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THE KHALIF HAROUN ER RESHID AND THE ARAB GIRL.
The Khalif Haroun er Reshid was walking one day with Jaafer the Barmecide, when he espied a company of girls drawing water and went up to them, having a mind to drink. As he drew near, one of them turned to her fellows and recited the following verses:
Bid thou thy spright from my couch, I pray, At the season of slumber turn away,
So I may rest me and eke the fire In my bones that rages may have allay.
For me, the love-lorn, whom passion’s hands Turn on the carpet of sickness aye,
Thou knowest well how it is with me: Doth thy favour last for a single day?
Night dclxxxvi The Khalif marvelled at her beauty and eloquence and said to her, ‘O daughter of nobles, are these verses thine own or a quotation?’ ‘They are my own,’ answered she. ‘If thou say sooth,’ rejoined the Khalif, ‘keep the sense and change the rhyme.’ So she said:
Bid thou thy phantom forswear my stead At the season of sleep and drowsihead,
So I may rest me and eke the fire Be quenched in my body that rages red.
For me, a sick one, whom passion’s hands Turn on affliction’s unrestful bed,
Thou knowest well how it is with me: Can aught of thy favours stand in stead?
Quoth the Khalif, ‘This also is stolen.’ ‘Nay,’ replied she, ‘it is my own.’ ‘If it be indeed thine own,’ said Er Reshid, ‘change the rhyme again and keep the sense.’ So she recited the following:
