In a little while the sage Ibrahim became the bosom counsellor of
the king, who applied to him for advice in every emergency. Aben Habuz
was once inveighing against the injustice of his neighbors, and
bewailing the restless vigilance he had to observe to guard himself
against their invasions; when he had finished, the astrologer remained
silent for a moment, and then replied, "Know, O King, that when I
was in Egypt I beheld a great marvel devised by a pagan priestess of
old. On a mountain, above the city of Borsa, and overlooking the great
valley of the Nile, was a figure of a ram, and above it a figure of
a cock, both of molten brass, and turning upon a pivot. Whenever the
country was threatened with invasion, the ram would turn in the
direction of the enemy, and the cock would crow; upon this the
inhabitants of the city knew of the danger, and of the quarter from
which it was approaching, and could take timely means to guard against
it."
"God is great!" exclaimed the pacific Aben Habuz, "what a treasure
would be such a ram to keep an eye upon these mountains around me; and
then such a cock, to crow in time of danger! Allah Akbar! how securely
I might sleep in my palace with such sentinels on the top!"
The astrologer waited until the ecstasies of the king had
subsided, and then proceeded:
"After the victorious Amru (may he rest in peace!) had finished
his conquest of Egypt, I remained among the priests of the land,
studying the rites and ceremonies of their idolatrous faith, and
seeking to make myself master of the hidden knowledge for which they
are renowned.
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