سندبادنامه 259.1

259.1

"O heart, do not sit idle, for the work has begun; / love has fallen [upon you] without choice."
The prince said to himself: "I aimed for an onager and found a houri, until [I see] what lesson the teacher of love
will dictate in the school of the days, and what bitter and sweet the cupbearer of time
will place in my hand, bewildered as to what pure wine and dregs must be drunk from time's goblet,
and thoughtful as to what satin and striped cloth of grief for the beloved must be worn, what amulet must be written in love's bazaar,
and what fenugreek must be sown in the meadow of longing;
the dough of this speech is unrisen unleavened bread, and the tresses of this bride are disheveled and unadorned."
With an expectant eye and a thoughtful heart, he gave the reins to his horse and set out on the road,
the sweetheart leading the caravan, and the lover's heart driving the mount, heedless of the saying:
"Many an hour's lust has bequeathed a long sorrow." In the middle of the way, he arrived at a ruin.