English: Double page illustration in late Timurid manuscript of Sa'di's story of "Sa'di and the Youth of Kashgar" in his Gulistan ch 5, story 17:
In the year when Muhammad Khovarezm Shah concluded peace with the king of Khata to suit his own purpose, I entered the cathedral mosque of Kashgar and saw an extremely handsome, graceful boy as described in the simile:
- Thy master has taught thee to coquet and to ravish hearts,
- Instructed thee to oppose, to dally, to blame and to be severe.
- A person of such figure, temper, stature and gait
- I have not seen; perhaps he learnt these tricks from a fairy.
He was holding in his hand the introduction to Zamaksharni's Arabic syntax and reciting: Zaid struck Amru and was the injurer of Amru. I said: 'Boy! Khovarezm and Khata have concluded peace, and the quarrel between Zaid and Amru still persists!' He smiled and asked for my birthplace. I replied: 'The soil of Shiraz.' He continued: 'What rememberest thou of the compositions of Sa'di?' I recited:
- 'I am tired by a nahvi who makes a furious attack
- Upon me, like Zaid in his opposition to Amru.
- When Zaid submits he does not raise his head
- And how can elevation subsist when submission is the regent?
He considered awhile and then said: 'Most of his poetry current in this country is in the Persian language. If thou wilt recite some, it will be more easily understood.' Then I said:
- 'When thy nature has enticed thee with syntax
- It blotted out the form of intellect from our heart.
- Alas, the hearts of lovers are captive in thy snare.
- We are occupied with thee but thou with Amru and Zaid.'
The next morning, when I was about to depart, some people told him that I was Sa'di, whereon he came running to me and politely expressed his regret that I had not revealed my identity before so that he might have girded his loins to serve me in token of the gratitude due to the presence of a great man.
- In spite of thy presence no voice came to say: I am he.
He also said: 'What would it be if thou wert to spend in this country some days in repose that we might derive advantage by serving thee?' I replied: 'I cannot on account of the following adventure which occurred to me:
- I beheld an illustrious man in a mountain region
- Who had contentedly retired from the world into a cave.
- Why, said I, comest thou not into the city
- For once to relax the bonds of thy heart?
- He replied: 'Fairy-faced maidens are there.
- When clay is plentiful, elephants will stumble.'
This I said. Then we kissed each other's heads and faces and took leave of each other.
- What profits it to kiss a friend's face
- And at the same time to take leave of him?
- Thou wouldst say that he who parts from friends is an apple.
- One half of his face is red and the other yellow.
- If I die not of grief on the day of separation
- Reckon me not faithful in friendship.