Ten poor men can sleep in one rug but two kings cannot fit into one clime

I have heard of a prince who was short and inconsequential, while the other brothers were tall and good-looking. One the father gazed upon him with loathing and contempt. The boy, with perspicacity and insight, spoke out and said, ' O father, a wise short man is better than a tall fool. Not everything that is greater in stature is better in value."

The sheep is clean, but the elephant is carrion.

The least of the mountains of the earth is Sinai, but it is the greatest in worth and station in God's sight.

You have heard that a skinny wise man once said to a fat fool:

'An Arabian horse, although it is slander, is still better than a whole string of asses."

The father laughed out loud; the ministers of state expresed their approval; and the brothers smarted to the quick.

Until a person speaks, his faults and virtues are hidden.

Don't think that every spotted thing is a pillow: it might be sleeping leopard.

I have heard that around that time the king was faced with a difficult enemy. When the armies of both sides clashed, the first person to charge into the field was his son, who said:

"I am not one whose back you will see on the day of battle. If you see a head in the midst of the dust and gore, it is mine!

He who wages war gambles with his own blood on the day of battle, while he who flees plays with the blood of the soldiers."

This he said as he charged the enemy and unhorsed several warriors. When he came before his father, he kissed the ground in servitude and said,

"You to whom my person appeared despicable, beware lest you think grossness a virtue.

A slender-girthed horse is useful on the day of battle, not a fatted cow."

It has been related that the enemy army was large while these were few. A platoon started to flee. The boy cried out, saying, "O men, either strive or put on the clothing of women!" By his saying this, the horsemen's courage increased and they all charged together. I have heard that on that very day they achieved victory over the enemy. The king kissed his son's head and eyes and embraced him, and every day his regard for him increased until he made him his heir apparent. The brothers grew jealous and put poison in his food. Their sister saw this from an upper chamber and slammed the window. The boy perceived and withdrew his hand from the food, saying, " It is absurd that the virtuous should die and the unfit should take their place."

No one would come under the shadow of an owl-even if there were no humay in the world.

The father was informed of this situation. He summoned the brothers and gave them a suitable chastisement. Then he awarded to each of them a portion of the outlying districts so that the sedition died down and the quarrel ceased, for ten poor men can sleep in one rug but two kings cannot fit into one clime. 

If a man of God eats half a loaf, he will give the other half to the poor.

A king can seize the territory of a whole clime, but he will still crave another.