She nevertheless said...

She nevertheless said: 'Praise be to Allah for having been delivered from that wretched torment, and attained this permanent blessing.' Despite of all this violence and hasty nature I shall try to please thee because thou art beauteous. To be with thee in hell burning is for me Better than to be with the other in paradise. The smell of an onion from the mouth of a pretty face Is indeed better than a rose from an ugly hand.

A nice face and a gown of gold brocade, Essence of roses, fragrant aloes, paint, perfume and lust: All these are ornaments of women. Take a man; and his testicles are a sufficient ornament. Story 3 I was in Diarbekr, the guest of an old man, who possessed abundant wealth and a beautiful son.

One night he narrated to me that he had all his life no other son but this boy, telling me that in the locality people resorted to a certain tree in a valley to offer petitions and that he had during many nights prayed at the foot of the said tree, till the Almighty granted him this son.

I overheard the boy whispering to his companion: 'How good it would be if I knew where that tree is that I might pray for my father to die.' Moral: The gentleman is delighted that his son is intelligent and the boy complains that his father is a dotard. Years elapse without thy visiting The tomb of thy father. What good hast thou done to him To expect the same from thy son?

Story 4 One day, in the pride of youth, I had travelled hard and arrived perfectly exhausted in the evening at the foot of an acclivity. A weak old man, who had likewise been following the caravan, came and asked me why I was sleeping, this not being the place for it.

I replied: 'How am I to travel, having lost the use of my feet?' He said: 'Hast thou not heard that it is better to walk gently and to halt now and then than to run and to become exhausted?' O thou who desirest to reach the station Take my advice and learn patience. An Arab horse gallops twice in a race. A camel ambles gently night and day. Story 5 The active, graceful, smiling, sweet-tongued youth happened once to be in the circle of our assembly.

His heart had been entered by no kind of grief and his lips were scarcely ever closed from laughter. After some time had elapsed, I accidentally met him again and I learned that he had married a wife and begotten children but I saw that the root of merriment had been cut and the roses of his countenance were withered. I asked him how he felt and what his circumstances were.