Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/74



She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that as soon as Uns al-Wujud had ended his verse, the wood-culver awoke from its brooding and cooed a reply to his lines and shrilled and trilled with its thrilling notes till it all but spake with human speech; [FN#65] and the tongue of the case talked for it and recited these couplets,

"O lover, thou bringest to thought a tide *     When the strength of my youth first faded and died;   And a friend of whose form I was 'namoured, *     Seductive and dight with beauty's pride;   Whose voice, as he sat on the sandhill-tree, *     From the Nay's [FN#66] sweet sound turned my heart aside;   A fowler snared him in net, the while *     'O that man would leave me at large!' he cried;   I had hoped he might somewhat of mercy show *     When a hapless lover he so espied;   But Allah smite him who tore me away, *     In his hardness of heart, from my lover's side;   But aye my desire for him groweth more, *     And my heart with the fires of disjunction is fried:   Allah guard a true lover, who strives with love, *     And hath borne the torments I still abide!   And, seeing me bound in this cage, with mind *     Of ruth, release me my love to find."

Then Uns al-Wujud turned to his companion, the Ispahahi, and said, "What palace is this? Who built it and who abideth in it?" Quoth the eunuch, "The Wazir of a certain King built it to guard his daughter, fearing for her the accidents of Time and the incidents of Fortune, and lodged her herein, her and her attendants; nor do we open it save once in every year, when their provision cometh to them." And Uns al-Wujud said to himself, "I have gained my end, though I may have long to wait." Such was his case; but as