"At early dawn one day Bahram went out hunting on the plain accompanied
by his retinue. On his right was his minister Hormaz and on
his left his keen-witted priest. They told him stories, speaking
much of Jamshid and Faridun. Ahead of them ran hounds and panthers
and over the plain king-falcons and hawks were being sent up all
day long, yet when the blazing sun had reached the zenith not a
trace of wild ass or gazelle had been seen. Wearied by the fiercely
blazing sun, the king despondently turned back from the hunting
ground.
"There came into view ahead of them a verdant hamlet full of houses,
men and animals, and out of it on to the road there emerged a numerous
crowd to view the spectacle of the cavalcade. The monarch himself
was in ill-humour, being heated and desirous to rest himself in the
place. But no one there saluted him. It was as though the earth had
petrified those asses, until the king became enraged at the stupidity
of the people there, and he cast no kindly glance upon them. To his
priest the Shah said,
"'Let this ill-starred place become the resort of wild beasts and may
the water in its stream turn to pitch.'
"The priest understood what the king's words implied and turning away
from the road he addressed the inhabitants, to whom he said,
"'This flourishing town, full of fruits and men and animals, has
greatly pleased Shah Bahram, and he desires to establish a new order
here. Every one of you is promoted to be an elder so that this fine
village may be turned into a city. In this place even women and
children are now elders, needing to obey no one's command; here no
one is a hireling and no one master, but all walk the same path.
Women, men and children -- all are elevated to the headship; each
single one is chieftain of the town.'
"A great shout arose in that rich town out of joy now that all
equally were elders. Women and men, servants and hirelings thereafter
declared their opinions as heads of the town, and since the
youths of the place had lost their awe of the elders they at once
cut off their heads. Every man attacked his fellow and blood flowed
in every direction. The inhabitants felt that Resurrection Day had
arrived in that rural spot and took flight from it. Only a few
ancients were left, helpless and crippled; for now all means of
cultivation, work and carriage had vanished. The aspect of the
whole town declined into one of desolation, the trees having
withered because there was no water in the stream. The plain
became a desert and the houses fell into ruin, now that all the
people and animals had fled away.
"A year passed and springtime arrived. Again the Shah went hunting
in that direction and came to that place which had once been flourishing
and happy. Now when he looked he saw it no longer existed in
its old form; the trees were withered and the houses in ruins, in
the whole region there was neither man nor beast. The king's cheeks
paled at the sight; he felt the fear of God and was tormented by
sorrow. He said to the priest,
"'How sad that so pleasant a village should have become a desert.
Quickly set about restoring it; spend money so that they shall no
further suffer misery.'
"The counsellor left the king's presence and swiftly moved about
the desolate place, hastening from one empty house to another. At
last he came upon an old man sitting idle. He dismounted from his
horse, greeted him, made room for him by his side and said,
"'My elderly master, who destroyed this once flourishing place?'
"The man replied,
"'One day our sovereign passed through this district of ours and
a foolish priest came with him, one of those great ones whose
deeds bear no fruit. He told us that we were all nobles and that
we were not to pay reverence to anyone; we were all headmen in the
town, even women and men were all superior to the elders. As soon
as he said it the whole of the town was in turmoil, filled with
looting and killing and beating. May God requite him in due measure
! May grief and pain and hardship ever renew themselves upon
him! The affairs of this place go from bad to worse; we are an
object over which to shed tears.'
"At the old man's story the priest was grieved. He asked who the
village headman was and was asked in reply who could be headman
in a place where grass-seed was the only fruit. The good man said
to him,
"'You be the elder. In every task you are to be the diadem on the
head. Demand money from the monarch's treasury as well as seed and
oxen and asses and food. Drag anyone you find idle into the town;
all are subject to you and you are the chief. Call no curses down
on that priest; it was not of his own desire that he uttered those
words. If you require aid from the royal treasures I will send it
to you. Demand as much as you need...'"
[The newly-appointed headman rejoiced and by the following
spring the village was enjoying greater prosperity than it
had before. The moral of the story is then given to the
king; namely, that when two conflicting ideas come into a
man's mind or when a town has two chiefs, confusion and
ruin are the result.]
* * *
Now, it seems to me likely that Malkioni lands with a rigid caste system will tell stories much like this, showing how any degree of caste mobility is a harsh infliction upon the people, designed to lead them into dissension, penury, internal strife and failure. Only the God-given system of immobile, inflexible castes is in the long term found to be sustainable. (After all, are not the Hrestoli Idealists of Loskalm even now being assailed by the Kingdom of War, self-evidently a Scourge of God, to punish them for their impious notions?)
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Nick
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