1. I made him of spotted hide a fox
Among men, or a hyena, forsooth!

2. Whenever he saw me, he avoided me,
As if made to swallow aloes in truth.

3. And death tells not of its taste,
If you asked one who'd tasted it, forsooth.

4. I kept plying my whip above him
Until he cried out from below, in truth.

5. I was told of a wasp turned hornet just now,
Sprung from me, and I gained a whelp, forsooth.

6. So I said, "Hold back some of your mockery,
For that which he met was no easy thing, in truth."

7. He passed by el-Karkh, and the hand
Of blame had widened his face with slaps, in truth.

8. Turning, he dragged behind him
Calamities you could see and misfortunes, forsooth.

9. And I had gloated over your destined woe
A cloud that flashed with lightning, in truth.

10. But when I examined it closely I did not find
For its lightning that confirmation, in truth.

11. O two poets, share with me, for I
Have yearned for this day until now, in truth.

12. You have not gladdened me with your satires,
Is this from stinginess or self-restraint, in truth?

13. You left me though you saw me aroused
To the point of utter confusion, in truth.

14. So win from him who claims this and that
Necklaces to last and shackles, forsooth!