A falcon is a predatory bird used for hunting. It is the habit of kings to keep one perched on their shoulder, thus it is known as the bird of the king. Maulana Rumi (Rahmatullah Alaihe) has written that once a royal falcon flew out of the palace, but on his return flight lost its way and landed up in a desolate area occupied by owls. The owls had never seen a falcon and were thus disgusted with his appearance. Since, they were only used to seeing themselves, therefore, all “other” no matter how wonderful, would appear disgusting. Their example can be likened to the town of Nikto.

Nikto was the name of an area, in which the habit of having the nose cut was prevalent. It had a population of five thousand and every one of them had their nose cut. One day, a man whose nose was not cut, arrived in the area. Upon seeing him, the people muttered in disgust, “What an ugly face! Take a look at yourself in the mirror! Your nose resembles the hump of a camel!”