In ancient times, there lived a Persian king who was very fond of hunting. This king had a falcon that could catch any game in flight. The king loved this falcon immensely and always fed it with his own hand.

One day, the king was hunting with the falcon in a meadow and suddenly a deer appeared. The king pursued the deer with great vigour on his fleet-footed horse. It ran so fast that even the morning wind, which blows through the world in an instant, could not catch up with it. As a result, his entourage was left behind. After some time, the deer was no longer to be seen and the king had to give up the hunt. Tormented by a burning thirst, he hurried through the meadow in all directions in search of water,

Finally, he came to the foot of a mountain and saw clear water trickling down from it. He took a cup he had with him and filled it with the water, which flowed down drop by drop. As he was about to drink, the falcon struck the cup with its wing, causing the water to flow out. When the king, annoyed, filled the cup again with great effort and wanted to drink, the same thing happened.

The king, tormented by the heat of thirst and angry at the falcon's behaviour, struck him to the ground and killed him. At that moment, the king's servant approached and found the falcon dead and the king thirsty. He took out his canteen, filled the cup from it and gave the king a drink. The king said, "I would also like to have some of the water that comes down from the mountain, but as it only trickles down, it is so much trouble to fill the cup. You must climb up and see if there is any obstacle to the water."

The servant climbed up the mountain. There he saw a spring that only gave water drop by drop, and in front of the spring lays a large dead snake. It had been decomposed by the sun and its poison had mixed with the water and trickled down the mountain. The servant ran down the mountain, terrified and dismayed, and told the king what he had seen. Tears flowed from the king's eyes. The boy asked him the reason for the tears. The king told the story and said: "I am crying because I killed the falcon unjustly."

The servant replied: "O king, this falcon saved you from a great misfortune and all the people owe him a great debt of gratitude. It would have been better if the king had not killed so quickly and had forgiven instead of staying angry."

The king replied: "I regret my action, but regret is useless, for as long as I live I will be tormented by remorse."

Märchen aus dem Iran, Fassung: L. Tetzner, nach: «Die Geschichte des persischen Königs und seines Falken», in: G. Weil, A. Lewald, Märchen aus 1001 Nacht. Arabische Erzählungen. Oxford 1841. Sprachlich leicht angepasst, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenik ©Mutabor Märchenstiftung