An old man recounts that he had married a young woman, adorned his room with flowers, and sat with her in solitude, gazing at her and becoming enamored. He would stay awake through long nights, exchanging jokes and witty remarks in the hope that she would feel at ease and lose her uneasiness.
Among the things I said was, "You are fortunate, and your lucky star is awake that you’ve ended up in the company of an experienced, mature elder—well-cultivated, worldly-wise, serene, who has seen both the heat and the cold, and has tried both the good and the bad. He knows the rights of companionship and observes the duties of friendship. Compassionate and kind, he is pleasant and eloquent.
I shall try to win your heart, And even if you hurt me, I will not hurt you. Even if, like a parrot, your food is sugar, My sweet life is a small price for nurturing you.
You are not trapped in the hands of a young man—vain, reckless, quick-tempered, light on his feet, who is constantly chasing whims, changes his mind every moment, sleeps in a different place each night, and takes a new lover each day.
Do not expect loyalty from nightingales,
For they sing on a different flower every moment.
Unlike elders, who live with reason and decorum, not driven by the ignorance of youth.
Seek someone better than yourself, and seize the opportunity,
For with someone like yourself, you will only waste your days."
He said, "I said all these things until I thought I had captured her heart and she had fallen for me. Suddenly, she sighed deeply with sorrow and said, 'All these words you’ve spoken do not weigh as much on the scale of my reason as something I once heard from my midwife, who said: A young woman would prefer an arrow lodged in her side to an old man.'
When she saw the manhood of her husband,
That resembled the dried lip of a fasting man,
She said, 'This one is already dead,
And only the living can be healed with spells.'
A woman who rises unwillingly from beside her husband,
Will bring nothing but turmoil and strife into that home.
An old man who cannot rise from his place,
Withiout a stick, how can his stick rise?"
In short, there was no possibility of agreement, and it ended in separation. After the waiting period was over, she was married to a young man—fierce, irritable, poor, and ill-natured. She endured oppression and cruelty, yet she still thanked God, saying, 'Praise be to Allah, who saved me from that painful torment and brought me to this permanent blessing.'
"With all this cruelty and roughness,
I bear your burden because you are beautiful.
Suffering in hell with you
Is better than entering heaven with another.
The smell of onions from a beautiful mouth
Is sweeter than the scent of roses from an ugly hand."
