Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/157

 Her singing this time was even better than the first; then she chanted other rare pieces, old and new, and amongst them, another of mine with the following two couplets,

'Say to angry lover who turns away, * And shows thee his side whatso thou 'Thou wroughtest all that by thee was wrought, * Albe 'twas haply thy sport and play.'

I prayed her to repeat the song, that I might correct it for her; whereupon one of the two men accosted me and said, 'Never saw we a more impudent lick platter than thou. Art thou not content with sponging, but thou must eke meddle and muddle? Of very sooth, in thee is the saying made true, Parasite and pushing wight.' So I hung down my head for shame and made him no answer, whilst his companion would have withheld him from me, but he would not be restrained. Presently, they rose to pray, but I lagged behind a little and, taking the lute, screwed up the sides and brought it into perfect tune. Then I stood up in my place to pray with the rest; and when we had ended praying, the same man fell again to blaming me and reviling me and persisted in his rudeness, whilst I held my peace. Thereupon the damsel took the lute and touching it, knew that it had been altered, and said, 'Who hath touched my lute?' Quoth they, 'None of us hath touched it.' Quoth she, 'Nay, by Allah, some one hath touched it, and he is an artist, a past master in the craft; for he hath arranged the strings and tuned them like one who is a perfect performer.' Said I, 'It was I tuned it;' and said she, 'Then, Allah upon thee, take it and play on it!' So I took it; and, playing a piece so difficult and so rare, that it went nigh to deaden the quick and quicken the dead, I sang thereto these couplets,

'I had a heart, and with it lived my life: * 'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe: I never won the blessing of her love; * God would not on His slave such boon bestow: If what I've tasted be the food of Love, * Must taste it all men who love food would know.'"

--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Four Hundred and Ninth Night,