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Forsake not a lover unused aversion from thee, Nor punish the guiltless with rigour and cruelty.
Another, when absence was long, had forgotten thee And changed from his faith and his case; not so with me.
Then he kissed the gardener’s hand, saying, ‘O my father, even as thou hast brought me glad tidings, so I also have great good news for thee,’ and told him of his discovery in the garden; whereat the gardener rejoiced and said, ‘O my son, fourscore years have I dwelt in this garden and have never chanced on aught; whilst thou, who hast not sojourned with me a year, hast discovered this thing; wherefore it is God’s gift to thee, for the cesser of thine ill fortune, and will aid thee to rejoin thy folk and foregather with her thou lovest.’ ‘Not so,’ answered Kemerezzeman, ‘it must be shared between us.’ Then he carried him to the underground chamber and showed him the gold, which was in twenty jars. So he took ten and the gardener ten, and the latter said to him, ‘O my son, fill thyself jars with the olives that grow in the garden, for they are not found but in our land and are sought after; the merchants carry them to all parts and they are called Asafiri[1] olives. Lay the gold in the jars and cover it with olives: then stop them and cover them and take them with thee in the ship.’ So Kemerezzeman took fifty jars and laying in each somewhat of the gold, filled it up with olives. At the bottom of one of the jars he laid the talisman, then stopped and covered the jars and sat down to talk with the gardener, making sure of speedy reunion with his own people and saying in himself, ‘When I come to the Ebony Islands, I will journey thence to my father’s country and enquire for my beloved Budour. I wonder whether she turned back to her own land or journeyed
- ↑ Said to be so called, because they attract sparrows (asafir), but it seems to me more probable that the name denotes the colour of the fruit and is derived from usfur, safflower.
