, I prize you, and for you I wish,
A hundred oak trees in the valley;
A hundred blood mares all tied in the court,
And ready for foray or sally.
Mount your horse, fly away, with your scarf flowing free,
The chiefs of the tribe will assemble;
Damascus, Aleppo, and Ghutah beside,
At the sound of your coming will tremble.

Nejmeh says that the Bedawin women who come to Safita, her native place,
often sing the following song:

Come little Bedawy, sit on my lap,
Pretty pearls shine in your little white cap,
Rings are in your ears,
Rings are in your nose,
Rings upon your fingers,
And "henna" on your toes.

They use the "henna" to dye their hands, feet and finger nails, when a
wedding or festive occasion occurs in the family.

Katrina recalls another little song which she used to sing to Harry:

Welcome now, my baby dear,
Whence did you come?
Your voice is sweet,
What little feet!
Make yourself at home!

Nideh, the Druze girl down stairs is ready with another song. She is
rocking little Sheikh Fereed in his cradle, and says:

In your cradle sleep my boy,
Rest from all your labor;
May El Hakim, heaven's God,
Ever be your neighbor!

It makes me feel sad to hear a poor woman praying to a man. This El
Hakim was a man, and a bad man too, who lived many hundred years ago,
and now the Druzes regard him as their God. But what difference is there
between worshipping Hakim as the Druzes do, and worshipping Mary and
Joseph as the Greeks and Maronites do. Laia says the Maronites down in
the lower part of this village sing the following song:

Hillu, Hillu, Hallelujah!
Come my wild gazelles!
He who into trouble falls
On the Virgin Mother calls;
To Damascus she's departing,
All the mountain monks are starting.
Come my priest and come my deacon,
Bring the censer and the beacon,
We will celebrate the Mass,
In the Church of Mar Elias;
Mar Elias, my neighbor dear,
You must be deaf if you did not hear.

Sit Leila sings:

I love you my boy, and this is the proof,
I wish that you had all the wealth of the "Shoof,"
Hundreds of costly silken bales,
Hundreds of ships with lofty sails.
Hundreds of towns to obey your word,
And thousands of thousands to call you lord!

Katrina is ready to sing again:

I will sing to you,
God will bring to you,