1. قالت لميكي سِر بنا

    نمشي لحاجتنا الهُوَينَى

    She said to Mickey, "Walk with us;

    let us stroll unhurriedly on our errand."

  2. فأطاع مسروراً كعا

    دته ولم يسأَل لأَينا

    So he obeyed, delighted, as was

    his custom, and did not ask, "Where to?"

  3. فيم السؤال وكل شَي

    ءٍ طيّبٌ من أجلها

    Why ask, when every

    thing is good for her sake?

  4. وبنفسه حبٌّ قُصارا

    هُ الحياةُ بظلها

    And in his soul is love whose only aim

    is life in her shade.

  5. ماذا تغيّر عزّة

    أو ذلّة في حبها

    What difference can dignity make,

    or humiliation, to his love for her?

  6. سارت وكلُّ متاعه

    في أن يسير بقربها

    She walked, and all his pleasure

    lay in walking beside her.

  7. يستاف نعلَيهَا ويأ

    بى في الوجود مُنافسا

    He sniffs her sandals and will

    tolerate no rival in the world.

  8. فإذا تخيَّل دانياً

    من تربِها أو لامسا

    Then, if he imagines someone drawing near

    her dust, or touching it,

  9. يختال مِلءَ نُباحه

    زَهواً ويخطر حارسا

    he struts with the full measure of his bark,

    proudly, and paces as a guard.

  10. عجباً له ولزهوه

    ما يصنع الواهي الصغير

    What a wonder he is—and his pride!

    What can the frail little creature do?

  11. ما يصنع الناب الضعي

    ف وما يُخيف ولا يُجير

    What can his weak fang do?

    It neither frightens nor protects.

  12. لكن ميكي لا يبا

    لي أن يموت فداءها

    But Mickey does not mind

    dying as a sacrifice for her.

  13. في وثبه هيهات يس

    أل ما يكون وراءها

    As he leaps, never would he ask

    what may come after it.

  14. الأمر كلُّ الأمر أن

    يغدو يدافع دونها

    All that matters—all that matters—is

    that he go forth defending her.

  15. والنفس تُنكر في الضحي

    يَة عقلها وجنونها

    And in sacrifice the soul disowns

    its reason and its madness.

  16. من ذلك الظلُّ الملا

    زِم في الحياة وفي الطريق

    Who is that shadow, ever

    present in life and on the road,

  17. المخلصُ الوافي إذا

    عَزَّ المنادم والرفيق

    devoted and steadfast, when

    boon companion and friend grow scarce?

  18. من قلبُه صافٍ ودي

    دنهُ الولاءُ المطلق

    Whose heart is pure, whose constant

    way is absolute loyalty?

  19. فكأنما فيه الولا

    ء سجيَّةٌ تتدفق

    So it is as though loyalty within him

    were an instinct pouring forth.

  20. وإذا أُسِيءَ فإن أس

    مى الحبّ أن يُبدي رضاءه

    And if he is wronged, the loftiest form

    of love is to show his contentment.

  21. والصفح عند ذوي القلو

    بِ البيض من قبل الإِساءه

    And forgiveness, for those whose hearts

    are white, precedes the offense.

  22. مهما نظرت له نظر

    تُ إلى مَعِينٍ من حنان

    Whenever I look at him, I look

    upon a wellspring of tenderness.

  23. يُفضي إليك بسرّه الذ

    ذَنبُ الصغير ومقلتان

    His secret is confided to you by the

    little tail and two eyes.

  24. لا بأس إن هند جفت

    وقست أليست ربَّتَه

    No matter if Hind is aloof

    and harsh—is she not his mistress?

  25. أقصَتهُ ثم تلفَّتت

    ترجو إلَيها أوبته

    She sent him away, then looked back,

    hoping for his return to her.

  26. زجَرته أو نهرته أو

    كفَّت على جُرمٍ يده

    She scolded him, or rebuked him, or

    restrained his paw for some misdeed.

  27. فهي التي لم تَنسَهُ

    والأكل ملءُ المائده

    For she was the one who did not forget him

    when food filled the table.

  28. وهو الذي في بعدها

    لم يَألُهَا طولَ ارتقاب

    And he was the one who, in her absence,

    never failed her in his long vigil.

  29. يقظان ينتظر المآب

    وَثَوَى يُرَاقب خَلفَ باب

    Wakeful, he awaited her return,

    and stayed, keeping watch behind a door.

  30. هند التي اتَّخذته من

    دون الخلائق إلفَها

    Hind, who had chosen him

    above all other creatures as her companion,

  31. بحثت عن الإِلف الصغي

    ر فلم تجده خلفها

    searched for her little companion,

    but did not find him behind her.

  32. ميكي وما ميكي ومص

    رعُه على الدنيا جديد

    Mickey—and what is Mickey? His death

    has just come upon the world.

  33. نفسٌ تذوب وصرخةٌ

    تدوي هنالك من بعيد

    A soul melts away, and a cry

    resounds there from afar.

  34. وتلفَّتَت هندٌ لمو

    ضعه تغالب وَجدهَا

    And Hind turned toward his

    place, struggling against her grief.

  35. لا شيءَ قد سارت برف

    قته وترجعُ وحدها

    Nothing—she had set out in his

    company, and returns alone.

  36. خرجت به جذلانَ يض

    حك مثلما ضحك الصباح

    She took him out, and he laughed in joy,

    just as the morning laughed.

  37. فكأنما خرجت به

    ليُلاقيَ القَدَر المُتاح

    As though she had taken him out

    to meet the fate set before him.

  38. سارت به صبحاً وعا

    دت بالمواجع والدموع

    She went out with him in the morning, and came

    back with anguish and tears.

  39. يغدو الحزينُ على الأسى

    وأشقُّ شَطرَيه الرجوع

    The grieving one sets out in sorrow,

    and the harder of his journey's two halves is the return.