English
A Story on the Dignity of Noble Men
A dog bit the foot of a man of the desert,
biting so fiercely that venom dripped from its teeth.
The poor man couldn't sleep all night from the pain;
among his household he had a little daughter.
She scolded her father sharply and said:
'After all, didn't you have teeth too?'
Then the man, worn down by his hard day, wept,
then laughed and said, 'My dear little one,'
'Even though I had teeth and even the power to bite,
I thought too much of my own mouth to use them.'
'It is unthinkable, even if a sword struck my head,
that I would sink my teeth into the foot of a dog.'
'One can act badly toward worthless people,
but a true human being will never behave like a dog.'