第43章

But when her brother heard her verse he wept with sore weeping and turned his horse's head towards his sister and made this answer to her poetry，'Stand by and see the derringdo which I today will show，When meet we and I deal them blows that rend and cleave and split；E'en though rush out to seek a bout the lion of the war，The stoutest hearted brave of all and eke the best in wit；To him I'll deal without delay a Sa'alabiyan blow，[122]And dye my canespear's joint in blood by wound of foe bespit：

If all I beat not off from thee，O sister，may this frame

Be slain，and cast my corpse to birds，for so it would befit：

Yes，for thy dearest sake I'll strike my blows with might and main，And when we're gone shall this event in many a book be writ.'

And when he had ended his verse，he said，'O my sister，give ear to what I shall enjoin on thee'；whereto she replied，'Hearkening and obedience.'Quoth he，'If I fall，let none possess thy person；'and thereupon she buffeted her face and said，'Allah forbid，O my brother，that I should see thee laid low and yield myself to thy foe！'With this the youth put out his hand to her and withdrew her veil from her face，whereupon it shone forth as the sun shineth out from the white clouds.Then he kissed her between the eyes and bade her farewell；after which he turned to us and said，'Holla，Knights！ Come ye as guests or crave ye cuts and thrusts？If ye come to us as your hosts，rejoice ye in the guest rite；and，if ye covet the shining moon，come ye out against me，knight by knight，into this plain and place of fight.'There upon rushed out to him a doughty rider and the young man said to him，'Tell me thy name and thy father's name，for I am under an oath not to slay any whose name tallies with mine and whose father's name is that of my father；and if this be the case with thee，I will give thee up the maid.'Quoth the horseman，'My name is Bilal；'[123] and the young man answered him，saying，'Thou liest when speaking of 'benefits，' while

Thou comest to front with shine evillest will An of prowess thou'rt prow，to my words give ear，I'm he who make' champions in battlefield reel With keen blade，like the horn of the cusped moon，So 'ware thrust the，shall drill through the duress hill！'

Then they charged down，each at each，and the youth thrust his adversary in the breast so that the lance head issued from his back.With tints，another came out，and the youth cried，'Ho thou hound，who art rotten with foulness in grain，[124]

What high meed is there easy for warrior to gain？

'Tis none save the lion of strain purest pure

Who uncareth for life in the battle plain！'

Nor was it long before the youth left him drowned in his blood and cried out，'Who will come forth to me？'So a third horse man rushed out upon the youth and began saying，'To thee come I forth with my heart aflame，And summon my friends and my comrades by name：

When thou slewest the chief of the Arabs this day，This day thou remainest the pledge of my claim.'

Now when the youth heard this he answered him in these words，'Thou liest，O foulest of Satans that are，And with easings calumnious thou comest to war This day thou shalt fall by a death dealing point Where the lances lunge and the scymitars jar！'

Then he so foined him in the breast that the spearpoint issued from his back and he cried out，saying，'Ho！ will none come out？

So a fourth fared forwards and the youth asked him his name and he answered，'My name is Hilal，the New Moon.'And the youth began repeating，'Thou hast failed who would sink me in ruin sea，Thou who camest in malice with perfidy：

I，whose verses hast heard from the mouth of me，Will ravish thy soul though unknown to thee.'

Then they drave at each other and delivered two cuts，but the youth's stroke devanced that of the rider his adversary and slew him： and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him.

Now when I saw my comrades slain，I said to myself，'If I go down to fight with him，I shall not be able to prevail against him；and，if I flee，I shall become a byword of shame among the Arabs.'But the youth gave me no time to think，for he ran at me and dragged me from my saddle and hurled me to the ground.I fainted at the fall and he raised his sword designing to cut off my head；but I clung to his skirts，and he lifted me in his hand as though I were a sparrow.When the maiden saw this，she rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him，kissed him between the eyes.Then he delivered me to her，saying，'Take him and look to him and entreat him hospitably，for he is come under our rule.'So she took hold of the collar of my hauberk[125] and led me away by it as one would lead a dog.

Then she did off her brother's coat of mail and clad him in a robe，and set for him a stool of ivory，on which he sat down；and she said to him，'Allah whiten thy honour and prevent from thee the shifts of fortune！'And he answered her with these couplets，'My sister said，as saw she how I stood In fight，when sunrays lit my knightlihood 'Allah assain thee for a Brave of braves To whom in vale bow lions howso wood！'

Quoth I，'Go ask the champions of my case，When feared the Lords of war my warrior mood！

My name is famed for fortune and for force，And soared my spirit to such altitude，'Ho thou，Hammad，a lion hast upstirred，Shall show thee speedy death like viper brood.'

Now when I heard his verse，I was perplexed as to my case and considering my condition and how I was become a captive，I was lowered in my own esteem.Then I looked at the damsel，his sister，and seeing her beauty I said to myself，''Tis she who caused all this trouble'；and I fell amarvelling at her loveliness till the tears streamed from my eyes and I recited these couplets，'Dear friend！ ah leave thy loud reproach and blame；Such blame but irks me yet may not alarm：

I'm clean distraught for one whom saw I not

Without her winning me by winsome charm Yestreen her brother crossed me in her love，

A Brave stouthearted and right long of arm.'