So the Sultan’s wife says to the canary:
"Birdie! Is it better to be in a tall tower
Chirping and singing songs to Zuleika,
Than to flit away to the far West?
Sing well, sing to me of lands beyond the sea, canary,
Sing well, sing to me about the West, little fidget!
Is there a heaven up there, little bird,
Are there the same harems and cages?
Who there has so many roses as I?
Who among the Shahs has a Zuleika -
And if so, would dare to raise her veil?"

In reply, the canary chirps:
“Don’t ask me to sing songs of lands beyond the sea,
Don’t wake my anguish needlessly:
Your harem is too small for our songs,
And our lyrics are foreign to the odalisques…
You blossomed in a lazy slumber,
Like the rest of all nature around you,
And you don’t know — you haven’t even heard,
That our songs have a sister -- freedom."