"Well done, O damsel!" said the Khalif. "Whose is this song?"
"The words are by Amr ben Madi Kerib er Zubeidi,"[FN#167]
answered she, "and the air is Mabid's."[FN#168] Then the Khalif
and Ali and Abou Isa drank and the damsels went away and were
succeeded by other ten, clad in flowered silk of Yemen,
brocaded with gold, who sat down on the chairs and sang various
songs. The Khalif looked at one of them, who was like a wild
cow of the desert, and said to her, "What is thy name, O
damsel?" "My name is Zebiyeh, O Commander of the Faithful,"
answered she. "Sing to us, O Zebiyeh," said he; so she warbled
some roulades and sang the following verses:
Houris, noble ladies, that reck not of disquiet, Like antelopes
of Mecca, forbidden to be slain;
Of their soft speech, they're taken for courtezans; but Islam
Still makes them from unseemliness and lewdness to
refrain.
When she had finished, "Bravo!" cried the Khalif. "Whose is
this song?" "The words are by Jerir,"[FN#169] answered she,
"and the air by Suraij." Then the Khalif and his company drank,
whilst the girls went away and there came yet another ten, as
they were rubies, bareheaded and clad in red brocade, gold
inwoven and broidered with pearls and jewels, who sat down on
the stools and sang various airs.
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