The Man in the Panther's Skin, 1912

276. The knight replied: "I know not what thou askest of me; tell me clearly. How can I create a man for my service without God? God needs me to be unhappy; what can I do? Of a truth I am become as a wild beast, to this pass have I brought myself."

277. The maid again spoke: "I have harassed thee with overmuch advice, but if I could find a man who would come to thee of his own freewill, who would stay near thee, who would rejoice thee by his acquaintance, wilt thou swear not to kill him nor do him any hurt?"

278. He answered: "If thou wilt show him to me, greatly shall I rejoice at sight of him. (I swear) by the love of her for whose sake I wander mad in the fields, I shall do nought unpleasing, I shall never cause any bitterness to him; I shall be pleasant and love him, and do all I can to be amiable."

279. The maid rose and went to bring that knight. "He is not angry," quoth she, to encourage him. She took him by the hand and led him forth,like the full moon. When Tariel saw him he thought him like the sun.

280. Tariel met him. They were both fit to be ranked as suns, or as the moon in heaven, cloudless, spreading her rays on the plain beneath. Compared with them the aloe-tree was of no worth; they were like the seven planets; to what else shall I liken them?

281. They kissed each other, they were not bashful at being strangers; they opened the rose, from their lips their white teeth shone transparent. They embraced each other's neck, together they wept; their jacinth, which was worth rubies, they turned into amber.

282. The knight turned, he grasped Avt’handil's hand in his hand; they satdown together, and wept long with hot tears. Asmat’h calmed them with wonderful words: "Slay not yourselves; darken not the sun with your eclipse."

283. Tariel's rose was only covered with a light frost, not frozen. He said to (Avt’handil): "Haste, tell me thy secret. Who art thou? Whence art thou come? Where is thy home? As for me, death has forgotten me; even by it am I abandoned."

284. Avt’handil gave answer; beautiful are his words: "O lion and hero Tariel, thou who behavest gently, I am an Arabian, from the court of Arabia; I am consumed by love, unquenchable fire burns me.

285. "I love the daughter of my lord; her lusty-armed servants now view her as their king. Though thou knowest me not, I have seen thee, if thou wilt call it to mind. Dost thou remember when thou slewest the strong-armed slaves?

286. "We saw thee roaming in the plain, and we came upon thee. My lord was angry with thee, and we quarrelled fiercely with thee. We called thee, thou earnest not, we pursued thee with soldiers; thou didst dye the fields crimson with the blood thou madest to flow.

287. "Thou didst cut the heads of all with a whip, without a sword. The king mounted, thou wert lost to us, we could . not cut off thy track; like a Kadj thou wert hidden, the slaves were terrified. This enraged us still more; we were completely stunned.

288. "The king became gloomy; you know that a monarch also has humours. They looked for thee, they sought thee everywhere, they wrote a letter of command. They could find none who had seen thee,neither young nor old. Now she has sent me, she to whom neither sun nor ether is to be compared.

289. "She said to me: 'Learn for me news of that vanished sun; then will I do that which thou desirest.' She told me that for three years the stream of tears was to flow without her; dost thou not marvel that I could bear the lack of the sight of her smile?

290. "Until now I have seen no man who saw thee. I saw robbers who spoke rudely with you; thou didst strike them with thy whip; one thou madest like a corpse; they whose brother was dying told me."

291. Tariel recalled their bygone fight. He said: "I remember the affair,though it happened long ago. I saw thee and thy master together at the chase. I was weeping because I was thinking, alas! of my destroyer.

292. "What did you want with me? What did you desire? What had we in common? You, mighty, were sporting; we bathed our cheeks in tears. When you set the slaves upon me you dared to take me; now, methinks, instead of capturing me you bare away corpses

293. "I looked round when I saw thy lord approach me, I had pity on his kingship; therefore I laid not my hands upon him, I fled before your eyes, I said nothing. My horse looks invisible: in what other way shall I describe him?

294. "Before a man can blink or wink the eye, I can flee that which I know to be unpleasant. Those Turks, on the other hand, I did not consider myself unjust to them; their overbearance and my prowess ill became them.

295. "Now thou art come with good intent, the sight of thy face rejoices me, O cypress-formed, sunlike-faced, brave as a hero; but thou hast toiled, thou art not untried by trouble; hard is it to find a man (like me) abandoned by God in heaven."