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disappointed. Then he called out, saying, Ho, such an one!
And behold, a woman came out to him. When she saw me, she would
have withdrawn; but he said to her, Come; and heed him not.
So she entered and saluted, and he threw her the ruby, which
when she knew, she gave a great shriek and fell down in a
swoon. As soon as she came to herself, she said, O Commander
of the Faithful, what hath God done with my son? And he said
to me, Do thou tell her; for he could not speak for weeping.
So I repeated the story to her, and she began to weep and say
in a failing voice, How I have longed for thy sight, O
consolation of my eyes! Would I might have given thee to drink,
when thou hadst none to tend thee! Would I might have companied
with thee, whenas thou foundest none to cheer thee! And she
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poured forth tears and recited the following verses:
I weep for one to whom death came, an exile and in pain: Alone
he died, without a friend to whom he might complain.
Puissant and honoured and conjoined with those that loved him
dear, To live alone and seeing none, unfriended, he was
fain.
That which the days conceal shall yet be manifest to us: Not
one of us by death, indeed, unsmitten may remain.
O absent one, the Lord of all decreed thy strangerhood, And
thou left st far behind the love that was betwixt us
twain!
Though death, my son, forbid me hope to see thee in this life,
Tomorrow, on the Reckoning-Day, we two shall meet again.
Quoth I, O Commander of the Faithful, was he indeed thy son?
Yes, answered he; and indeed, before I succeeded to this
office, he was wont to visit the learned and company with the
devout; but, when I became Khalif, he grew estranged from me
and withdrew himself apart. Then said I to his mother, This
thy son is absorbed in God the Most High, and it may be that
tribulations shall befall him and he be smitten with stress of
evil chance; wherefore, do thou give him this ruby, that it may
be to him a resource in the hour of need. So she gave it him,
conjuring him to take it, and he obeyed her. Then he left the
things of our world to us and removed himself from us; nor did
he cease to be absent from us, till he went to the presence of
God (to whom belong might and majesty) with a holy and pure
mind. Then said he, Come, show me his grave. So we repaired
to Bassora and I showed him his son s grave. When he saw it, he
wept and lamented, till he fell down in a swoon; after which he
came to himself and asked pardon of God, saying, We are God s,
and to Him we return! and invoked blessings on the dead. Then he
besought me of companionship; but I said to him, O Commander of
the Faithful, verily, in thy son s case is for me the gravest of
admonitions! And I recited the following verses:
Tis I am the stranger! None harbours the wight, Though he lie
in his native city by night.
Tis I am the exile! Nor children nor wife Nor comrades have I,
to take ruth on my plight.
The mosques are my refuge; I haunt them indeed: My heart from
their shelter shall never take flight.
To the Lord of all creatures, to God be the praise, Whilst yet
in the body abideth the spright!
THE SCHOOLMASTER WHO FELL IN LOVE BY
REPORT.
(Quoth one of the erudite), I passed once by a [school, in
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which a] schoolmaster, comely of aspect and well dressed, was
teaching children; so I entered, and he rose and made me sit
with him. Then I examined him in the Koran and in syntax and
poetry and lexicography, and found him perfect in all that was
required of him and said to him, God strengthen thy purpose!
Thou art indeed versed in all that is sought of thee. So I
frequented him awhile, discovering daily some new excellence
in him, and said to myself, This is indeed a wonder in a
schoolmaster; for the understanding are agreed upon the lack of
wit of those that teach children. Then I separated myself from
him and sought him out and visited him [only] every few days,
till, one day, coming to see him as of wont, I found the school
shut and made enquiry of the neighbours, who said, Some one is
dead in his house. So I said to myself, It behoves me to pay
him a visit of condolence, and going to his house, knocked at
the door. A slave-girl came out to me and said, What dost thou
want? I want thy master, answered I. Quoth she, He is
sitting alone, mourning. Tell him, rejoined I, that his
friend so and so seeks to condole with him. She went in and
told him; and he said, Admit him. So she brought me in to
him, and I found him seated alone and his head bound [with the
fillets of mourning]. May God amply requite thee! said I.
This is a road all must perforce travel, and it behoves thee
to take patience. But who is dead unto thee? One who was
dearest and best beloved of the folk to me, answered he. Quoth
I, Perhaps thy father? He replied, No; and I said, Thy
mother? No, answered he. Thy brother? No. One of thy
kindred? No. Then, asked I, what relation was the dead to
thee? My mistress, answered he. Quoth I to myself, This is
the first sign of his lack of wit. Then I said to him, There
are others than she and fairer; and he answered, I never saw
her, that I might judge whether or no there be others fairer
than she. Quoth I to myself, This is another sign Then I
said to him, And how couldst thou fall in love with one thou
hast never seen? Quoth he, I was sitting one day at the
window, when there passed by a man, singing the following
verse:
Umm Amri,[FN136] God requite thee thy generosity! Give back my
heart, prithee, wherever it may be!
When I heard this, I said to myself, Except this Umm Amri were
without equal in the world, the poets had not celebrated her in
amorous verse. So I fell in love with her; but, two days
after, the same man passed, singing the following verse:
The jackass with Umm Amri departed; but, alas, Umm Amri! She
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