一千零一夜英文故事：Falcon saved His Friend The King

Once upon a time in the country of present Turkey, a king ruled a kingdom. He was very fond of hunting. He was a famous hunter in the kingdom. There was no one to beat him in hunting in his country. 

 

The King had a loyal and intelligent pet Falcon¹. He took the falcon wherever he went for hunting. On one such hunting expedition, the falcon sat on the king's shoulder when he rode into the thick forest. The servants also rode behind him watching the falcon seriously. 

 

At a place he stopped and watched very curiously². He heard a strange noise. There he saw a gazelle and said “How beautiful it is!" 

 

He was very much attracted by the its gracefull walk and the long, slender antlers. Suddenly he took his bow and arrow and aimed at the animal. But the animal quickly sped away from that place. The King and the servants chased it into the forest. But the animal dodged³ them to escape. It sprang between the trees and bushes and ran away into the thick forest. 

 

But when the king continued his chasing, the servants could not follow him and stayed back. The king was isolated⁴ from his servants with his horse and falcon. The evening came. The King felt very tired and he was also thirsty. 

 

He cried “Water! Water please!" 

 

He moved here and there in search of water. He lost his way also. 

 

Finally he came near a pond with little water. He quickly took his jar and filled it with water. As he was exhausted⁵ very much he brought the jar near his mouth, the falcon flapped its wings. The wings, which flung near the jar made the jar to slip and the water flowed out to the ground. 

 

He cried’ “What did you do?" can’t you know, I am thirsty now!" 

 

The King patiently bent⁶ down and refilled his jar with water to drink. When he tried again to drink the falcon again fluttered and spilled the water in the ground. Now the King got angry and said," Are you mad! Don’t you know my thirst? But the falcon continued its flapping around the king. So he thought that the falcon was an ungrateful bird. So he drew out his sward from the cover to kill the falcon. 

 

But the falcon screamed and looked at the king. The King felt that the bird wanted to tell something. 

 

So the king looked up and, there he saw some poisonous snakes on the branches of the tree. Then he knew that the water in the pond was full of poison dropping from the mouth of snakes. If the King drank the water he would be dead. But the falcon prevented its master from drinking the poisonous water. 

 

So the King realized that the faithful falcon had saved his life. So he smiled at the bird and murmured, “ You are my good friend." 

 

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