The Tale of King Sinbad and His Falcon
he asked, “What are my
T
here was once a
king of Persia who
enjoyed all the
sporting life, especially
hunting. He had raised a
falcon which he carried all
night on his fist, and he
had a little gold cup made
for it that was draped
around its neck so it could
drink at will. Of course,
whenever he went hunting,
he took this bird with him.
Now, one day as the king
was sitting quietly in his
palace, the high falconer
of his household appeared
before him and aid, “Your
majesty, this is just the
right day for hunting.”
So the king gave orders
accordingly and set out
with the falcon on his fist.
They went merrily on their
way until they found a
ravine, where they laid
their nets for the chase.
Just then a gazelle came
within sight, and the king
cried, “I’ll kill any man who
allows that gazelle over
there to jump over his
head and get away!”
They closed in on the
gazelle with the nets,
driving it near the king’s
post. Then it squatted on
its hindquarters and
crossed its forehead over
its breast, as if about to
kiss the earth before the.
So unusual was this
behavior that the king
bowed his brow in
acknowledgement to the
gazelle, allowing the beast
time to jump quickly over
his head and disappear
from sight. Thereupon, the
king turned toward his
troops and saw them
pointing at him. “Oh vizier,”
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Copyright holder of the story: Jack Zipes
men saying?”
“They say,” the minister
replied, “that you had
proclaimed you would kill
any man who allowed the
gazelle to jump over his
head.”
“Well, by the life of my
head, I shall pursue that
gazelle until I bring it
back!”
So he set off on his horse,
galloping after the
gazelle’s trail, and he did
not stop tracking the beast
until he reached the
foothills of a mountain
chain where the quarry
had made for a cave. Then
the king set the falcon
loose, and when the bird
caught up with it, she
swooped down and drove
her talons into his eyes,
bewildering and blinding it.
When he saw this, the king
came up, drew his mace,
and struck a blow that
killed the beast. After that
he dismounted, cut the
antelope’s throat, flayed
the body and hung it on
the pommel of his saddle.
Now the time for siesta
had arrived, and the
surrounding land was
parched and dry. There
was no water to be found
anywhere, and the king
and his horse were thirsty.
So he went searching until
he found a tree moist with
water on its boughs, as if
butter were melting from
its branches. Thereupon
the king, who wore leather
gauntlets to protect him
against poison, took the
cup from the hawk’s neck,
and after filling it with
water, he set it before the
bird, who suddenly struck
it with her claws so that
the liquid poured out. The
king filled it a second time
with the drops from the
branches, thinking his
falcon was thirsty, but the
bird struck the cup again
with her claws and
knocked it over. Now the
king became mad at the
falcon and filled the cup a
third time but offered it to
his horse. Once more, the
bird upset it with a flick of
her wings.
“By Allah,” said the king,
“you miserable flying
creature! You’re keeping
all of us from drinking.”
So he struck the falcon
with his sword and cut off
her wing, but the bird raise
her head and said signs,
“Look at what’s hanging on
the tree!”
The king lifted his eyes
and caught sight of a
brood of vipers, whose
poison drops he had
mistaken for water.
Thereupon he repented for
having lopped off the
falcon’s wing, and after
mounting his horse, he
moved on with the dead
gazelle until he arrived at
his camp. After throwing
the quarry to the cook, he
said, “Take it and broil it.”
Then he sat down on his
chair to relax, but the
falcon, still on his wrist,
gasped and died. There
was nothing left for the
king to do but to cry in
sorrow and remorse for
having slain the falcon
which had saved his life.
 The Tale of King Sinbad and His Falcon

COMPREHENSION CHECK
Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
True False
  1- The king was so fond of hunting.
  2- The king would leave the falcon before he went hunting.
  3- The king ordered his troops to kill the gazelle.
  4- The falcon helped the king to hunt the gazelle.
  5- Nobody was able to hunt the gazelle.
  6- The falcon’s intention was not to cause trouble but prevent them from drinking
the poison.
  7- There was plenty of water in the area where they were hunting.
  8- The king was not so sure that he would be able to hunt the gazelle.
  9- The falcon didn’t mean to cause the king and the horse to die of thirst.
  10- The king was never able to understand what the falcon had meant.
  11- The king was sorry for what he had done to the bird.

