Story No. 16

Iraqi style
English

Story No. 16

An Arab in the desert, dying of thirst, was saying: If only, before my death, I could reach my wish for a single day: a river lapping against my knees, while I stay there and fill my waterskin.
Explanation: The second couplet is in Arabic; it expresses the thirsty traveler's longing for water before he dies.

Original · Persian

حکایت شمارهٔ ۱۶

یکی از عرب در بیابانی از غایتِ تشنگی می‌گفت:
یا لَیْتَ قَبْلَ مَنِیَّتي یَوْماً أَفُوزُ بِمُنْیَتي نَهْراً تُلاطِمُ رُکْبَتي وَ أَظَلُّ أَمْلَأُ قِرْبَتي