seventh, she leaves her mother, her father, and all her relatives for his sake; eighth, she is always at his service, whereas he is not always at hers; ninth, she will wear herself out when he falls ill, while he would scarcely grieve were she to die.
For all these reasons the people of sound mind must show mercy to women, never wronging or oppressing them, for a woman is a captive in the hand of her husband. Men, therefore, should treat women with tact, for their intellects are deficient; and because of that deficiency one should neither rely on their opinions nor direct one’s affairs according to their counsel. Whoever does rely on them and manages his life by their advice will fare as in the following tale.
A story: It is said that Khusraw, son of Abrawayz, loved to eat fish. One day he was seated with Shīrīn beside him when a fisherman arrived carrying a large fish, which he presented to Khusraw and set before him. The king was pleased with it and ordered that the man be given four thousand dirhams. Shīrīn exclaimed, “What a poor decision you have made!” He asked, “Why?” She replied, “Because if afterward you bestow a similar gift on any of your attendants, he will think little of it and say, ‘He gave me no more than he gave the fisherman.’” The king said, “You are right, but it is unseemly for a king to reclaim what he has granted, and the matter is past.” Shīrīn answered, “I can remedy this.” “How so?” he inquired. She said, “Summon the fisherman and ask him, ‘Is this fish male or female?’ If he says ‘female,’ say, ‘I wanted a male,’ and if he says ‘male,’ say, ‘I wanted a female.’”
The fisherman was summoned; he was a man of wit and quick perception. Khusraw asked him, “Is this fish male or female?” The fisherman kissed the ground and replied, “May the king’s prosperity endure! This fish is hermaphrodite—neither male nor female.” Khusraw laughed at his answer and ordered that he be given another four thousand dirhams.
The fisherman went to the treasurer, received the eight thousand dirhams, placed them in a sack he was carrying, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and made to leave. A single dirham fell from the sack. He set the load down, bent over, and picked up the coin while the king and Shīrīn looked on. Shīrīn said to Khusraw, “Do you see the baseness of this fisherman? One dirham dropped, and he cast aside eight thousand to stoop for it, unable to leave it for one of the king’s pages to pick up.” Khusraw grew vexed at this, then had the fisherman brought back and said to him, “You man of low ambition, are you not…"