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This work consists of an edition of a hitherto unknown manuscript of the Persian poem Mūš u gurbah (The Cat and the Mice), ascribed to ‘Ubayd-i Zākānī (d. 771–772 A.H.q. [corresponding to Aug. 1369 – July 1371 A.D.]), a facsimile of this manuscript which is preserved in the National Library of Tunis, and translations into English and Swedish of the poem.

‘Ubayd-i Zākānī’s authorship of the poem Mūš u gurbah is discussed and refuted in favour of a more likely theory, namely that Mūš u gurbah was written at the beginning of the Safavid era (9^th cent. A.H.q. [16^th cent. A.D.]) by an adherent of the Pasikhānī (Nuqṭavī) sect. The Pasikhānīs were strongly opposed to the Safavid kings and were finally subdued during Shāh ‘Abbās I’s reign (996–1038 A.H.q. [1588–1629]).

Bo Utas’ translations into English and Swedish are based on two different editions. The English translation is recent and based on the present edition of the Tunis manuscript with 162 verses. The Swedish translation originates from the late 1980s, and was first published in Karavan 2003:1, 39-41. It is based on a considerably shorter edition of the poem from the 1950s and contains only 90 verses.