Page:Man in the Panther's Skin.djvu/32

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51. The maiden hearkened discreetly to this her father's advice; she lent ear, she heard, she wearied not of instruction. The king drank and sported; he was exceeding joyful. T'hinat'hin contemned the sun, but the sun aped T'hinat'hin.[1]

52. She sent for her faithful, trusty tutor, and said: "Bring hither all my treasure sealed by thee, all the wealth belonging to me as king's daughter." He brought it; she gave without measure, without count, untiringly.

53. That day she gave away all she had gathered since her childhood; she enriched both small folk and great. Then she said: "I do the deed my father taught me; let none keep back any of my hoarded treasure."

54. She said: "Go, open whatever treasure there is! Master of the Horse,[2] lead in the droves of asses, mules, and horses."[3] He brought them. She gave them away without measure; she wearied not of generosity. The soldiers gathered together stuff[4] like pirates.[5]

55. They pillaged her treasury as 'twere booty from Turks[6]; they carried off her fine, sleek Arab steeds. Her munificence was like a snowstorm whirling down from the sky; none remained empty, neither youth nor maiden.

56. One day passed; there was a banquet, food and drink—a feast of fruit. A great gathering of warriors sat there to make merry. The king hung his head, and his brow was furrowed with sadness. They began to discuss this one with another: "What weighs upon him, and why grieves he?"

57. At the head sat the sun-faced Avt'handil, desirable to them that look upon him, the agile[7] leader of the hosts; like a panther and a lion is he.[8] The old vizier Sograt[9] sat by his side. They said one to the other: "What ails the king, and why has he grown pale?"

  1. T'hinat'hineba, to reflect rays.
  2. Amilakhori (P.).
  3. Abuladze's reading, rema-djori da tzkhenia.
  4. Lari, silk goods (? stuff par excellence), goods, merchandise, treasure, 1042.
  5. Meccbre, 193, 195, 1012, 1016, 1019, 1031.
  6. Nat'hurkalsa.
  7. Chauki.
  8. Var. E. C., vepkh-lomi mkhtomia; khtoma, to leap.
  9. Socrates.