And pluck the fruits or，if out of reach，Why，cram thy maw with the grass on plain.'
Then said the fox to the wolf，'Hasten not to slay me，for that is not the way to pay me and thou wouldst repent it，O thou valiant wild beast，lord of force and exceeding prowess！ An thou accord delay and consider what I shall say，thou wilt ken what purpose I proposed；but if thou hasten to kill me it will profit thee naught and we shall both die in this very place.'Answered the wolf 'O thou wily trickster，what garreth thee hope to work my deliverance and thine own，that thou prayest me to grant thee delay？ Speak and propound to me thy purpose.'Replied the fox，'As for the purpose I proposed，it was one which deserveth that thou guerdon me handsomely for it；for when I heard thy promises and thy confessions of thy past misdeeds and regrets for not having earlier repented and done good；and when I heard thee vowing，shouldst thou escape from this strait，to leave harming thy fellows and others；forswear the eating of grapes and of all manner fruits；devote thyself to humility；cut thy claws and break thy dogteeth；don woollens and offer thyself as an offering to Almighty Allah，then indeed I had pity upon thee，for true words are the best words. And although before I had been anxious for thy destruction，whenas I heard thy repenting and thy vows of amending should Allah vouchsafe to save thee，I felt bound to free thee from this thy present plight. So I let down my tail，that thou mightest grasp it and be saved. Yet wouldest thou not quit thy wonted violence and habit of brutality；nor soughtest thou to save thyself by fair means，but thou gavest me a tug which I thought would sever body from soul，so that thou and I are fallen into the same place of distress and death. And now there is but one thing can save us and，if thou accept it of me，we shall both escape；and after it behoveth thee to fulfil the vows thou hast made and I will be thy veritable friend.'
Asked the wolf，'What is it thou proposest for mine acceptance？'
Answered the fox，'It is that thou stand up at full height till I come nigh on a level with the surface of the earth. Then will I
give a spring and reach the ground；and，when out of the pit，I will bring thee what thou mayst lay hold of，and thus shalt thou make thine escape.'Rejoined the wolf，'I have no faith in thy word，for sages have said，'Whoso practiseth trust in the place of hate，erreth；' and，'Whoso trusteth in the untrustworthy is a dupe；he who retrieth him who hath been tried shall reap repentance and his days shall go waste；and he who cannot distinguish between case and case，giving each its due，and assigneth all the weight to one side，his luck shall be little and his miseries shall be many.' How well saith the poet，'Let thy thought be ill and none else but ill；For suspicion is best of the worldling's skill：
Naught casteth a man into parlous place
But good opinion and （worse） goodwill！'
And the saying of another，'Be sure all are villains and so bide safe；
Who lives wide awake on few Ills shall light：
Meet thy foe with smiles and a smooth fair brow，
And in heart raise a host for the battle dight！'
And that of yet another，[161]
'He thou trusted most is thy worst unfriend；
'Ware all and take heed with whom thou wend：
Fair opinion of Fortune is feeble sign；
So believe her ill and her Ills perpend！'
Quoth the fox，'Verily mistrust and ill opinion of others are not to be commended in every case；nay trust and confidence are the characteristics of a noble nature and the issue thereof is ******* from stress of fear. Now it behoveth thee，O thou wolf，to devise some device for thy deliverance from this thou art in，and our escape will be better to us both than our death：so quit thy distrust and rancour；for if thou trust in me one of two things will happen；either I shall bring thee something whereof to lay hold and escape from this case，or I shall abandon thee to thy doom. But this thing may not be，for I am not safe from falling into some such strait as this thou art in，which，indeed，would be fitting punishment of perfidy. Of a truth the adage saith，'Faith is fair and faithlessness is foul.'[162] So it behoveth thee to trust in me，for I am not ignorant of the haps and mishaps of the world；and delay not to contrive some device for our deliverance，as the case is too close to allow further talk.'Replied the wolf，'For all my want of confidence in thy fidelity，verily I knew what was in thy mind and that thou wast moved to deliver me whenas thou heardest my repentance，and I said to myself，'If what he asserteth be true，he will have repaired the ill he did；and if false，it resteth with the Lord to requite him.' So，look'ee，I have accepted thy proposal and，if thou betray me，may thy traitorous deed be the cause of thy destruction！'Then the wolf stood bolt upright in the pit and，taking the fox upon his shoulders，raised him to the level of the ground，whereupon Reynard gave a spring from his back and lighted on the surface of the earth. When he found himself safely out of the cleft he fell down senseless and the wolf said to him，'O my friend！ neglect not my case and delay not to deliver me.
