The Hoopoe Speaks
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As the birds argue, one bird steps forward. It is the hoopoe, the bird with the crown of feathers on its head.
The hoopoe is no ordinary bird. In the Qur’an, the hoopoe served the Prophet Sulayman, peace be upon him, and brought him news of the Queen of Sheba. And so in Attar’s poem, the hoopoe says: I have travelled with Sulayman. I have crossed seas and mountains and deserts. When other birds were absent, he did not ask about them. But if I was gone for a moment, he sent people to search for me.
Then the hoopoe tells them about their king. We do have a king, he says. His name is the Simurgh. He lives behind a great mountain called Qaf. He is near to us, but we are very far from him.
The Simurgh is a bird from Persian legend. Attar uses it as a symbol. Around this king, the hoopoe says, are a hundred thousand veils, some of light, some of darkness. No mind can understand him. No tongue can describe him.
And the road to him, the hoopoe warns, is long. There are seas and deserts on the way. It needs courage. You will have to give up a great deal. But if you give yourself to this search, you will find that it was worth everything.
When the birds hear this, their hearts are filled with longing. They are ready to set off. And then, one by one, they begin to make excuses.
