Original content

English translation

She said to the nurse, 'I have set my heart upon this; I have fallen before the wound of the evil eye. Since you became my companion, my task succeeded; A buyer has come forward for my goods. Since the lover's affair has fallen into distress, Ransom a prince's life with your own soul. Go to Hormoz, and throw out a hint/token, Perhaps this door may open by your hand. By that wind which you and the devil know, Blow upon him and ensnare him with deceit. Whisper to him, make his heart sore, Chant incantations, set words to work. Perhaps you may bring that bird into the snare, And bring a message from him to the Rose (Gol). Go and strike that silver-bodied one against a stone, Perhaps you will mix sugar with the rose. Set his mind boiling with desire for me; Grease his lamp with sweet-talking oil. Shake that end of the chain with him, Take Hormoz into the clay/rose with the rose. Go, for once, and look upon the face of Hormoz, To see if you have ever beheld such a face. See if his ruby-casket is scattering pearls, If his ambergris-scented lasso is heart-stealing. See if he has a place for friendship, If he has sweet, life-increasing lips. See if his almond-eyes pierce the liver, If his musky down is a heart-burning musk. His face testifies to his sovereignty, For his face bears a royal down. It is no wonder if a time should come, When a kingly man is born from the moon. The turning sphere brings forth many such; Carnelian is born from stone, musk from blood. Do you not see the Water of Life captive, Emerging from the depths of darkness? Since Hormoz possesses the royal glory (farr), He is king enough for you; what else do you desire? Now rise and take the path to the garden; I am not a tulip; take the scar from the rose. You must find this out; You surely would not leave me deprived in the end. You yourself said: 'I will find your remedy, I will show compassion to your grieving heart.' Now do not leave this task of mine lightly; Do not leave me without soul and without beloved. Rescue me, render assistance, Comfort me with a message from him. I have spoken much harshness to you, O nurse, For where does such patience come to the unwise? No one holds anything in hand from one like me; For the sake of the nurse, twist my tress on your hand.'

