1. رأيتُ كلاب مولانا وقوفاً

    ورابضةً على ظهر الطريق

    I saw our master's dogs standing,

    And lying down upon the road.

  2. فمن وردٍ له ذنبُ طويلٌ

    يعقفه وملهوبٌ خلوقي

    Among them, a tawny one with a long tail

    That it curls, and a fiery, saffron-hued one.

  3. تغذى بالجدا فوددت أني

    وحقّ اله خركوشٌ سلوقي

    They are fed on bounty, so I wished that I

    Were—by God—Kharkush, a Saluki.

  4. فيا مولاي رافقني بكلبٍ

    لآكل كل يومِ مع رفيقي

    So, my master, pair me with a dog,

    That I may eat each day with my companion.

  5. أرى القصاب قد أضى عدوي

    لشؤم البخت والملحي صديقي

    I see the butcher has become my enemy

    Through ill fortune—and the salt seller is my friend.

  6. فلو أني افتصدت لما وجدتم

    سوى الحلتيت داخل السليقي

    So, if I had my blood let, you would find nothing

    But asafoetida inside the vein.

  7. جفاني اللحم وهو شقيق روحي

    فمن يعدي على ذاك الشقيق

    Meat has shunned me, though it is my soul's brother;

    Who, then, will grant me redress against that brother?

  8. كأن اللحم في صوم النصارى

    توهمني ابن عم الجاثليق

    As though meat, during the Christians' fast,

    Had mistaken me for the Catholicos's cousin.

  9. وأحسن ما رآه الناس لحمٌ

    جرايته تضاف إلى الدقيق

    And the finest thing people have seen is meat

    Whose ration is added to the flour.