Original content

English translation

There was a prince of sun-like glory, Who was the light of his father's eyes. The king desired to choose a bride for the prince, A bride who had been bestowed with supreme beauty. In beauty, she was a proverb in the whole world, The pinnacle of the beautiful ones drawn by the Eternal Painter. The king decorated a mansion for them, Not a mansion, but a paradise for that moon. A mansion filled from head to toe with houris, Shining with light upon light from so many suns and moons. With so many amber-scented candles facing one another, Every hair was made clearly visible that night. From the ocean of poetry and the sound of the lute at every moment, The clamor of the ocean and the river fell together. Indeed, from the abundance of its seven colored feasts, The seven layered heavens were put to shame. Such a bride, such a pleasant banquet, Such a gathering, all beautiful and attractive. A paradise full of houris sat waiting, To see when the prince would arrive at the feast. But out of sheer joy, that prince Was sitting with a company drinking wine. Since he drank so much wine in joy that night, His own self became forgotten to his heart. He sprang up, with head bowed low, The thought of that bride having fallen into his head. In that clamor, drunk as he was, he mounted his horse, And rode his steed out through the city gates. No path was visible ahead of him, Nor was there any companion riding by his stirrup. From afar, he saw a high monastery, With its surroundings illuminated by lamps. That drunk and separated lover imagined That it was the palace of his bride from afar. But it was a charnel house built by the Zoroastrians, Where a host of dead lay on every side. A few lamps were burning in that charnel house, Kindling the hearts of the fire-worshipers. A bed was placed before the charnel house, And upon that bed lay an unfortunate soul. It was a woman wrapped in a shroud; When the prince beheld the woman from afar, He imagined, from the intoxication of the wine, That this was the bride of the prince. In his drunkenness, he knew not his feet from his head, Nor did he know the path to the roof from the door. He lifted the shroud from the face of that newly deceased, And removed the veil from his object of desire. As he tuned his passion in secret, He thrust his tongue into the mouth of the corpse. He spent the night in her company until dawn, Happily keeping his lips on hers until the day broke. All night long, a hundred moon-faced beauties waited, Sitting to see when the prince would come through the door. When that noble prince went missing, They immediately informed his father of the matter. The father set out with a host of horsemen, He rode into the wilderness like one distraught. All the pillars of the state arrived, And from afar, they spotted the prince's horse. When the father saw the prince's horse, He turned thither and then dismounted. He saw his son on the bed with that corpse, Holding it tightly in his embrace to comfort it. When the king and his army saw him in that state, You would say he felt a fire in the depths of his soul. When the son came slightly to his senses, The king with his army stood before him. He opened his eyes from the sleep of drunkenness, And beheld that solitary spot and that vacant place. Holding a corpse tightly in his embrace, While the king and the army stood over him. He realized what had befallen him, And wished for his own death to come quickly. Since in truth, his story had turned out so wretchedly, A trembling fell upon his limbs from shame. The sole desire of his pure heart was For the earth to cleave open and swallow him up. But since the matter had already occurred, His shame and confusion were of no avail. I, too, have patience, O grieving man, Until the army comes to your bedside. At that hour, you will know and see With whom you have been keeping company! Like Abraham, be an idol-breaker in religion, Be a highwayman to the Azari idols. For when Abraham resolved upon that, The Lord of the world tested him. If they wish to put you to the test, They will turn you upside down in this world.