Story 

  Despite the abundant admonitions of the most illustrious Sheikh

Abulfaraj Ben Juzi to shun musical entertainments and to prefer

solitude and retirement, the budding of my youth overcame me, my

sensual desires were excited so that, unable to resist them, I

walked some steps contrary to the opinion of my tutor, enjoying myself

in musical amusements and convivial meetings. When the advice of my

sheikh occurred to my mind, I said:

  'If the qazi were sitting with us, he would clap his hands.

  If the muhtasib were bibbing wine, he would excuse a drunkard.'

  Thus I lived till I paid one night a visit to an assembly of

people in which I saw a musician.

  Thou wouldst have said he is tearing up the vital artery

    with his fiddle-bow.

  His voice was more unpleasant than the wailing of one who

    lost his father.

  The audience now stopped their ears with their fingers, and now

put them on their lips to silence him. We became ecstatic by the

sounds of pleasing songs but thou art such a singer that when thou art

silent we are pleased.

     No one feels pleased by thy performance

     Except at the time of departure when thou pleasest.

        When that harper began to sing

        I said to the host: 'For God's sake

        Put mercury in my ear that I may not hear

        Or open the door that I may go away.'

  In short, I tried to please my friends and succeeded after a

considerable struggle in spending the whole night there.

        The muezzin shouted the call to prayers out of time,

        Not knowing how much of the night had elapsed.

        Ask the length of the night from my eyelids

        For sleep did not enter my eyes one moment.

  In the morning I took my turban from my head, with one dinar from my

belt by way of gratification, and placed them before the musician whom

I embraced and thanked. My friends who saw that my appreciation of his

merits was unusual attributed it to the levity of my intellect and

laughed secretly. One of them, however, lengthened out his tongue of

objection and began to reproach me, saying that I had committed an act

repugnant to intelligent men by bestowing a portion of my professional

dress upon a musician who had all his life not a dirhem laid upon

the palm of his hand nor filings of silver or of gold placed on his

drum.

        A musician! Far be he from this happy abode.

        No one ever saw him twice in the same place.

        As soon as the shout rose from his mouth

        The hair on the bodies of the people stood on end.

        The fowls of the house, terrified by him, flew away

        Whilst he distracted our senses and tore his throat.

  I said: 'It will be proper to shorten the tongue of objection

because his talent has become evident to me.' He then asked me to

explain the quality of it in order to inform the company so that all

might apologize for the jokes they had cracked about me. I replied:

'Although my sheikh had often told me to abandon musical

entertainments and had given me abundant advice, I did not mind it.

This night my propitious horoscope and my august luck have guided me

to this place where I have, on hearing the performance of this

musician, repented and vowed never again to attend at singing and

convivial parties.'

      A pleasant voice, from a sweet palate, mouth and lips,

      Whether employed in singing or not, enchants the heart

      But the melodies of lovers of Isfahan or of the Hejaz

      From the windpipe of a bad singer are not nice.