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father, thou knowest him not nor do we, for the Sultan married thy mother to a humpbacked groom; but the Jinn came and lay with her, and thou hast no known father. Wherefore, do thou leave evening thyself with the boys in the school, till thou know who is thy father; for till then thou wilt pass for a misbegotten brat amongst them. Dost thou not see that the huckster’s son knows his own father? Thy grandfather is the Vizier of Egypt, but as for thy father, we know him not, and we say, thou hast no father. So return to thy senses.” When Agib heard the insulting words of the children and the monitor, he went out at once and ran to his mother, to complain to her; but his tears would not let him speak awhile. When she heard his sobs and saw his tears, her heart was on fire for him and she said to him, “O my son, why dost thou weep? Tell me what is the matter.” So he told her what the children and the monitor had said and said to her, “Who is my father, O my mother?” “Thy father is the Vizier of Egypt,” answered she; but he said, “Do not lie to me. The Vizier is thy father, not mine. Who then is my father? Except thou tell me the truth, I will kill myself with this dagger.” When the Lady of Beauty heard him speak of his father, she wept, as she thought of her cousin and her bridal-night, and repeated the following verses:
Love in my breast, alas! they lit and went away; Far distant is the camp that holds my soul’s delight!
Patience and reason fled from me, when they withdrew; Sleep failed me, and despair o’ercame me like a blight.
They left me, and with them departed all my joy; Tranquility and peace with them have taken flight.
They made my lids run down with tears of love laid waste; My eyes for lack of them brim over day and night.
When as my sad soul longs to see them once again And waiting and desire are heavy on my spright;
Midmost my heart of hearts their images I trace, Love and desireful pain and longing for their sight.
