أروى لكم خرافة

في غاية اللطافة

I tell you a fable

of the utmost charm.

أتت من الهند لنا

وترجموها قبلنا

It came to us from India,

and before us they translated it

إلى لغات جمه

لأن فيها حكمه

into many languages,

for it contains wisdom.

طوشترى معبو

الَّهه الهنود

Twashtri was worshipped;

the Indians deified him.

قالوا هو الذي برا

هذا الوجود والورى

They said he was the one who created

this universe and all creatures.

ومثله فلكان

فيما رأى اليونان

And like him was Vulcan,

as the Greeks believed.

كلاهما حداد

عَبَده العباد

Both were smiths,

worshipped by humankind.

فحين صاغ العالما

كما يصوغ الخاتما

So when he fashioned the world,

as he would fashion a ring,

أنفق ما كان ادّخر

ولم يدع ولم يذر

he spent what he had stored up,

and left nothing, spared nothing,

وكلَّ شئ بذلا

حتى أتم الرجلا

and expended everything

until he had completed man.

وضاق بالنساء

في الخلق والإنشاء

But he was at a loss over women

in creation and formation.

فحار ماذا يجمع

ومنه أنثى يضع

He wondered what to gather

to fashion a female from.

وبعد فكر أعمله

حتى بدا الصواب له

And after setting his mind to work,

until the right course dawned on him,

كوّنها تكوينا

مختلفا تلوينا

he fashioned her

in varied hues:

من استدارة القمر

إلى لطافة الزهر

from the roundness of the moon

to the delicacy of flowers,

إلى تراوح العشب

إلى رشاقة القضب

to the swaying of grass,

to the slender grace of boughs,

فلحظات الريم

فقلق النسيم

then the gazelle's glances,

then the breeze's restlessness,

فبهجة الشعاع

فقسوة السباع

then the brightness of sunbeams,

then the cruelty of wild beasts,

فقوة الألماس

وماله من باس

then the strength of diamond

and all the might it holds,

فزهوة الطاووس

تأخذ بالنفوس

then the peacock's proud splendor,

which captivates souls,

ومن دموع السحب

إلى انكماش الأرنب

and from the tears of clouds

to the rabbit's shrinking,

إلى التواء الأرقم

فالزغب المقسَّم

to the speckled serpent's twisting,

then the down, portioned out,

فالحر من وقود

فالبرد من جليد

then heat from fuel,

then cold from ice,

فالشهد في المذاق

فخفة الأوراق

then honey's taste,

then the lightness of leaves,

إلى التفاف النبت

زاحفه والثبت

to the intertwining of plants,

both creeping and firmly rooted,

فنغم الهدير

فهذر العصفور

then the music of cooing,

then the sparrow's chatter.

وكل هذا هيأه

مكونا منه امرأة

And all this he prepared,

forming from it a woman.

وبعد ما أتمها

لعبده قدمها

And after he had completed her,

he presented her to his servant

وقال خذها يا رجل

وعن هواها لا تحل

and said, “Take her, man,

and do not turn away from loving her.”

فبعد أسبوع مضى

أتى له معترضا

Then, after a week had passed,

he came to him in protest,

يقول يا أللَّهُمّا

خذها كفاني هما

saying, “O God,

take her back; I have had grief enough!

لا صبر لي معها ولا

أرى بيها لي قِبَلا

I have no patience with her, nor

can I find the strength to bear her.

تظل تشكو الداء

وتخلق الشحناء

She keeps complaining of illness

and stirring up strife,

محتالة على الغضب

شاكية ولا سبب

scheming to provoke anger,

complaining without cause.

قد ضيّعت أوقاتي

وأذهبت لذاتي

She has wasted my hours

and taken away my pleasures.”

فأخذ الإله

ما كان قد أعطاه

So the god took back

what he had given him.

فلم يكن بعض زمن

حتى تولاه الحزَن

Scarcely any time had passed

before sorrow overtook him.

فقال يا رب ردّها

فما نعمتُ بعدها

He said, “Lord, give her back,

for I have known no joy since she left.

بانت فلا أنساها

كأنني أراها

She has gone, yet I do not forget her;

it is as though I see her

ماثلة أمامي

مالئة أيامي

standing before me,

filling my days,

لطيفة في لعبها

خفيفة في وثبها

charming in her play,

light in her leaps.”

قال الإله للرجل

حيرت مولاك فقل

The god said to the man,

“You have bewildered your master; tell me:

ماذا الذي تريد

أحفظ أم أعيد

what is it you want?

Shall I keep her or give her back?”

فأخذ الرفيقة

وقال ذى الحقيقة

So he took his companion

and said, “This is the truth:

لا عيش لي معها ولا

بغيرها العيش حلا

I have no life with her, nor

is life sweet without her.”