There are three hundred and fifty-five stories about Suleiman-bin-Daoud ; but this is not one of them . It is not the story of the Lapwing who found the Water ; or the Hoopoe who shaded Suleimanbin-Daoud from the heat . It is not the story of the Glass Pavement , or the Ruby with the Crooked Hole , or the Gold Bars of Balkis . It is the story of the Butterfly that Stamped . Now attend all over again and listen ! Suleiman-bin-Daoud was wise . He understood what the beasts said , what the birds said , what the fishes said , and what the insects said . He understood what the rocks said deep under the earth when they bowed in towards each other and groaned ; and he understood what the trees said when they rustled in the middle of the morning . He understood everything , from the bishop on the bench to the hyssop on the wall , and Balkis , his Head Queen , the Most Beautiful Queen Balkis , was nearly as wise as he was . Suleiman-bin-Daoud was strong . Upon the third finger of the right hand he wore a ring . When he turned it once , Afrits and Djinns came Out of the earth to do whatever he told them . When he turned it twice , Fairies came down from the sky to do whatever he told them ; and when he turned it three times , the very great angel Azrael of the Sword came dressed as a water-carrier , and told him the news of the three worlds , Above -- Below -- and Here . And yet Suleiman-bin-Daoud was not proud . He very seldom showed off , and when he did he was sorry for it . Once he tried to feed all the animals in all the world in one day , but when the food was ready an Animal came out of the deep sea and ate it up in three mouthfuls . Suleiman-bin-Daoud was very surprised and said , ' O Animal , who are you ? ' And the Animal said , ' O King , live for ever ! I am the smallest of thirty thousand brothers , and our home is at the bottom of the sea . We heard that you were going to feed all the animals in all the world , and my brothers sent me to ask when dinner would be ready . '
XXXXX was more surprised than ever and said , ' O Animal , you have eaten all the dinner that I made ready for all the animals in the world . '
Butterfly Djinns Hoopoe Lapwing Queen Suleiman-bin-Daoud Suleimanbin-Daoud day morning mouthfuls