The Thief and the Man of Sistan

Iraqi style
English

The Thief and the Man of Sistan

I heard a thief came in from the open plain and passed through the gates of Sistan. A grocer cheated him out of a tiny coin, and the black-hearted thief cried out: God, do not burn the night prowler in fire, when the men of Sistan rob in broad daylight.
Explanation: The satire turns on the irony that a common thief protests the greater, open thievery of respectable townsfolk. A 'dang' was a small unit of currency.

Original · Persian

بخش ۱۸ - حکایت دزد و سیستانی

شنیدم که دزدی درآمد ز دشت به دروازهٔ سیستان برگذشت
بدزدید بقال از او نیم دانگ برآورد دزد سیه‌کار بانگ:
خدایا تو شب‌رو به آتش مسوز که ره می‌زند سیستانی به‌روز