after awhile, he fell to taking a company of them every day and
betaking himself with them afar off to one of the caves, where he
struck them down and eating their eyes and brains, threw their
bodies into the river. And he ceased not doing on this wise, it
being his intent to destroy them all till, seeing their number
daily diminishing, the Crows flocked to him and said, "O our
King, we complain to thee because from the date we made thee
Sovran and ruler over us, we are in the sorriest case and every
day a company of us is missing and we know not the reason of
this, more by token that the most part thereof are the high in
rank and of those in attendance on thee. We must now look after
our own safety." Thereupon the Hawk waxed wroth with them and
said to them, "Verily, ye are the murtherers, and ye forestall me
with accusation!" So saying, he pounced upon them and tearing to
pieces half a score of their chiefs in front of the rest,
threatened them and crave them out, sorely cuffed and beaten,
from before him. Hereat they repented them of that which they had
done and said, "We have known no good since the death of our
first King especially in the deed of this stranger in kind; but
we deserve our sufferings even had he destroyed us one by one to
the last of us, and there is exemplified in us the saying of him
that saith, 'Whoso submitteth him not to the rule of his own
folk, the foe hath dominion over him, of his folly.' And now
there is nothing for it but to flee for our lives, else shall we
perish." So they took flight and dispersed to various places.
"And we also, O King," continued the Wazir, "feared lest the like
of this befal us and there become ruler over us a King other than
thyself; but Allah hath vouchsafed us this boon and hath sent us
this blessed child, and now we are assured of peace and union and
security and prosperity in our Mother-land. So lauded be Almighty