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All ranks and classes kiss the earth, in homage to thy state, For lo! through thee their every wish is crowned with happy fate.
For thou the fount of honour art for those that hope in thee, And from thy hand the bounties flow that make there rich and great.
The Sultan smiled and signed to him to sit down. So he sat down beside the Vizier, and the King enquired his name. Quoth Bedreddin, “The meanest of thy slaves is known as Bedreddin Hassan of Bassora, who prays for thee day and night.” The Sultan was pleased at his words and being minded to try him and prove his knowledge and good-breeding, said to him, “Dost thou remember any verses in praise of a mole on the cheek?” “Yes,” replied Bedreddin, and repeated the following:
When I think of my loved one, the sighs from my breast Burst up and the tears to my eyes quickly start.
She’s a mole, that resembles, in beauty and hue, The black of the eye and the core of the heart.
The Sultan liked these verses and said, “Let us have some more. Heaven bless thy sire! May thy tongue never tire!” So he repeated the following:
The mole’s black spot upon her cheek they liken to a grain Of musk; yet wonder not at that, for wonder were in vain.
But rather wonder at her face, wherein all beauty is: There is no particle of grace that it doth not contain.
The Sultan shook with delight and said to him, “More! God bless thy life!” So he repeated the following:
O thou, the moles upon whose cheek recall Globules of musk upon cornelian strewed,
Grant me thy favours, be not hard of heart, O thou, my heart’s desire, my spirit’s food!
Then said the King, “Thou hast done well, O Hassan, and hast acquitted thyself most excellently. But tell me how many meanings hath the word khal[1] in the Arabic language.” “Fifty,” replied Hassan, “and some say eight-
- ↑ Mole.