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

___ raise 1. in a happy, cheerful way

___ drape 2. to sit on your heels with your knees bent up close to your body
___ merrily 3. an important official in some Muslim countries in the past
___ chase 4. to cover or decorate sb/sth with material
___ squat 5. to publicly and officially tell people about sth important
___ beast 6. to run, drive, etc. after sb/sth in order to catch them
___ vizier 7. to follow or chase sb/sth, especially in order to catch them
___ proclaim 8. (a horse or similar animal) to run very quickly
___ pursue 9. to care for a child or young animal
___ gallop 10.an animal, especially one that is large or dangerous, or one
that is unusual
B- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

___ swoop 1. to get off a horse, bicycle or motorcycle

___ talon 2. to remove the skin from an animal or person, usually when
they are dead
___ bewilder 3. (of a bird or plane) to fly quickly and suddenly downwards,
especially in order to attack sb/sth
___ dismount 4. a metal glove worn as part of a suit of armor by soldiers in
the Middle Ages
___ flay 5. to confuse sb
___ bough 6. a long sharp curved nail on the feet of some birds
___ gauntlet 7. to feel and show that you are sorry for sth bad or wrong that
you have done
___ upset 8. to make sth fall over by hitting it accidentally
___ flick 9. a large branch of a tree
___ repent 10. a small sudden, quick movement or hit, for example with a
whip or part of the body

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Copyright holder of the story: Jack Zipes
 The Tale of King Sinbad and His Falcon

Idioms and other phrases

A- Match the idioms on the left with a definition on the right.

___ at will 1. whenever or wherever you like

___ set out 2. to free sb/sth from whatever holds them/it in place
___ make for 3. to reach sb / sth that is ahead by going faster
___ set sth loose 4. to remove part of sth by cutting it
___ catch up with 5. to leave a place and begin a journey
___ lop off 6. to move towards sth

B- Fill in the blanks with the appropriate idioms given below.

make for at will catch up with

set out set it loose

1- I took pity on the bird I had caught yesterday and decided to ……………………. .

2- We have several spare rooms for guests so you can feel free to come and go ………………. .

3- After school, we ……………………. a restaurant

4- We decided to ……………………. for the island even though the weather was windy.

5- My brother walks very fast. I always have difficulty ……………………. him .

 Expressions with the word “sight”:

disappear from sight : Some minutes after its departure, the boat disappeared from sight.
come within sight : While we were patrolling the area, three rebels came within sight.
catch sight of : As soon as I caught sight of a dead body in distance, I informed the
police
at the sight of : He passed out at the sight of blood.
in sight : As you told me I went to that café, but there was no one in sight.
out of sight : He was here a while ago, but now he is out of sight.
at first sight : At first sight, their proposal may sound suitable for you, but you had
better think it over before accepting it.
in the sight of sb : We are all very bright students in the sight of our teacher (= in our
teacher’s opinion).
out of sight, out of mind : This expression is used to say sb will quickly be forgotten when they
are no longer with you.

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Copyright holder of the story: Jack Zipes
 The Tale of King Sinbad and His Falcon

ANSWER KEY

COMPREHENSION CHECK

1- T 2- F 3- F 4- T 5- F 6- T 7- F 8- F 9- T 10- F 11- T

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A-

1- merrily 6- chase
2- squat 7- pursue
3- vizier 8- gallop
4- drape 9- raise
5- proclaim 10- beast

B-

1- dismount 6- talon
2- flay 7- repent
3- swoop 8- upset
4- gauntlet 9- bough
5- bewilder 10- flick

Idioms and other phrases

A-
1- at will
2- set sth loose
3- catch up with
4- lop off
5- set out
6- make for

B-
1- set it loose
2- at will
3- made for / make for
4- set out
5- catching up with

Copyright © www.ydstestpro.com 2017

Copyright holder of the story: Jack Zipes