Solomon conversed with the angels, and was instructed by them in the habits, virtues, and names of all living creatures; he listened to the complaints of the beasts, birds, and fishes, and by his wisdom he rectified many evil customs among them. He entertained himself longest with the birds, both on account of their beautiful speech, which he understood, and also because of the wise sentences which they uttered. This is the signification of the cry of the peacock: “With what measure thou judgest others, thou shalt thyself be judged.” This is the song of the nightingale: “Contentment is the greatest happiness.” The turtle dove calls, “Better were it for some created things that they had never been created.” The peewit pipes, “He that hath no mercy, will not find mercy himself.” The bird syrdar cries, “Turn to the Lord, ye sinners!” The swallow screams, “Do good, and ye shall receive a reward.” This is the pelican’s note: “Praise the Lord in heaven and earth.” The dove chants, “The fashion of this world passeth away, but God remaineth eternal.” The kata says, “Silence is the best safeguard.” The cry of the eagle is, “However long life may be, yet its inevitable term is death.” The croak of the raven is, “The further from man, the happier I.” The cock crows before the dawn and in the day, “Remember thy Creator, O thoughtless man!” Solomon chose the cock and the peewit to be his constant companions--the first because of its cry, and the second because it can see through the earth as through glass, and could therefore tell him where fountains of water were to be found. After he had stroked the dove, he bade her dwell with her young in the temple he was about to build to the honor of the Most High. This pair of doves, in a few years, multiplied to such an extent, that all who sought the temple moved through the quarter of the town it occupied under the shadow of the wings of doves. When Solomon was again alone, an angel appeared to him, whose upper half was like to earth, and whose lower half was like to water. He bowed himself before the king, and said, “I am created by God to do His will on the dry land and in the watery sea. Now, God has sent me to serve thee, and thou canst rule over earth and water. At thy command the highest mountains will be made plain, and the level land will rise into steep heights. Rivers and seas will dry up, and the desert will stream with water at thy command.” Then he gave to him a precious stone, with the legend engraved thereon, “Heaven and earth serve God.” Finally, an angel presented to him another stone, whereon was cut, “There is no God save God, and Mohammed is the messenger of God.”