281- King Khan and his Beloved Hawk

 

St-Takla.org Image: An eagle standing. صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: صقر واقف.

Irene noticed that her daughter, Theresa, was very upset. Asking why she was upset, Theresa explained that few hours before, she was very angry. Because of her anger, she spoke to her very close and dear friend in an unbecoming manner. She was worried that her friend might be angry with her and she felt guilty and wanted to apologize to her. Her mother advised her that a person should think ten times before saying anything or behaving hastily. When we are angry, we should think a hundred times before saying or doing anything. As an example, she narrated the following story about Jankis Khan.

He was a magnificent king and a great leader who led the armies of China and Persia. He won many battles and his kingdom ranged from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan (circa 1162-1226 AD). Despite all his power, he was conquered by his anger and mourned for the rest of his life. What happened was, after winning several battles, one day he decided to go hunting, which he enjoyed a lot. He went riding on horses with his friends, carrying their bows and arrows, while their slaves followed with the hunting dogs. They all went through the forests, talking, singing and laughing. On the king’s elbow was his beloved hawk, which was trained to hunt. The king would order it to fly high and when it saw a deer or a wild rabbit, it would attack it like a fast arrow. However, the hunt was not as successful as they expected and at one point, the king was alone on a road between two mountains. It was very hot and he became very thirsty. The hawk was flying high, when the king noticed drops of water falling very slowly from a source at the top of a big rock. The king put his cup out to gather the drops of water until it was full. As the king started to drink, he heard a loud noise and the cup fell from his hand. It was the hawk knocking the cup from his hand and then it flew away again. The king gathered more water in the cup but the hawk repeatedly knocked the cup from his hand whenever he tried to drink from it. Finally, the king threatened to kill the hawk if it repeated its action but the hawk continued so the king hit the hawk with his sword and killed it. The king was very sad that he killed the hawk but in his mind he had no choice. He tried to drink but his cup fell in a deep hole so he tried to drink with his hands. Then, he noticed that there was a venomous viper putting its venom into the water. Realizing that the hawk was trying to save his life, he felt deep sadness and remorse. Because of his anger, he killed his faithful hawk. He learned a valuable lesson not to behave hastily when he was angry.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: الملك خان وصقره المحبوب.

The King who Forgives

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

The Horseshoe