Thisbe was a Babylonian maid. From her childhood sheloved Pyramus who lived in the nearby house. But as the two families were not on good terms they were not allowed to meet one another. All they could do was to stand on each side of the wall and hear one another's loving voice.  

 

Moved by the young lovers, Aphrodite decided¹ to give them help. One day to the joyful² surprise of the pair, there appeared in the party wall a tiny crack  through which they could speak to each other in a low voice and even exchange sweet kisses. As love's flame burnt ever hotter the lovers agreed to meet each other under a white mulberry（桑树） tree in the woods outside the city. Night came. Thisbe stole out and arrived first at the meeting-place. She was just looking around for her lover when a lioness appeared. The sight of the bloody³ jaws⁴ of the beast was enough to send the screaming girl running ,  leaving her veil behind. The lioness did not care to chase, but cut the veil and made it dirt with its jaws and claws. Hearing the wild roaring and a sharp cry,  Pyramus rushed on to the meeting place, sword in hand, only to find that both lioness and the girl had gone. His eyes fell on the dirty veil and he instantly guessed what had happened to his beloved. In despair he kissed the veil, drew his sword and plunged⁵ it into his breast. The pouring blood turned the white mulberry tree intoa dark purple. When Thisbe returned to join her boy-friend, she found him rolling in his death pain. She showered tears and kisses on his cold pale face, hoping to get him back to life. He opened his eyes and tried to speak, but death had come to lead him away. With a cry of anger, Thisbe fell on Pyramus' sword and went to keep him company in the lower world. 

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