أقرضتُه أيراً فردَّ لساناً

أقرضتُه أيراً فردَّ لساناً

وكذاك يفعل من غدا قرنَانا

وكذاك يفعل من غدا قرنَانا

I lent him a cock, and he repaid me with a tongue.

I lent him an air, so he returned a tongue,

And so behaves one who has become a cuckold.

And so does one who becomes our mate tomorrow.

نكتُ العجوزَ فظل يشتم سادراً

نكتُ العجوزَ فظل يشتم سادراً

وقرُونه يصرعنَه ألوانا

وقرُونه يصرعنَه ألوانا

I fucked the old woman; he kept on cursing heedlessly,

I joked with the old man, yet he kept cursing unrestrained,

while his horns laid him low in various ways.

While his horns make him fall in different ways.

للَّه درُّ النَّغل من مُتوهِّمٍ

للَّه درُّ النَّغل من مُتوهِّمٍ

أن اللسان يقاوم الجُرذانا

أن اللسان يقاوم الجُرذانا

God bless the bastard—so deluded as to imagine

Praise be to Allah for the weaver bird, deluded

that the tongue can withstand the rats!

That his tongue can resist rats.

دع ذا فإنّ قرونه لو أصبحت

دع ذا فإنّ قرونه لو أصبحت

لك معقلاً لم ترهب الحَدثانا

لك معقلاً لم ترهب الحَدثانا

Leave that aside, for if his horns became

Leave him be, for even if his horns

a fortress for you, you would not fear fate's calamities.

Became for you a fort, the young would not frighten you.

يا خائفَ الطوفان إنَّ لنا أخاً

يا خائفَ الطوفان إنَّ لنا أخاً

يعلو قَصيرُ قرونه الطوفانا

يعلو قَصيرُ قرونه الطوفانا

O you who fear the flood, indeed we have a brother

O you who fear the flood! We have a brother

whose short horn rises above the flood.

Whose short horns rise above the flood.

فمتى هجاك فدارِه لقرونه

فمتى هجاك فدارِه لقرونه

ليكونَ مما قد خشيتَ أمانا

ليكونَ مما قد خشيتَ أمانا

So whenever he lampoons you, humor him for his horns,

So when he assails you, turn to his horns

so he may be your safeguard against what you feared.

To be safe from what you dreaded.