[No. 1, 
64 C. J. Lyall— The Mo l alla^ah of Lebid, with the 
Lebid bad been left behind to guard their goods and to take out their camels 
every morning to graze ; and he came to them one night when they were 
talking of what er-Rabi‘ had done, and asked them what was the matter ; 
but they refused to tell him. Then he said “ By God ! I will not guard 
aught of your goods or take out a camel of yours to pasture, except ye tell 
me the whole matter.” (And it must here be told that the mother of Lebid 
was an orphan who had been brought up under the protection of er-Rabi‘). 
They said “ Thy mother’s brother has slandered us to the King and turned 
away his face from us.” Then said Lebid—“ Can ye arrange so that he 
and I shall be brought face to face ? I will withhold him from further 
mischief by a speech that shall bite and sting him 8 : en-No‘man shall never 
have any regard for him again.” “ Hast thou anything to say to him ?” 
they asked. “ Yes,” said Lebid. “ Come, we will try thee,” said they, 
“ Satirize this herb.” Now there was in front of them a plant with slender 
shoots and few leaves, growing close to the ground, of the kind called et- 
teribeh. 9 So Lebid began 10 :—“ This teribeh, which is neither fit for making 
a good fire, nor for nourishing a house, nor does it delight its neighbour—■ 
its sticks are mean, its leaves withered, its advantage little—the most evil 
of herbs for pasture, the poorest of them in leafage, the hardest of them 
to pull up—its country is far away, he that eats of it is a-hungered, he that 
lives thereon is a contented soul! Set me face to face with the brother of 
‘Abs—I will drive him away from you in disgrace—I will leave him over¬ 
whelmed with confusion.” They said “ We will wait till the morning 
before giving thee our decision.” And ‘Amir said to them—“ Watch this 
boy of yours” (meaning Lebid) : “ if ye see him sleeping, he is not fit to 
undertake the contest with er-Rabi‘ : he speaks only what comes to his 
tongue; but if ye find that he watches the whole night, then he is the man 
to do the deed.” And they watched him, and found him mounted on one of 
the camel-saddles, with his teeth clenched on the pummel of it ; and so he 
remained till dawn. And they said “ Thou art the man for the enterprize !” 
Then they took him and shaved his head, leaving only his top-knot, 11 and 
clad him in a hulleh. 12 And he went forth with them, and they took him 
before en-No‘man. And they found him eating his morning meal in the 
company of er-Rabi‘ ibn Ziyad : the two were eating together, and no third 
person was with them. And the palace and court were filled with deputa¬ 
tions from different tribes. And when en-No‘man had done his meal, he 
gave permission to the Ja‘faris to enter : and they went in ; and when their 
affair came on for hearing, they set forth the requests for which they had 
come. And er-Rabi‘ interrupted their speech. Then Lebid said— 
“ Shall my head be driven hither and thither every day P 
Many the battle that is better than quietness ! 
We are the children of the Mother of the Four, 
Our swords are keen, our platters ever full: 
