Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/244

216 him and he said, ‘What dost thou want?’ ‘I want the Commander of the Faithful,’ answered the other, and the page said, ‘Enter.’ So he entered and saluted the Khalif, who said to him, ‘Who art thou?’ ‘I am a man of the Benou Temim,’ answered the Arab. ‘And what brings thee here at this season?’ asked Muawiyeh. Quoth the Arab, ‘I come to thee, complaining to thee and imploring thy protection.’ ‘Against whom?’ asked the Khalif. ‘Against Merwan ben el Hekem, thy deputy,’ answered the man and recited the following verses:

When Muawiyeh heard him recite these verses, with the fire flashing from his mouth, he said to him, ‘Thou art welcome, O brother of the Arabs! Tell me thy tale and expound to me thy case.’ ‘O Commander of the Faithful,’ replied the Arab, ‘I had a wife, whom I loved passing dear and who was the solace of my eyes and the delight of my heart; and I had a herd of camels, with whose produce I made shift to maintain my condition; but there came upon us a year [of calamity], which killed off hoof and horn and bereft me of all I had. When what was in my hand failed me and I fell into evil case, I became abject and burdensome to those who had used to wish to visit me; which when my wife’s father knew, he took her from me and abjured me and drove me forth without pity.