of thee, the mountain and the
wall of rock on the other. Thou drivest in against it. The chariot jumps
on which thou art. Thou art troubled to hold up thy horses. If it falls
into the abyss, the pole drags thee down too. Thy _ceintures_ are pulled
away. They fall down. Thou shacklest the horse, because the pole is
broken on the path of the narrow pass. Not knowing how to tie it up,
thou understandest not how it is to be repaired. The _essieu_ is left on
the spot, as the load is too heavy for the horses. Thy courage has
evaporated. Thou beginnest to run. The heaven is cloudless. Thou art
thirsty; the enemy is behind thee; a trembling seizes thee; a twig of
thorny acacia worries thee; thou thrustest it aside; the horse is
scratched, till at length thou findest rest.

Explain thou thy attraction to be a Mohar!

Thou comest into Joppa. Thou findest the date-palm in full bloom in its
time. Thou openest wide the aperture of thy mouth in order to eat. Thou
findest that the maid who keeps the garden is fair. She does whatever
thou wantest of her.... Thou art recognised, thou art brought to trial,
and owest thy preservation to being a Mohar. Thy girdle of the finest
stuff, thou payest it as the price of a bad rag. Thou sleepest every
evening with a rug of fur over thee. Thou sleepest a deep sleep, for
thou art weary. A thief takes thy bow and thy sword from thy side; thy
quiver and thy armour are broken to pieces in the darkness; thy pair of
horses run away. The groom takes his course over a slippery path that
rises in front of him. He breaks thy chariot in pieces; he follows thy
foot-tracks. [He finds] thy equipments, which had fallen on the ground,
and had sunk into the sand, leaving only an empty space.

Prayer does not avail thee; even when thy mouth says: "Give food in
addition to water that I may reach my goal in safety," they are deaf and
will not hear. They say not yes to thy words. The iron-workers enter
into the smithy; they rummage in the workshops of the carpenters; the
handi-craftsmen and soldiers are at hand; they do whatever thou
requirest. They put together thy chariot: they put aside the parts of it
that have been made useless; thy spokes are _faconne_ quite new; thy
wheels are put on, they put the _courroies_ on the axles and on the
hinder part; they splice thy yoke, they put on the box of thy chariot;
the [workmen] in iron forge the ...; they put the ring that is wanting
on thy whip, they replace the _lunier