2
I watch the show with stupefied eyes
I can't know truth, I can't know lies
It's the Magic Reality I can't understand
A marvelous sight-- hooray, it's qrand!
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

3
Weak ones wrestle every bout
Strong ones manage to knock themselves out
Blind people pounce on you and tiqhtly grip your feet
Hunchbacks with chests puffed out strut down the street.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

4
Winged ones use feet and go walking all around
Wingless ones use fans and try to get off the ground
Paralytics too, like spirits, wander far and near
Lame ones go leaping and bounding like deer.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

<p.27> 5
He who panned for gold has a gold-shop of his own
The money-lender now sifts dust for rag and bone
He who used to steal now mounts guard at the doorsill
The earth revolves, and the sky stands still!
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

6
Chakoras pine away, owls and vultures are on the rise
Midges and mosquitoes mount to the skies
Screech-owls compose "holy verses" to say
Parrots read the Qur'an, and nightingales pray.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

7
Thoroughbreds scrounge for old straw and grain,
Donkeys eat pulao, and treat it with disdain
Jackals heckle tigers whenever they get a chance
Frogs sing ragas, and mullet-fish dance.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

8
Ducks have long tails: peacocks have none
Crows are white and kites are dun
True saints and sadhus are half-baked and mild
On the River of Deceit, the hypocrite cranes run wild.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

9
Those who have tongues use only signs for speech
The dumb find a dash of Persian within their reach
The swan is humiliated by the crow
The she-frog leaps up and gives the elephant a blow.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

<p.29> 10
The nobly born are the lowly of the earth
The low-born flaunt the uniqueness of their birth
Hawks and falcons toil hard for their bread
The owls hunt, the crocodiles are dead.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

11
Gardens dry up, in the woods streams flow
Flowers rot, flower-faced thorns grow
The tomtit gives the lynx a boot
Cheetas skulk in hiding, with deer in pursuit.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

12
The bearded are thought to babble without sense
The beardless are trusted for sound evidence
Darkness is light, and light is dark instead
A ruined city, ruled by the dead.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

13
Those without wisdom are sharpshooters still
Those who have wisdom are mentally ill
Women are eager for men's clothes and ways
Men are effeminate and eunuchs these days.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

14
The earless can hear the farthest sound
Those with ears sit beating their heads on the ground
Smoke rains down, the clouds are booze-filled
Kabobs are soaked and cream-sweets grilled!
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

<p.31> 15
Bats have orgies by day, not night
Bandicoots burn real butter for light
The shrew sings songs, to the mouse's drum-beats
The squirrel sits cooking, preparing sweets.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

16
A young dancing-girl is an aged fat scold
A dried-up crone is a twelve-year-old
Sieves are beaten, winnowing-fans resound
Drums lie cracked, mridangs cannot be found!
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

17
The she-bear dresses up, and shows off her clothes and jewels
She flirts with the dogs, and laughs with the mules
A fairy yearns for a penny's worth of rouge, but in vain
A witch chews pan with an air of disdain.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

18
Vile, defiled demons leap at everyone they meet
While men fall groveling at their feet
Evil spirits grab you, ghosts and jinns make war
The dead assault the living--after this, what more?
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

19
The donkey fights the elephant and spits in his face
The fox lays waste the camel's dwelling-place
The Phoenix is kicked and beaten by the barn-owl
The feathers of the crane are plucked by the grass-fowl.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

<p.33> 20
Swallow-worts blossom, roses wither away
Cotton-seeds ripen, grapes and mangoes decay
The generous suffer for want of a crust
Misers grind up pearls for dust.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

21
Sugar-eater birds find no food, though they scour the skies
While piles of sweets lie buzzing with flies
Fishes fly, chickens wash their hands
Waterfowl dive into desert sands.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

22
Thugs have abandoned their strangling ways
Travelers strangle thugs, these days!
Thieves' houses are robbed at dead of night
By day, the merchants seize everything in sight.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

23
Robins build tall houses; tomtits, bungalows
Rats quit their holes for mansions in fine rows
Pheasants weep, crows laugh like anything
Nightingales are silent, gnats chirp and sing.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

24
Cattle flap their wings and fly
Birds fall, plants and trees soar high
Cities lie fallen empty, ruins are on the rise
Stones are immovable, mountains mount to the skies.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

<p.35> 25
King Solomon goes hungry, ants have heaps of grain
Small birds besiege the ibis and the crane
Brightness and darkness are oddly opposite
Moonlight is dark, and.the darkness moon-lit.
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!

26
Great ones are cut down to a small size
Small ones are great in everyone's eyes
Strange breezes blow, and strange effects appear
How surprising people are--beyond words, Nazir!
        There isn't much, in short , to say--
        The world is such a fine display!