Thou liest when thou talkest of "benefits"; for lo, Thou comest with mischief and malice and woe! So, an thou be doughty, heed well what I say: I'm he who the braver in the battle lays low With a keen-cutting sword, like the horn of the moon; So look (and beware) for a hill-shaking blow!
Then they ran at one another, and the youth smote his adversary in the breast, that the lance-head issued from his back. With this, another came out, and the youth repeated the following verses:
O dog, that art noisome of stench and of sight, What is there of worth that to come by is light? 'Tis only the lion, of race and of might Right noble, recks little of life in the fight.
Nor was it long before he left him also drowned in his blood and cried out, 'Who will come out to me?' So a third horseman pricked out, reciting the following verses:
I come to thee, with a fire in my breast that blazes free, And call on my comrades all to the fight to follow me. Though thou hast slain the chiefs of the Arabs, yet, perdie, Thou shalt not 'scape this day from those that follow thee!
When the youth heard this, he answered him, saying:
Thou com'st, like theright evil fiend that thou art, With a lie on thy lips and a fraud at thy heart; This day shalt thou taste of a death-dealing dart And a spear that shall rid thee of life with its smart.
Then he smote him on the breast, that the spear-point issued from his back, and cried out, saying, 'Will another come out?' So a fourth came out and the youth asked him his name. He replied, 'My name is Hilal.'[FN#162] And the youth repeated these verses:
Thou err'st, that wouldst plunge in my sea of affray And thinkest to daunt me with lies and dismay. Lo, I, to whose chant thou hast hearkened this day, Thy soul, ere thou know'st it, will ravish away!
Then they drove at one another and exchanged blows; but the youth's stroke forewent that of his adversary and slew him: and thus he went on to kill all who sallied out against him. When I saw my comrades slain, I said in myself, 'If I fight with him, I shall not be able to withstand him, and if I flee, I shall become a byword among the Arabs.' However, the youth gave me no time to think, but ran at me and laying hold of me, dragged me from my saddle. I swooned away and he raised his sword to cut off my head; but I clung to his skirts and he lifted me in his hand, as I were a sparrow [in the clutches of a hawk]. When the maiden saw this, she rejoiced in her brother's prowess and coming up to him, kissed him between the eyes. Then he delivered me to her, saying, 'Take him and entreat him well, for he is come under our rule.' So she took hold of the collars of my coat-of-arms and led me away by them as one would lead a dog. Then she did off her brother's armour and clad him in a robe, after which she brought him a stool of ivory, on which he sat down, and said to him, 'May God whiten thine honour and make thee to be as a provision against the shifts of fortune!' And he answered her with the following verses: