savs:
The water bubble appearing like the crystal ball inverting.
"AwfT says:
When the drops fall upon its waters, then bubbles rise up wherever
the drops fall. It seems as if they are the vaults of pearls round
which girls are fluttering sheets.
If the pearl had a bubble, it would not be transparent and nothing inside
or outside would be visible. It is, therefore, more artistic and poetic to
compare a spark with the crystal. Abual-Hasan Mawsili says:
Bubbles of water in it at daybreak seem like reeling crystal goblets.
And further:
Spherical drops of rain pattering upon water are like bubbles upon
the face of glass.
The production of different forms of crystal in a natural manner would
be surprising. The carver whom I have already referred to told me that
he had seen within the environs of the ruby mine at Warzfanj, draughts
used in backgammon and hexagonal and octagonal chess pieces among
the gravel-stones. They seemed so well turned out that it was unbelievable that they had not been carved by an artist. Sanawbari says about a
pool:
Clouds are threading pearls upon it as if a threader is stitching them
together with meticulous care.
Some seem like the hexagonal pieces that are arrayed like a legion on
the chess-board.
Chess pieces are hexagonal and those of backgammon spherical. They are
marshalled in the corner of the board and, if they come in the centre,
they spell luck.
Stories About Crystals
In the Kitab al-Chash (The Book of Injustice) Aflutarakhas 102 writes
that Ayarun, the Emperor of Rome, was presented a wonderful and extremely precious hexagonal piece. He has not specified whether it was a
single piece or many pieces which would be joined together whiie being
placed on the chessboard. The Emperor was mightily pleased with the
gift and asked a philosopher who was present at the assembly what he
thought of it. The philosopher replied: "I see nothing good about it,
for, if it is lost and you are not able to get the like of it, you will be dependent upon it. On the other hand, if it undergoes any harm, you will
be correspondingly grieved." What the philosopher had foretold happened. The Emperor had gone on a visit to the islands in the spring and
he kept the piece in one of the boats. This boat which was attached to
the Emperor's boat as the lead-boat capsized along with the piece when a
storm blew. The Emperor was disconsolate for a while, but his grief was
