When I saw it, I stood up to drive it away, but when it looked at me, it said: 'O Dawud ibn Kathir al-Raqqi, [by] Allah, [by] Allah! I have come to you seeking aid against so-and-so the blacksmith. Is it not enough for him what I am already in of torment, that he must further punish me with this labor? Indeed, labor has become constricted (hurijat) for the People of the Fire. I have a right upon you, for I am your neighbor, so-and-so; I have become as you see me, and I do not know what the end of my matter shall be. I have come to you this hour so that you may ask so-and-so the blacksmith to return me to my owner, the monkey-trainer, for I find relief with him.'"

I said to it: "I shall do that, Allah the Almighty willing." When morning came, I went to the blacksmith and said to him: "I have come to you with a request." He replied: "To hear is to obey." I said: "The one who has a need expects its fulfillment." He said: "Mention your need to me, for I shall fulfill it for you, no matter what it may be." I said to him: "Give me the bear as a gift, for its [former] owner asked me, and I am asking you to return it to him." He said: "It is yours; do with it as you wish. Return to your home, and when I finish my work, I shall bring it to you, Allah the Almighty willing."

I had barely finished the midday prayer (al-Zawal) when he brought it to me, accompanied by a group of the people of al-Raqqa, and everyone was saying: "Will you sell this bear? By Allah, it is charming, and we must buy it!" I said to them: "If you take this bear which you are buying, will you return it to its owner, the monkey-trainer?" He [Dawud] said: "So they departed and left it; I then returned it to its owner, the monkey-trainer. Whenever it saw me, it would raise its head and reward me with goodness.