"Bargains" [55-word story] | 27
The Sultan of Bokhara called for the poet. This seemed ominous.
"What's this nonsense of yours I've been hearing?" thundered the Sultan. His minister read out the offending couplet.
"What's this nonsense of yours I've been hearing?" thundered the Sultan. His minister read out the offending couplet.
If that Shirazi maid should grant me her hand"Bargains like these explain my penury," remarked Hafez.
I'd barter all the gold of Bokhara & Samarkand
posted by david raphael israel at 8:10 PM
1 Comments:
footnote:
I've possibly taken some small liberties with this story. The story is found (somewhere, possibly in a footnote) in that great motherlode of Hafez lore, the complete literal translation of the Divan-i-Hafiz [Hafez's collected poems, in the instance ghazals] done by the formidable Col. H. Wilberforce Clarke (in the late 19th century, originally published in India, where the Colonel-scholar was based).
About poss. liberties: well I don't really recall if the potentate in question was a Sultan, or what; and the bit about the minister . . . but Hafez's bon-mot is reported -- along with news that the ruler, highly amused, rewarded Hafez liberally (rather than, say, chopping off his head).
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