger and impatience, and wished to stop and camp in that village.
None of them offered him a word of blessing; you would think the earth had fastened those donkeys to the ground.
The king grew angry with those people and did not look kindly upon them.
He said to the priest: this green place, so full of houses, people, and cattle,
let it become the lair of beasts and prey, and let the water in its stream turn black as pitch.
The priest understood what the king's command meant, and rode off toward the village.
He said to them: this green place, so full of houses, people, and cattle,
has pleased King Bahram, and he wishes to renew and favor it.
Then the priest said to those people: keep your hearts glad forever.
The great king has raised you all to be masters, so this fine village may become famous.
In this village, women and children are now the chiefs; no one need obey another's orders.
In this village, laborer and headman alike must hold equal place.
Woman, child, and man, you are all masters; every one of you is now a headman.
A shout of joy rose from the prosperous village, that they had all become masters.
After that, woman and man became one in will, servant and laborer equal to the headman.
When the young man in the village grew reckless, they suddenly cut off the head of the elder chief.
They all fell upon one another, spilling blood lawlessly everywhere.
When chaos and upheaval broke out in that village, they all suddenly fled from it.
The old were left behind, helpless and broken; the tools of farming and labor were gone.
The whole village fell into ruin, the trees withered, and the stream ran dry.
The fields turned to waste and the houses to ruin; people and cattle fled away.
When a year had passed and spring came again, the king rode that road to the hunt.
He reached that once thriving, happy place, looked around, and found no village at all.
All the trees withered, the houses in ruin, the whole land empty of people and cattle.
King Bahram's heart turned grieved; he feared God and was filled with justice.
He said to the priest: Ruzbeh, it is a pity for such a fine village to lie in ruins.
Go quickly and restore it with treasure; make it so they suffer no hardship again.
The priest left the king's presence and hurried swiftly to the ruined place.
He rushed from lane to lane, and at last found an idle old man.
He dismounted, welcomed him warmly, and seated him close beside himself.
He said: old master, who ruined such a thriving place as this?
The man answered: once, long ago, the king passed through our land.
A foolish priest came with him, one of those famed men, but worthless.
He told us all: you are every one masters; see that you count no one above another.
He said this, and this village fell into turmoil, full of plunder, killing, and beatings.
May God grant that priest only his due; may sorrow, death, and hardship stay fresh upon him.
Everything here is steeped in darkness now; it has come to the point where we should weep for ourselves.
Ruzbeh was pained by these words, and asked: who among you is the chief?
The man replied: the chief was he in whose fields the seed of grass sprang up.
Ruzbeh said to him: then you be the chief; stay and lead here in this ruined place.
Ask the king's treasury for coins, and for seed, oxen, donkeys, and supplies.
Whoever you find idle in the village, put them to work; they are all your subordinates, and you the master.
Do not curse that earlier priest, for he did not speak those words of his own wish.
If you want helpers from the king's court, I will send as many as you ask, just say.
When the old man heard this, he rejoiced, freed from his long-held grief.
At once the old man went home and brought the people down to the pond.
He began to make the land flourish and to till all the fields.
They asked the neighbors for oxen and donkeys, and put the whole plain in order.
He and the farmers labored hard, and planted trees in every place.
When one quarter was well restored, everyone who saw it rejoiced at heart.
Everyone who had once fled that place now wept tears of blood on their lashes with longing.
When word spread of the place restored, and of this old headman's labor,
one by one they turned back to the village, and dug a stream in every quarter.
Fowl, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, each grew more numerous on the farmland.
Everyone planted a tree in every spot, and that ruined place became like a joyful paradise.
In another three years the village was adorned; from their toil all the master's wishes were fulfilled.
When joyful spring came round again, the king rode toward the hunting grounds.
With him was his priest, Ruzbeh by name; when they both drew near the village,
blessed Bahram Gur looked and saw a land full of crops and livestock.
Tall mansions rose from it, and every meadow and plain was full of sheep.
Water in every meadow, streams across every field, the whole village full of handsome people.
Lambs scattered across its hills and plains; its whole land had become a paradise.
He said to the priest: Ruzbeh, what did you do, when this fine village lay in ruin,
its people and cattle scattered? What did you give to make the place flourish again?
The priest replied: with a single word this old town was brought to its knees,
and with a single thought it was restored, and this gladdens the heart of Iran's king.
The king had commanded me to restore this green place with the gold of the treasury.
But I feared the Creator of the world, and the blame of both the humble and the great.
I saw that when one heart holds two conflicting thoughts, both suddenly stir up dust and ruin.
Just so, when a town has two headmen, their land will not remain standing.
So I went and said to the village elders: masters, none of you is above the rest.
The women are headmen, and so are the children; you men are now servants and laborers.
When those who were nothing became masters, the head of the true chief fell into the dust.
By mere words this pure place fell to ruin, far be blame from me, and let the fear of God remain.
After that the king took pity on them, and I went and showed a different path.
I set up one wise old man in charge, eloquent, knowing, and a good guide.
He labored and turned the ruin to a thriving place, and gladdened the hearts of his people.
When there was one master, judgment grew sound; goodness increased and crookedness declined.
Secretly I showed them what evil is, and then I opened the door to what is godly.
A word is better than a precious jewel, when it is put to use in the right place.
The king needs wisdom, and the champion a ready tongue, if you want the soul to rest untroubled.
May the king's heart be glad forever; may crookedness and ruin turn to prosperity.
When the king heard these words, he cried well done: you deserve a crown, Ruzbeh.
He gave a purse of yellow gold to that skilled and discerning man.
They dressed him in royal robes and raised his head up to the clouds.