ولم أَرَ كالكلابِ ذواتِ عَدْوٍ

ولم أَرَ كالكلابِ ذواتِ عَدْوٍ

على إثْر الأرانبِ والظِّباءِ

على إثْر الأرانبِ والظِّباءِ

And never have I seen the like of swift-running hounds

I have not seen dogs chasing with such fierce tenacity

On the trail of hares and gazelles.

After rabbits and gazelles as prey

متى أرسلتهُنَّ وراء صيْدٍ

متى أرسلتهُنَّ وراء صيْدٍ

فجاذبهنَّ أهْدابَ النَّجَاءِ

فجاذبهنَّ أهْدابَ النَّجَاءِ

Whenever you loosed them after game,

Whenever I set them loose to hunt

And it tugged against them at the fringes of swift flight,

Their determination gripped them like a whirlwind

عَلِقْنَ به وله كانتْ يداهُ

عَلِقْنَ به وله كانتْ يداهُ

تُشدُّ بذيلِ عاصفَةِ الهواءِ

تُشدُّ بذيلِ عاصفَةِ الهواءِ

They clung to it, while its two forelegs were

They clung to their prey as its tail

Bound to the tail of a raging wind.

Was buffeted by the gusting winds