Azud and the Sweet-Singing Birds

Azud's son fell gravely ill, and the father could find no patience or peace. A holy man advised him: set the wild birds free from their cages. He broke the cages of the dawn-singing birds. Who stays imprisoned once the prison is shattered? But on the archway of the garden house he kept one famous, sweet-voiced nightingale. At dawn the son hurried to the garden and found only that one bird still on the arch. He laughed and said: sweet-breathed nightingale, it is your own song that keeps you caged. No one holds anything against you for what you leave unsaid, but once you speak, be ready to prove it. Like Saadi, who for a while held his tongue and so escaped the barbs of clever talkers. Only the one who withdraws from crowds of people can hold true peace of heart close. Wise one, do not expose the faults of others; be busy instead with your own faults, apart from the crowd. When people speak falsehood, do not lend an ear; when you see something shameful, close your sight to it.