In the midst was a spacious courtyard,
with four estrades, one on each side, and a bench of stone.
Midmost the courtyard was a great basin of water, from which
sprang a fountain, and at the corners stood four lions of red
gold, spouting forth water as it were pearls and jewels; and the
place was full of birds, which were hindered from flying away by
a network of gold stretched overhead. The King looked right and
left, but there was no one to be seen; whereat he marvelled and
was vexed to find none of whom he might enquire concerning the
lake and the fish and the palace itself. So he returned to the
vestibule and sitting down between the doors, fell to musing upon
what he had seen, when lo, he heard a moaning that came from a
sorrowful heart, and a voice chanted the following verses:
I hid what I endured from thee: it came to light, And sleep was
changed to wake thenceforward to my sight.
O Fate, thou sparest not nor dost desist from me; Lo, for my
heart is racked with dolour and affright!
Have pity, lady mine, upon the great laid low, Upon the rich made
poor by love and its despite!
Once, jealous of the breeze that blew on thee, I was, Alas! on
whom Fate falls, his eyes are veiled with night.
What boots the archer's skill, if, when the foe draws near, His
bow-string snap and leave him helpless in the fight?
So when afflictions press upon the noble mind, Where shall a man
from Fate and Destiny take flight?
When the King heard this, he rose and followed the sound and
found that it came from behind a curtain let down before the
doorway of a sitting-chamber.
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