The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 03 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 03 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
"What secret kept I these my tears have told, *
And my waste body must my love unfold:
Though hid my pine, my plight on parting day *
To every envious eye my secret sold:
O ye who broke up camp, you've left behind *
My spirit wearied and my heart a-cold:
In my hearts core ye dwell, and now these eyne *
Roll blood-drops with the tears they whilome rolled:
The absent will I ransom with my soul; *
All can my yearning for their sight behold:
I have an eye whose babe,[FN#314] for love of thee, *
Rejected sleep nor hath its tears controlled.
The foeman bids me patient bear his loss, *
Ne'er may mine ears accept the ruth he doled!
I tricks their deme of me, and won my wish *
Of Kamar al-Zaman's joys manifold:
He joins all perfect gifts like none before, *
Boasted such might and main no King of old:
Seeing his gifts, Bin Zá'idah's[FN#315] largesse *
Forget we, and Mu'áwiyah mildest-soul'd:[FN#316]
Were verse not feeble and o'er short the time *
I had in laud of him used all of rhyme."
Then Queen Budur stood up and wiped away her tears and, making the
lesser ablution,[FN#317] applied her to pray: nor did she give over
praying till drowsiness overcame the Lady Hayat al- Nufus and she
slept, whereupon the Lady Budur came and lay by her till the morning.
At daybreak, she arose and prayed the dawn- prayer; and presently
seated herself on the royal throne and passed the day in ordering and
counter ordering and giving laws and administering justice. This is how
it fared with her; but as regards King Armanus he went in to his
daughter and asked her how she did; so she told him all that had
befallen her and repeated to him the verses which Queen Budur had
recited, adding, "O my father, never saw I one more abounding in sound
sense and modesty than my husband, save that he cloth nothing but weep
and sigh." He answered, "O my daughter, have patience with him yet this
third night, and if he go not in unto thee and do away thy maidenhead,
we shall know how to proceed with him and oust him from the throne and
banish him the country." And on this wise he agreed with his daughter
what course he would take.—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Tenth Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when King Armanus
had agreed with his daughter on this wise and had determined what
course he would take and night came on, Queen Budur arose from the
throne of her kingdom and betaking herself to the palace, entered the
apartment prepared for her. There she found the wax-candles lighted and
the Princess Hayat al-Nufus seated and awaiting her; whereupon she
bethought her of her husband and what had betided them both of sorrow
and severance in so short a space; she wept and sighed and groaned
groan upon groan, and began improvising these couplets,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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