third, O ʾAmr! And but for my abhorrence of killing such as thee, surely I had slain thee.'
"Then I said, 'Slay me. I would rather die than that this should be reported amongst the Arab horsemen.' To which he replied, 'O ʾAmr! Pardon can only be granted three times. If I had thee in my power a fourth time, I should certainly kill thee.' And he recited, and said,
I affirm by the most solemn of faiths,
That hadst thou, O ʾAmr! returned to the combat,
Verily thou hadst felt the fire of the lance,
Or I am not of the sons of Shîbân.[1]
"Then I feared him with exceeding fear; and I said to him, 'Truly there is one thing I crave of thee.' He asked, 'And what is that?' I replied, 'That I may become thy friend.' He said, 'My friends are not such as thee.' And that answer was even harder upon me, and more terrible to bear, than his victory over me. And I did not cease entreating for his friendship until at length he said, 'Unhappy man! knowest thou whither I purpose?' I replied, 'No,
- ↑ Fehr, surnamed Kuraish, (see Note *, p. 79,) had three sons, from one of whom, Muhârib, sprang the Benu-Muhârib, also called Benu-Shîbân.
