| |
| “I THOUGHT before your tale began,” | |
| The Student murmured, “we should have | |
| Some legend written by Judah Rav | |
| In his Gemara of Babylon; | |
| Or something from the Gulistan,— | 5 |
| The tale of the Cazy of Hamadan, | |
| Or of that King of Khorasan | |
| Who saw in dreams the eyes of one | |
| That had a hundred years been dead | |
| Still moving restless in his head, | 10 |
| Undimmed, and gleaming with the lust | |
| Of power, though all the rest was dust. | |
| |
| “But lo! your glittering caravan | |
| On the road that leadeth to Ispahan | |
| Hath led us farther to the East | 15 |
| Into the regions of Cathay. | |
| Spite of your Kalif and his gold, | |
| Pleasant has been the tale you told, | |
| And full of color; that at least | |
| No one will question or gainsay. | 20 |
| And yet on such a dismal day | |
| We need a merrier tale to clear | |
| The dark and heavy atmosphere. | |
| So listen, Lordlings, while I tell, | |
| Without a preface, what befell | 25 |
| A simple cobbler, in the year— | |
| No matter; it was long ago; | |
| And that is all we need to know.” | |
| |
