For here harshness is of no use: ’tis by gentleness that the snake puts forth its head (is induced to come forth) from the hole.”
که درشتی ناید اینجا هیچ کار ** هم به نرمی سر کند از غار مار
He caused the people to withdraw from around him (the claimant): the king was a gracious man, and gentleness was his way.
مردمان را دور کرد از گرد وی ** شه لطیفی بود و نرمی ورد وی
Then he bade him be seated, and asked him concerning his dwelling-place, saying, “Where hast thou thy means of livelihood and refuge?”
پس نشاندش باز پرسیدش ز جا ** که کجا داری معاش و ملتجی
He replied, “O king, I belong to the Abode of Peace: I have come from the road (after having journeyed) to this Abode of Blame.1135
گفت ای شه هستم از دار السلام ** آمده از ره درین دار الملام
I have neither home nor any companion: when has a fish made its home on the earth?”
نه مرا خانه‌ست و نه یک همنشین ** خانه کی کردست ماهی در زمین
Again the king answered him, saying by way of jest, “What (food) hast thou eaten and what provision hast thou (made) for the morning meal?
باز شه از روی لاغش گفت باز ** که چه خوردی و چه داری چاشت‌ساز
Hast thou appetite? What didst thou eat at daybreak that thou art so intoxicated and boastful and blustering?”
اشتهی داری چه خوردی بامداد ** که چنین سرمستی و پر لاف و باد
He replied, “If I had bread, (whether) dry or moist, how should I lay claim to prophecy?
گفت اگر نانم بدی خشک و طری ** کی کنیمی دعوی پیغامبری
To claim to be a prophet amongst these people is like seeking a heart from a mountain.1140
دعوی پیغامبری با این گروه ** هم‌چنان باشد که دل جستن ز کوه
No one (ever) sought intellect and heart from mountains and rocks: none sought (from them) understanding and apprehension of a difficult point of discourse.
کس ز کوه و سنگ عقل و دل نجست ** فهم و ضبط نکته‌ی مشکل نجست