" Then they took hold of each other and he set to in earnest
and warded himself against being thrown down: so they strained
awhile, and the damsel found in him strength such as she had not
before observed and said to him, "O Muslim, thou art on thy
guard!" "Yes," replied he; "thou knowest that there remaineth but
this bout, and after each of us will go his own way." She laughed
and he laughed too: then she seized the opportunity to bore in
upon him unawares, and gripping him by the thigh, threw him to
the ground, so that he fell on his back. She laughed at him and
said, "Thou art surely an eater of bran; for thou art like a
Bedouin bonnet, that falls at a touch, or a child's toy, that a
puff of air overturns. Out on thee, thou poor creature! Go back
to the army of the Muslims and send us other than thyself, for
thou lackest thews, and cry us among the Arabs and Persians and
Turks and Medes, 'Whoso has might in him, let him come to us.'"
Then she made a spring and landed on the other side of the stream
and said to Sherkan, laughing, "It goes to my heart to part with
thee; get thee to thy friends, O my lord, before the morning,
lest the knights come upon thee and take thee on the points of
their lances. Thou hast not strength enough to defend thee
against women; so how couldst thou make head against men and
cavaliers?" And she turned to go back to the monastery.
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