We have asked for the girl from her father, Her father who is as rich as Aleppo. We have walked from street to street, And have found many who were daughters of princes. Ride on, O daughter of the Ḥadâdîyeh,[72] Thy worth in gold is two hundred hundred. Tighten the saddle for her, O father, tighten it; Count out to her a hundred quarter riyals. ----- ----- THE VOICES OF THE WOMEN IN HIGH TONES CALLING OUT ABOUT THE BRIDE[73] Bend gracefully from side to side, O thou who bendest as a palm in the mountains. Thou art not bad to lower thy value, But thou art like the well-bred horses, perfect. Put thy sleeve over thy mouth, thou beauty, like thy mother; The man is thy uncle, he will make and enlarge thy sleeve. Thy garment, O choice one, two did cut it, And more than a fortnight did seven tailors make it. If love were not like fleet horses, Love and I should be separated as day from night. ----- ----- WHEN THE BRIDE ENTERS THE HOUSE OF THE GROOM[74] Sprinkle the cushions with roses and ḥennâ; Let the bridegroom rejoice and be refreshed. Sprinkle the cushions with roses and perfume; Let the bridegroom sit on the cushion with his dear one. O pair of gazels, how you are marked with ḥennâ! May you two rejoice each other. ----- ----- By marriage the wife becomes a member of her husband’s family. She assists her mother-in-law in the household duties. One of the reasons given for some of the very early marriages is that the young woman may be trained into a suitable wife for the son by his mother. It is counted an affliction[75] if the new wife is not a mother in due time, and it is a joyous occasion when a male child is born. There are many parents who love their girl babies tenderly, but they are almost sure to be partial to boys, and the majority of parents are greatly disappointed if boys do not make up the larger part of the children. ----- -----