THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, THE FROG, AND THE ARROWS
Around 512 B.C., Persian Emperor Darius was attempting to conquer the kingdom of the Scythians. The two armies arrived at the battlefield late in the day, too late to do battle that day. It was understood that the battle would take place the next day. In the evening, a messenger arrived from the Scythian general. The message was in a sack. The sack was brought to Darius as he discussed strategy with his generals. When the sack was opened, out fell a mouse, a bird, a frog, and some arrows. There was no written message, just the objects. Darius and his generals were confused with this strange message, but eventually they all agreed that it was good news. The message meant that the enemy would give earth and water (the frog and mouse) to the Persians in submission. They would lay down their arms (the arrows) and flee from the Persian army (the bird). The Persians slept well that night knowing the enemy was giving in without a fight. In the morning, the enemy attacked and gave Darius a stinging defeat. When the battle was over, Darius insisted on meeting the enemy commander between the lines to complain about his treachery. When he described the message and demanded to know why the Scythians had violated it, the Scythian leader began to laugh. He said: “Emperor Darius, it is not my fault that you misinterpreted the message. It was clear. Unless you can turn into mice and burrow into the ground, or birds and fly away, or frogs and hide in the swamps, you will not avoid our arrows.”
– maroon 11
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