“Allah, Allah!” cried the enraptured Fawwâz.
“On the desert levels she darts like a bird of prey,
Her race puts to shame a mare of the purest breed;
As a hawk in the dusk that hovers and swoops to slay,
She swoops and turns with wondrous strength and speed.”
“Wallah, the truth!” Ḥussein’s enthusiasm was uncontrollable.
“Eh wallah!” echoed Fawwâz and Sfâga.
“He who mounts and rides her sits on the throne of a king....”
“A king in very truth!” cried Fawwâz.
“If the goal be far, to her the remote is near....”
“Near indeed!” burst from the audience.
“More stealthy than stallions, more swift than the jinn a-wing,
She turns the gazelle that hides from her blast in fear.”