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increased with his refusal; so she sat down beside him and caroused and sported with him, till they were both warm with wine, and she was mad for dishonour with him. Then she sang the following verses:
The heart of the slave of passion is all but broken in twain: How long shall this rigour last and this coldness of disdain?
O thou that turnest away from me, in default of sin, Rather to turn towards than away should gazelles be fain!
Aversion and distance eternal and rigour and disdain; How can youthful lover these hardships all sustain?
Thereupon Ghanim wept and she wept because he did, and they ceased not to drink till nightfall, when he rose and spread two beds, each in its place. ‘For whom is the second bed?’ asked she. ‘One is for me and the other for thee,’ answered he. ‘Henceforth we must lie apart, for that which is the master’s is forbidden to the slave.’ ‘O my lord,’ exclaimed she, ‘let us leave this, for all things happen according to fate and predestination.’ But he refused, and the fire was loosed in her heart and she clung to him and said, ‘By Allah, we will not sleep but together!’ ‘God forbid!’ answered he, and he prevailed against her and lay apart till the morning, whilst love and longing and distraction redoubled on her. They abode thus three whole months, and whenever she made advances to him, he held aloof from her, saying, ‘Whatever belongs to the master is forbidden to the slave.’ Then, when this was prolonged upon her and affliction and anguish grew on her, for the weariness of her heart she recited the following verses:
O marvel of beauty, how long this disdain? And who hath provoked thee to turn from my pain?
All manner of elegance in thee is found And all fashions of fairness thy form doth contain.
The hearts of all mortals thou stir’st with desire And on everyone’s lids thou mak’st sleeplessness reign.
