Kalilah wa Dimnah is a foundational work in Classical Arabic Literature despite the fact it was originally composed in Sanskrit, making its way through Middle Persian and Syriac to be translated into Arabic in the middle of the 8th century CE. At the heart of the book are the discussions between the two jackals of the title, Kalilah and Dimnah, who tell tales within tales with moral and political lessons, involving animal leaders and their advisors discussing and illustrating the consequences of actions and decisions.