434 
BIRD-LIFE. 
companions. At that time he possessed powerful wings, 
and could fly better than any other creature, better even 
than the Bustard, his dearest friend. One day the latter 
said to him : ‘ Brother, if it is agreeable to thee, to-morrow, 
Inshalla! (please God!) we will fly to the river, drink 
there, have a bath, and then return to our children/ 
‘All right , 3 said the Ostrich; ‘we will fly to-morrow/ 
without, however, adding the words ‘please God , 3 for he 
was proud, and did not bow himself before the power of 
the Almighty, ‘ Whose glory the angels in heaven 
announce, and whose praise is sung by the thunder and 
the lightning ; 3 because he, till now, had only felt the 
effects of the boundless mercy of God, and put his trust 
in his own strength and his powerful wings. The next 
morning the two birds got ready for the journey: the 
pious Bustard saying, before he had even spread his 
wings, ‘ In the name of God ; 3 the Ostrich, however, said 
not a word, and laughed in his sleeve at his companion. 
He rose, cleaving the air with his mighty pinions, 
directing his course towards the sun,—the ‘eye of God 3 
himself: his heart was full of pride, and he forgot the 
benefits he had received at the hands of the Dispenser of 
all Good. The measure of patience and long-suffering 
was full to overflowing, and changed to anger towards 
the impious creature. Higher and higher the Ostrich 
ascended, as though he would enter the habitations of the 
blessed, when the avenging angel of the Lord approached 
him. At the command of the Supreme he tore away the 
veil which hung between the bird and the sun’s rays, so 
that he was struck with their full force : in an instant his 
pinions were burnt up, and he fell miserably to the 
earth. 
“ To this day he cannot fly; and thou canst still see 
