Page:Man in the Panther's Skin.djvu/68

 home? As for me, death has forgotten me; even by it am I abandoned."

279. Avt'handil gave answer; beautiful are his words : "O lion and hero Tariel, thou who behavest gently, I am an Arabian, from the court of Arabia; I am consumed by love, unquenchable fire burns me.

280. "I love the daughter of my lord; her lusty-armed servants now view her as their king. Though thou knowest me not, I have seen thee, if thou wilt call it to mind. Dost thou remember when thou slewest the strong-armed slaves?

281. "We saw thee roaming in the plain, and we came upon thee. My lord was angry with thee, and we quarrelled fiercely with thee. We called thee, thou earnest not, we pursued thee with soldiers; thou didst dye the fields crimson with the blood thou madest to flow.

282. "Thou didst cut the heads of all with a whip, without a sword. The king mounted, thou wert lost to us, we could not cut off thy track; like a Kadj thou wert hidden, the slaves were terrified. This enraged us still more; we were completely stunned.

283. "The king became gloomy; you know that a monarch also has humours. They looked for thee, they sought thee everywhere, they wrote a letter of command. They could find none who had seen thee, neither young nor old. Now she has sent me, she to whom neither sun nor ether is to be compared.

284. "She said to me: 'Learn for me news of that vanished sun; then will I do that which thou desirest.' She told me that for three years the stream of tears was to flow without her; dost thou not marvel that I could bear the lack of the sight of her smile?

285. "Until now I have seen no man who saw thee. I saw