Prevod

Among the tales told is that of a man of Banu Udhra, a witty and gracious fellow who never passed a single day without being in love. As it happened, he fell in love with a beautiful woman of the tribe and sent her messages for many days, but she continued to treat him coldly and turn away from him. At last, passion, longing, and love’s distraction so ravaged him that he fell gravely ill, took to his pillow, and could find no sleep. His plight became known, and his fame as a lover spread among the people. But morning overtook Shahrazad, and she fell silent, leaving her tale untold.

When the three hundred and eighty-fourth night had come

She said: It has reached me, O fortunate king, that the man took to his pillow and could find no sleep, and that his plight became known and his fame as a lover spread among the people. His sickness worsened and his suffering grew so great that he nearly died. His family and hers kept begging her to visit him, but she refused. At last, when he was at death’s door, they told her, and her heart softened toward him; she granted him a visit. When he saw her, tears streamed from his eyes, and from a broken heart he recited:

By your life, if my bier should pass you by, borne aloft upon four men’s shoulders, will you not follow it, to offer a greeting at the grave of one laid dead within the earth? When she heard his words, she wept bitterly and said to him, “By Allah, I never imagined that love had brought you so low as to cast you into the hands of death. Had I known, I would have eased your suffering and delighted in being yours.” When he heard her words, his tears fell like rain from a cloud, and he recited these words of the poet:

She drew near when death had come between us, and granted union when union could no longer avail. Then he gave one gasp and died. She threw herself upon him, kissing him and weeping, and wept until she fell unconscious beside him. When she came to herself, she charged her family to bury her in his grave when she died. Then, with tears flowing from her eyes, she recited these two verses:

Upon the earth we lived at ease, and tribe and home and homeland shone with pride in us. But time and fortune tore our union apart; now, in the earth’s deep belly, the shroud shall bring us together. When she had finished her verses, she wept bitterly and went on weeping until she fell unconscious. She remained in that swoon for three days, then died and was buried in his grave. Such was one of the wondrous turns of fate in love.