There lived once in the city of Cufa a man called Er Rebya ben
Hatim, who was one of the chief men of the town, rich in goods
and prosperous, and God had vouchsafed him a son, whom he named
Nimet Allah.[FN#73] One day, being in the slave-dealers' mart, he
saw a female slave exposed for sale, with a little girl of
wonderful beauty and grace in her hand. So he beckoned to the
broker and said to him, "What is the price of this woman and her
child?" "Fifty dinars," answered he. "Write the contract of
sale," said Er Rebya, "and take the money and give it to her
owner." Then he gave the broker the price and his brokerage and
taking the woman and her child, carried them to his house. When
his wife saw the slave, she said to her husband (who was the son
of her father's brother), "O my cousin, what is this damsel?"
Quoth he, "I bought her for the sake of the little one on her
arm, for know that, when she grows up, there will not be her like
for beauty, either in the land of the Arabs or elsewhere." "It
was well seen of thee," answered his wife. Then said she to the
woman, "What is thy name?" "O my lady," replied she, "my name is
Taufic." "And what is thy daughter's name?" asked she.
"Saad,"[FN#74] answered the slave. "Thou sayst sooth," rejoined
her mistress. "Thou art indeed happy, and happy is he who hath
bought thee." Then said she to her husband, "O my cousin, what
wilt thou call her?" "What thou choosest," answered he. "Then
let us call her Num,"[FN#75] quoth she, and he said, "Good." The
little Num was reared with Er Rebya's son Nimeh in one cradle and
each grew up handsomer than the other. They were wont to call
each other brother and sister, till they came to the age of ten,
when Er Rebya said to Nimeh, "O my son, Num is not thy sister,
but thy slave. I bought her in thy name, whilst thou wast yet in
the cradle; so call her no more 'sister' from this day forth."
"If that be so," quoth Nimeh, "I will take her to wife." Then he
went to his mother and told her of this, and she said to him, "O
my son, she is thy handmaid." So he went in to Num and loved her
and two years passed over them, whilst Num grew up, nor was there
in all Cufa a fairer or sweeter or more graceful girl than she.
She learnt the Koran and all manner of knowledge and excelled in
music and singing and playing upon all kinds of instruments, so
that she surpassed all the folk of her time. One day, as she sat
with her husband in the wine-chamber, she took the lute and
tuning it, sang the following verses:
Since thou'rt my lord, by whose good grace I live in fair estate,
A sword wherewith I smite in twain the neck of adverse fate,
No need is mine to have recourse to Amr[FN#76] or to Zeid,[FN#77]
Nor any but thyself, an if the ways on me grow strait.
Nimeh was charmed with these verses and said to her, "I conjure
thee, by my life, O Num, sing to us with the tambourine and other
instruments!" So she sang the following verses to a lively air:
By him whose hand possesses the reins of my affair, On passion's
score, I swear it, my enviers I'll dare.
Yea, I will vex my censors and thee alone obey And sleep and ease
and solace, for thy sweet sake, forswear
And dig midmost my entrails, to hold the love of thee, A grave,
of which not even my heart shall be aware.