The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 08 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 08 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
Moreover, in that garden were birds of all breeds, ring-dove and cushat
and nightingale and culver, each singing his several song, and amongst
them the lady, swaying gracefully to and fro in her beauty and grace
and symmetry and loveliness and ravishing all who saw her. Presently
quoth she to Masrur, "Hola man! what bringeth thee into a house other
than thy house and wherefore comest thou in unto women other than thy
women, without leave of their owner?" Quoth he, "O my lady, I saw this
garden, and the goodliness of its greenery pleased me and the fragrance
of its flowers and the carolling of its birds; so I entered, thinking
to gaze on it awhile and wend my way." Said she, "With love and
gladness!"; and Masrur was amazed at the sweetness of her speech and
the coquetry of her glances and the straightness of her shape, and
transported by her beauty and seemlihead and the pleasantness of the
garden and the birds. So in the disorder of his spirits he recited
these couplets,
"As a crescent-moon in the garth her form * 'Mid Basil and
jasmine and Rose I scan;
And Violet faced by the Myrtle-spray * And Nu'umán's bloom and
Myrobalan:
By her perfume the Zephyrs perfumčd breathe * And with scented
sighings the branches fan.
O Garden, thou perfect of beauty art * All charms comprising in
perfect plan;
And melodious birdies sing madrigals * And the Full Moon[FN#309]
shineth in branchshade wan;
Its ring-dove, its culver, its mocking-bird * And its Philomel
sing my soul t' unman;
And the longing of love all my wits confuseth * For her charms,
as the man whom his wine bemuseth."
Now when Zayn al-Mawásif heard his verse, she glanced at him with eyes
which bequeathed a thousand sighs and utterly ravished his wisdom and
wits and replied to him in these lines,
"Hope not of our favours to make thy prey * And of what thou
wishest thy greed allay:
And cease thy longing; thou canst not win * The love of the Fair
thou'rt fain t' essay,
My glances to lovers are baleful and naught * I reek of thy
speech: I have said my say!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account