Like the early morning, she rose and traveled swiftly, While time had placed a reed-pipe in its mouth. The stars went fleeing from the heavens, The dawn fled into the lap of blood. The face of the sphere turned rust-colored, The banner of the radiant moon was overturned. The bride of the sun, from beneath the Chinese silk, Emerged like a golden peacock. She became manifest upon this turquoise palace; The indigo sky turned to the color of gold. The nurse of the Rose descended from her chamber, And went into the courtyard of the garden in the shadow of the Rose. She placed her two eyes on the edge of the path; In the middle of the way, she set a snare for the moon. She opened her box of tricks; She began incantations of every kind. At times she took gold and measured dust; At times she filled the casket and showed it clean. Like a juggler, she played a stringed instrument; She smeared her mouth with leek. Like a bird, she began to whistle and sing, So that she might make that bird take flight. A moment passed, and Hormoz appeared on the path, Coming in like the moon emerging from a cloud. When he saw the face of the nurse in the shadow of the rose, He went respectfully before the nurse of the Rose. He bowed to her like green grass, From his ruby lips he found sugar-candy. When the nurse saw the face of Hormoz, she leaped up, Hand in hand, she led him toward the Rose (Gol). She seated him before her and began her incantations, Unleashing magic with her cunning. She said to him: 'O precious one, like my own child, Why do you so rarely visit your mother? You flee from us like a gazelle from a cheetah; Do not be so wild, learn the ways of a lion. How can you endure staying all alone, Wandering solitarily in the meadows? Do not spend your life in solitude, For solitude is depressing for a youth. You are young, seek youthfulness; Eat sugar, give kisses, drink wine, make merry! Drink to the brim for a moment with a companion, For there is no hope for tomorrow until night. Your breath will be severed unwillingly in the end; Reflect, and continuously drain the cup for a moment. When you become drunk upon the face of a beauty, Roll for a moment in the meadow. Why should you withdraw your hand from pleasure, When you have a sweet voice and a handsome face? It brings me grief that a cypress like you Should not have a pheasant strutting around it. With such beauty as you possess in your face, Why have you remained deprived of the beautiful ones? Who has ever seen such down bubbling with sweetness, Without having his ear ringed in its service? Who has ever seen such jewel-scattering rubies (lips), Without pouring sugar upon another ruby? Who has ever seen such proud tresses, That you would cast back behind you in neglect? Who has ever seen such a straight cypress, From which the cypress tree trembles like a poplar? Who has ever seen such charm-weaving eyes, That unleash the hand of amorous glances for bloodshed? Who has ever seen such a heart-enlightening mole, Where your fortune did not prove victorious at its sight? Who has ever seen such a sun-like face, Which you keep hidden in the shadow of a willow? Alas, that one like you should remain alone, Left solitary in this wilderness! Though in beauty you are the master of the world, Since you are deserving, you are deprived of it. Now I will not leave you alone like this; I will bring you a heavenly-faced houri. Her body is like silver and her stature like a pine, Each part of her more beautiful than the other. Her two tresses are broken upon one another with curls, Thousands of rings interwoven with each other. Her two rubies (lips) are redder than pomegranate seeds, Containing thirty royal pearls in a single seed. A musky mole has fallen upon her cheek, Becoming the perfection of the boundary of beauty. Her two trouble-rousing eyes remain heavy with sleep, Darkness dwelling in the midst of light. Her mouth is open like a smiling pistachio, With teeth pressing sugar upon her ruby lips. Now that you have found me so cheaply, Never make me light in your heart. Now, if you desire such a companion, Look to no one else but me from now on. If you have a secret, keep your mouth sealed; Do not open it to anyone, and keep a silent tongue. If you become colorful like a pistachio, You will quickly become easily troubled like a pistachio. The heart of a pistachio can be seen from its mouth; That is why they cut its tongue from the root. Do not show your tongue from your mouth like a pistachio; Keep your tongue in your palate like an almond. Since a deed can be done in secret, Such that no one can find a trace of it, It is far better that you perform that deed behind the veil, And emerge free from the burden. There is nothing worse than bad repute, For in the world there is nothing worse than bad repute. Know now that Golrokh, the king's daughter, Before whose face the moon bows down in worship— From the water of the hands of master painters, No such fairy-born image could ever arise. In every city there is a sign of her image; In beauty, the depiction of her face is a legend. From the beauty of the Rose, the designers in the garden Have bitten their lips with their teeth. Her two tresses are pitch-black like tar; The whiteness of her earlobe is like milk. When they open the dry musk-bag in China, The musk writes a letter of praise to her tresses. Her eyelashes are like water-tempered daggers, Keeping thousands of thirsty ones awake. When her eye sets to work stealing hearts, In its intoxication, it binds the hands of a hundred sober ones. When that cypress-stature rises gracefully, It rouses a hundred resurrections from its height. When she opens the sparkling wine of her sweet mouth, Her lips write the name of sugar upon ice. She has a face like a rose and lips like sugar; She possesses an incomparable treasure of beauty. You yourself know the Rose better than I, after all; You read all her descriptions better than I, after all. Perhaps her gaze has fallen upon you; What else should I say? You know the rest. Since you can blossom like the Rose from this work, You cannot hide the sun with a rose. Who in the world will be a companion like the Rose? What fortune, what luck, and what a glorious deed! When the Rose saw your face from the roof suddenly, Your good fortune entered from the way. What can I say? For I have seen many a person, And no one plays games with fortune. It was through fortune that you have now won the ball, And caught the scent of those musky tresses. Now I wish that for one night, the two of you together Should receive the justice of the two worlds from your lips. Keep your lips worn from kissing, Hold the kernel of your brain in the pistachio of sugar. For a time twist each other's hair in hand, For a time also lay hands on each other. This is the world, if you have any ability, To find a seat before a companion. A companion in the world is better than the entire world; A single moment with her is better than the whole span of human life.'