(Quoth El Utbi[FN#149]), I was sitting one day with a company
of men of culture, telling stories of the folk, when the talk
turned upon anecdotes of lovers and each of us said his say
thereon. Now there was in our company an old man, who remained
silent, till we had all spoken and had no more to say, when he
said, "Shall I tell you a thing, the like of which you never
heard?" "Yes," answered we; and he said, "Know, then, that I
had a daughter, who loved a youth, but we knew it not. The
youth in question loved a singing-girl, who, in her turn,
was enamoured of my daughter. One day, I was present at an
assembly, where were also the young man and the girl; when the
latter sang the following verses:
Tears are the token by which, for love, Abjection in lovers
still is shown,
And more by token in one who finds No friend, to whom he may
make his moan.
'By Allah, thou hast said well, O my lady!' exclaimed the
youth. 'Doss thou bid me die?' 'Yes,' answered the girl from
behind the curtain, 'if thou be in love.' So he laid his head
on a cushion and closed his eyes; and when the cup came round
to him, we shook him and found that he was dead. Therewith we
all flocked to him, and our joy was troubled and we grieved and
broke up forthright. When I came home, my people taxed me with
returning before the appointed time, and I told them what had
befallen the youth, thinking to surprise them. My daughter
heard my words and rising, went into another chamber, whither I
followed her and found her lying, with her head on a cushion,
as I had told of the young man. I shook her and behold, she
was dead. So we laid her out and set forth next morning with
her funeral, whilst the friends of the young man carried him
out, likewise, to bury him. As we were on the way to the
burial-place, we met a third funeral and enquiring whose it
was, were told that it was that of the singing-girl, who,
hearing of my daughter's death, had done even as she and was
dead. So we buried them all three on one day, and this is the
rarest story that ever was heard of lovers."