Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/72

Rh thou, young man?' He replied, 'Hârith the son of Saʾad, a horseman of Shabhʾa.' Then I cried, "Beware ! for verily I am about to slay thee.' But he retorted, 'Woe be to thee! And who ar thou?' I said, 'ʾAmr-ibn-Maʾady-Kárib, ez-Zabîdy.' 'The despicable! the vile!' he exclaimed, 'by Allâh! only thy contemptible estate prevents my killing thee!'

"Then, O Commander of the Faithful! I appeared mean in my own eyes, and he who was before me appeared mighty. But I said to him, 'Leave off talking, and defend thyself, for I will fight thee, and by Allâh! but one of us shall quit this spot.' Then he cried, 'Go! may thy mother be bereft of thee! Verily we are of a family of which a horseman has never deprived us of a member.' I replied, 'It will be he whom thou hearest.' Whereupon he said, 'Choose for thyself whether thou shalt charge me, or whether I shall charge thee.'

"So I took advantage of him, and said to him, 'Go thou to a distance from me.' And when he had this done, I bore down upon him, and thought to thrust my spear through his shoulders; but lo! he had bent himself down as were he the girth of his horse. Then he leant over towards me, and placed his spear as a