Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 6 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
Evil to whoever have their heart in possession of their lovers, for in
obtaining it they will kill it:
They have abandoned it when they have seen it amorous: when they see it
amorous they abandon it.
Nursling, they pluck it out from the very entrails: O bird, repeat "Nursling
they have plucked thee out!"
They have killed it unjustly: the loved plays the coquette with the humble
lover.
The seeker of the effects of love, love am I, brother of love, and sigh
Behold the man stricken by love, though his heart change not they bury it (him?).
The Rawi said that Ja'afar was pleased and he rejoiced at hearing the song and
all his organs were moved at the voice of the damsel and he said, Wallahy, it is
fine. Then she began again to sing, reciting the following verses:--
With these sentiments thou art in love, it is not wonderful that I should love
thee:
I stretch out my hand to thee asking for mercy and pity for my humility--mayst
thou be charitable;
My life has passed away soliciting thy consent, but I have not found it in my
confidence to be charitable,
And I have become a slave in consequence of her possession of love my heart is
imprisoned and my tears flow.
When the poem was finished Ja'afar gave himself up more and more to the pleasure
of hearing and looking at the damsel. The youth, who was reclining, sat up and
calling some of his boys said to them, Don't you see that young man standing
there in front of us? They answered, Yes, and he said, He must be a stranger for
I see on him the signs of travel; bring him to me and take care not to offend
him. They answered, With joy and gladness, and went towards Ja'afar, who, while
contemplating the damsel, perceived the boy that came and who said to him, In the
name of God, O my lord, please have the generosity to come in to our master.
Ja'afar came with the boy to the door of the tent, dismounted from his horse and
entered at hte moment when the youth was rising upon his feet, and he stretched
out his two hands and saluted him as if he had always known him, and after he had
chanted the prayer to the envoy (of Allah) he sang:--
O my visitor be welcome, thou enlivenest us and bringest us our union:
By thy face I live when it appears and I die if it disappears.
Then he said to Ja'afar, Please be seated, my dear sir; thanks be to God for your
happy arrival; and he continued his chant after another prayer to the envoy (of
God):--
If we had known of thy arrival we would have covered (thy) heart with the black
of our eyes,
And we would have spread the street with out cheeks that thy coming might have
been between our eyelids.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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