LISTEN! I hear a cry, a cry!
The bells are ringing lustily;
And the hens are cackling all in riot.
No! no! no! the bells are quiet;
The hens at rest with one another:
’Tis the sister calls the brother:
“Brother! I am a Moslem slave:
Tear me from my Turkish grave.
Small the price which sets me free:
Of pearls two measures—of gold but three.”
In vain she calls her brother.—‘O no!
My treasures to my apparel go:
The gold my horse’s bridle must deck:
My pearls must grace my maiden’s neck;
Must buy a kiss—must buy a kiss.’
The maid her brother answer’d with this:
“I am no slave! I am no less
Than the sultan’s chosen sultaness.”