You who fall in love, the eyes are to blame If I can now, I will cry with tears So many people love unwisely Listen to this extraordinary tale of love I wrote it and am telling it, it's all about love Stay with me and you'll know the meaning of love If your are in love, the eyes are to blame I get the papers regularly and I read them News, stuff, thoughts, and all the rest What I write is art unlike the art of others Life is all appearances, greed and love, too A good man who's poor is despised and scorned And those who rise high, their souls may be empty Money can help, though, it alleviates suffering I heard a strange tale, people were writing about it It happened in Syria and our papers said a lot about it He who appreciates art should pay attention It's a tale about a man of good origin His name is Haj Mahmoud and he had an easy life He is a chief of a tribe and his family is well-off And he has a good name and is charitable also He is a brave man and respected in general He has a home in Aleppo and is used to helping others He has a daughter who is famed for her beauty Her name is Warda (Rose) and she is incomparable Educated, too, more than all other girls So many lovers would die to have her Her beauty is astounding, utterly incredible If she would ride a horse, the camel would cry Her words are music, a balm for aching hearts Men who saw her became enamoured Her hobby is to hunt gazelles, just like a man She knows how to wield weapons, too One day she comes home at sunset and she sees something She sees a beautiful man sitting near her palace crying So her heart feels for him, gets soft, melts A lost soul abandoned to his fate She says, maybe he came to complain of a grievance Tears are running down his cheeks, he looks forsaken She goes to him and says, who hurt you? He says: Your father did, without mercy These days, no one plays fair She says: Tell me all about it, hide nothing Why are you so sad and crying away If my father hurt you, I will set things right He says: My name is Badr and I am your cousin My father died and things got bad I went to your father, hoping he would help He kicked me out, taking no pity on me The girl's heart goes soft and she feels sorry She says: My father, o brother, why has he acted so Let's listen to some music on the radio She says: Mother, do you know who's that? This is Badr, my cousin, my own flesh and blood If my father is in trouble, he can depend on Badr And if he is killed, Badr would take his revenge The mother, disapproving, says: How awful Relatives can be estranged when evil sets in Like the sails of boats, they are blown with the wind Your father, Mahmoud, is not soft-hearted He doesn't like Badr and wouldn't want him around And if you're not careful, he will turn against you, too People will wag their tongues if this happens She (the mother) says: Badr, you leave now Your uncle doesn't want you, and I cannot help Suddenly, his uncle comes and looks at the boy He (the father) says: Why did you come? How many times should I tell you to stay away He (Badr) says: My uncle, time will bring you to me In the middle of the night, you'll ask for my help He goes away saddened, tears in his eyes He says: Life is not to be trusted, its joy not lasting My uncle has hurt me and made me cry But his cousin feels for him Her heart now swept in a sea of love She says: Mother, I miss Badr Cannot forget his words, he made me cry He is sorry for me, and I for him If my heart is made of stone, it would have melted And you, mother, said harsh things to him From our house, you chased him, so unfair you acted Tell my father to invite my cousin and be good to him Since he left, I hasn't had much sleep For my heart is burning with love for him Suddenly, her father comes with a man Haj Mahrous, a rich man, is talking marriage He is a tribal chief and has a strong clan And he wants her to marry his son, Hamad The girl says: Mother, father is spoiling it all I cannot possibly marry a man I don't love I don't wish to live in pain, not if I can help it I cannot let the one with the broken heart suffer I have to share his sorrow day and night Badr, I am going to apologise to him for what happened A poor man may one day rise in status The son of Mahrous, I cannot take for husband This is not a life that I am willing to endure The father comes to ask her mother about her He sees Warda drowning in tears He asks the mother: What's wrong with her? She said: It's about Badr, whom we have mistreated The father, incensed, takes a solemn oath I will do what I want and she'll obey me She'll see the man who comes with a marriage offer What I say will be, whether she consents or not I don't brook opposition, she will meet the man We will slay an animal, as custom is She goes to see the visitor, brings him coffee She pours the coffee for him and begins to speak She says: My cousin is engaged to me, have mercy You cannot force me to marry against my heart The marriage will fail and end in scandal This she says to the man who came asking for her hand Do a good deed and reunite the lovers He who does so will be rewarded with paradise Look at my eyes and see the tears flowing I have told you everything, spilled out my heart Don't extinguish my flame, I have cried enough already He who does a good deed goes to paradise He who separates lovers goes to hell Haj Mahrous falls silent at the sight of her tears He says: You talked like a princess, so honourable You desire your cousin, and I understand I promise you I will come back this month And reunite you with your cousin this month And will be true to my word, my lovely girl If I have to pay your dowry I will Before he leaves, he says to her father: What's the matter with you? You and I have lost sight of things We are good men and worthy of good things We are proud and we have our dignity Your two children know what they want And today's children are not to be opposed If we force them to act against their will They will disobey and bring us dishonour He goes away, aching in his heart This is a man who came on behalf of a suitor And many others came for the same purpose A third suitor of this same girl was determined His name was Raslan, a ruffian and a criminal A thief and a murderer and a despicable creature He says to Warda's father: She's the only one for me I will do some damage if I don't have her I don't fear anyone, big or powerful If you, my prince, give me your consent, that'll be fine And if you don't, I will have to shoot you I swear to God, you cannot run away If you hide, the fire of love will make me find you I will shoot you dead and be satisfied And once you're dead, I will take her to be mine Haj Mahmoud says: Raslan, this is not a way to talk You, Raslan, and your brother Majdan, are bad news I am the chief around here and you don't scare me Everyone knows I am a man of honour As long as I live, I will defend my honour My daughter is out of bounds for you I would kill her rather than let you touch her http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/34490.aspx
