Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/71



She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the eunuch who came forth from the castle, where Rose-in-Hood was confined, told Uns al-Wujud all his tale and said:--"The raiders who captured me cut off my yard and sold me for a castrato; and this is how I came to be in such case." [FN#59] And after saluting him and wishing him long life, the eunuch carried him into the courtyard of the castle, where he saw a great tank of water, surrounded by trees, on whose branches hung cages of silver, with doors of gold, and therein birds were warbling and singing the praises of the Requiting King. And when he came to the first cage he looked in and lo! a turtle dove, on seeing him, raised her voice and cried out, saying, "O Thou Bounty-fraught!" Whereat he fell down fainting and after coming to himself, he sighed heavily and recited these couplets,

"O turtle dove, like me art thou distraught? *     Then pray the Lord and sing 'O Bounty-fraught!'   Would I knew an thy moan were sign of joy, *     Or cry of love-desire in heart inwrought,--   An moan thou pining for a lover gone *     Who left thee woe begone to pine in thought,--   Or if like me hast lost thy fondest friend, *     And severance long desire to memory brought?   O Allah, guard a faithful lover's lot *     I will not leave her though my bones go rot!"

Then, after ending his verses, he fainted again; and, presently reviving he went on to the second cage, wherein he found a ringdove. When it saw him, it sang out, "O Eternal, I thank thee!" and he groaned and recited these couplets,

"I heard a ringdove chanting plaintively, *     'I thank Thee, O Eternal for this misery!'   Haply, perchance, may Allah, of His grace, *     Send me by this long round my love to see.   Full oft [FN#60] she comes with honeyed lips dark red, *     And heaps up lowe upon love's ardency.