A man captured a bird by wiles and snares;
The bird said to him, “O noble sir, 
In your time you have eaten many oxen and sheep,
And likewise sacrificed many camels;
You have never become satisfied with their meat,
So you will not be satisfied with my flesh.
Let me go, that I may give you three counsels,
Whence you will see whether I am wise or foolish.
The first of my counsels shall be given on your wrist,
The second on your well-plastered roof,
And the third I will give you from the top of a tree.
On hearing all three you will deem yourself happy.
As regards the counsel on the wrist, ‘tis this,—
‘Believe not foolish assertions of any one!’”
When he had spoken this counsel on his wrist, he flew
Up to the top of the roof, entirely free.
Then he said, “do not grieve for what is past;
When a thing is done, vex not yourself about it.”
He continued, “Hidden inside this body of mine
Is a precious pearl, ten drachms in weight.
That jewel of right belonged to you,
Wealth for yourself and prosperity for your children.
You have lost it, as it was not fated you should get it,
That pearl whose like can nowhere be found.”
Thereupon the man, like a woman in her travail,
Gave vent to lamentations and weeping.
The bird said to him, “Did I not counsel you, saying,
‘Beware of grieving over what is past and gone?’
When ‘tis past and gone, why sorrow for it?
Either you understood not my counsel or are deaf.
The second counsel I gave you was this, namely,
‘Be not misguided enough to believe foolish assertions.;
O fool, altogether I do not weigh three drachms,
How can a pearl of ten drachms be within me?”
The man recovered himself and said, “Well then,
Tell me now your third good counsel!”
The bird replied, “You have made a fine use of the others,
That I should waste my third counsel upon you!
To give counsel to a sleepy ignoramus
Is to sow seeds upon salt land.
Torn garments of folly and ignorance cannot be patched.
O counselors, waste not the seed of counsel on them!”

A Review by L. Jin of “The Counsel of the Birds” from Rumi’s “Masnavi”
    Rumi’s “The Counsels of the Bird” from his collection of poems, “Masnavi” underlies the moral ideal that men should not dwell on past circumstances which derive from foolishness.  This is idea is portrayed in ‘The Counsels of the Bird’ when the wise bird trades three counsels for his own freedom.  The hunter, who is full of greed and who is rash is fooled to free the wise bird he captures.  He is deceived by the bird and then deemed unworthy of the final counsel, which he is never told.  The other two counsels that the bird tells him prove to have no lasting effect on him.  Immediately after the bird advises the hunter to not trust people and to not regret the past, the hunter weeps when the bird falsely leads him to believe that there is a massive and unique pearl within the bird’s body.
    The first time reading through Rumi’s “The Counsel of the Bird”, I did not have a concrete grasp on its underlying moral value.  The story was foreign to me and differed from most short stories.  Not only was the story concluded oddly, the moral of the story is so obviously displayed in the poem that it was difficult to interpret if it had a double edge in the meaning.  Did the bird tell the hunter that the three counsels would make the hunter happier, only in the end, not to tell the hunter the third counsel knowing that the man would not be happy?  If so, was it because the third counsel was relevant to the initial two counsels that the man was deaf to?  Did the bird need the hunter to comprehend and apply the first two counsels in order to truly feel the promised happiness of the third?  “The Counsel of the Bird” is both ambiguous and very straightforward.  This juxtaposition of two opposite factors separates the story from most other stories. 
    The uniqueness of Rumi’s poem was first taken into dislike by me, but after I analyzed the poem and got a more thorough understanding of it, I found it more favorable.  Not only is the unusual structure of the story elegantly done, it is also a great work that can be philosophically discussed.  The two moral values taught in the poem are elements universally praised.  What I enjoyed most of the story was the unlikely outcome of the story.  The unexpected ending was both of shock and understandable.  Once again, Rumi juxtaposes two near opposites—the unexpected and the understood. 
    What I found most unfavorable about “The Counsel of the Bird” was the fact that they never revealed the third counsel.  Because the bird never says the third counsel, I cannot tell whether the third counsel would have truly made the hunter happy.  What could the counsel have been to have made a person who understood and appreciated the initial two counsels happy?  They mystery is an itch.  If I were Rumi, I would annex at least a hint of what the third counsel was.  Then the readers would not have to starve for an answer and would be a tad bit more satisfied.
    Overall I truly enjoyed Rumi’s “The Counsel of the Bird” from his collection of poems, “Masnavi”.  Someone who enjoys philosophy or analytical literature would most likely enjoy this work.