Oh my wife, going back to my early ancestors

They and I have never seen trade with money

The men we are descended from used to have camels

It was always my lot to get a share from the

   attacking campaigns

Only once did I do something which my father did not do

I took four nights to reach the village which the camels

   were loaded up for

I reached the gate of Burco I and my goods

Immediately they approached as if they were ready for me

With the glow of dawn they came upon us the brokers of

   the sheep and goats

People whose good faith had been taken away gathered

   conspiratorially against us

I was astonished when they pressed the shoulders of

   the rams

'It is that amount; no it isn't ' they argued bluntly

The stubborn arguing disheartened me greatly

The one with the twisted eye cheated me the one whom I

   trusted

They tried to console me with four shillings minus forty

   cents [4 annas]

While I watched the hands with which I was bought

The sheep and goats you are asking me about have

   fallen into the hands of others

Those whom I believe deserve to be hung from thorns by

   their Achilles tendon

That whip-like stick and the pieces of cloth they forgot

   near me

Some men are more expert in prices than me; ask them!