Literary text: BL OR 10578C.49
Literary text BL OR 10578C.49Description
Verso: Literary. A Judaeo-Arabic transcription of an Arabic poem, telling the story of the falcon (bāz) who caught the songbird (ʿuṣfūr) but let it go after it begged for mercy. Goitein suggests that a preacher wished to use the story in a sermon. It is an approximate equivalent of an Arabic poem that can be found in literary anthologies. According to al-Abshīhī in Al-Mustaṭraf Fī Kull Fann Mustaẓraf, a certain Naṣr b. Manīʿ who had been sentenced to death recited this poem before the caliph. ASE ( زعموا بأن الصقر صادف مرة ... عصفور بر ساقه التقدير ) ( فتكلم العصفور تحت جناحه ... والصقر منقض عليه يطير ) ( إني لمثلك لا أتمم لقمة ... ولئن شويت فإنني لحقير ) ( فتهاون الصقر المدل بصيده ... كرما وأفلت ذلك العصفور )