Swifter than a kite أَخْطَفُ مِنْ قِرِلَّى

أَخْطَفُ مِنْ قِرِلَّى
قالوا: إنه طير من بنات الماء، صغير الجرم حديد الغَوْص سريع الاختطاف، ولا يرى إلا مُرَفْرِفاً على وجه الماء على جانب كطيران الحِدَأة يَهْوِي بإحدى عينيه إلى قَعْر الماء طمعاً، ويرفع الأخرى إلى الهواء حذراً، فإن أبصر في الماء ما يستقل بحمله من سمك أو غيره انقضَّ عليه كالسَّهْم المُرْسَل فأخرجه من قعر الماء، وإن أبصر في الهواء جارحاً مرَّ من الأرض.
وكما ضربوا به المثل في الاختطاف، كذلك ضربوا به المثل في الحذر والحزم، فقالوا "أحْذَر من قِرِلَّى" كما قالوا "أحْذَر من غراب" وقالوا "أحزم من قرلى" كما قالوا: "أحزم من حِرْبَاءَ" وفي الأسجاع لابنة الْخُسِّ: كن حَذِراً كالقِرِلَّى، إن رأى خَيْراً تَدَلَّى، وإن رأى شراً تَوَلَّى.
قال حمزة: وقد خالف رُوَاة النسب هذا التفسير فقالوا: قِرِلَّى هو اسم رجل من العرب، كان لا يتخلف عن طعام أحدٍ، ولا يترك موضع طمع إلا قصد إليه، وإن صادف في طريق يسلكه خصومة ترك ذلك الطريق ولم يمر به، فقالوا فيه "أطمع من قرلى" فهذا ما حكاه النسابون قي تفسير هذا المثل. [ص: 262] قال حمزة: وأقول أنا: خَلِيقٌ أن يكون هذا الرجل شُبِّه بهذا الطائر، وسمى باسمه، وقال الشاعر:
يا مَنْ جَفَانِي ومَلاَّ ... نَسِيَت أهْلاً وسَهْلاَ
وماتَ مَرْحَبُ لما ... رأيْتَ مَالِيَ قَلاَّ
إني أطُنُّكَ تَحْكِي ... بمَا فَعَلْتَ الْقِرِلَّى
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Swifter than a kite
They said: It is a bird of the water, small in size, a swift diver, and quick to snatch prey. It is only seen hovering on the surface of the water, like a kite in flight, swooping one eye down to the bottom in hope, and raising the other cautiously to the air. If it spots something in the water that it can carry, such as a fish or other prey, it swoops down like a shot arrow and pulls it from the bottom. If it spots a predator in the air, it flies past the land.
Just as they used him as a proverb for kidnapping, they also used him as a proverb for caution and prudence, saying, "More cautious than a qirilla," just as they said, "More cautious than a crow," and "More prudent than a qirilla," just as they said, "More prudent than a chameleon." And in the rhymed prose of the daughter of al-Khuss: "Be cautious like a qirilla; if it sees good, it descends, and if it sees evil, it turns away."
Hamza said: Genealogists have differed from this interpretation, saying: Qirilla was the name of an Arab man who never missed a meal and never left a place of temptation unvisited. If he encountered a dispute on a road, he would abandon that road and not pass through it. They said of him, "More greedy than a qirilla." This is what the genealogists related in explaining this proverb. [p. 262] Hamza said: And I say: It is fitting that this man was likened to this bird and named after it. And the poet said:
O you who have forsaken me and grown weary... You have forgotten welcome and greetings
And Marhab died when... You saw my wealth diminished
I think you are recounting... What you did, you fool
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المثل «أخطف من قِرِلّى» يُضرب لمن كان بالغ السرعة في الانقضاض والأخذ، كما يُستعمل في وصف شدة اليقظة والحذر.
وأقرب المقابلات الإنجليزية بحسب المعنى: As quick as a hawk.
سريع كالصقر في الانقضاض.
Snatch something in the blink of an eye.
يختطف الشيء في لمح البصر.
Quick as lightning.
سريع كالبرق.
Like a hawk swooping on its prey.
كالصقر ينقض على فريسته.
Lightning-fast.
فائق السرعة.
فإن أريد المحافظة على صورة الطائر الجارح الذي ينقض على فريسته، فأقرب مقابل للمثل هو:
As quick as a hawk.
أما إذا كان المقصود سرعة الاختطاف نفسها، فالأقرب:
He snatched it in the blink of an eye.
اختطفه في لمح البصر.
وللجانب الآخر من المثل (الحذر واليقظة)، يقابله:
As watchful as a hawk.
حذر ومتيقظ كالصقر.
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The proverb "snatcher than a hawk" is used to describe someone who is incredibly swift in swooping down and seizing something. It is also used to describe extreme vigilance and caution.
The closest English equivalents, according to meaning, are:
As quick as a hawk.
Snatch something in the blink of an eye.
Quick as lightning.
Like a hawk swooping on its prey.
Lightning-fast.
If the intention is to retain the image of a bird of prey swooping down on its prey, the closest equivalent is:
As quick as a hawk.
However, if the intention is to describe the speed of the snatch itself, the closest equivalent is:
He snatched it in the blink of an eye.
He snatched it in the blink of an eye. The other side of the proverb (caution and vigilance) is countered by:
As watchful as a hawk.
Careful and vigilant like a hawk.