The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07 (of 10)
General
The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 07 (of 10)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
with her arms about the neck of a young man handsomer than herself;
whereat he magnified Allah Almighty, who had created such a youth of
vile water, and said, “How goodly be this fashion for one who hateth
men! How came she by this fellow? Methinks ’twas on his account that
she knocked out my back teeth!” Then he drew the curtain and made for
the door; but the King’s daughter awoke in affright and seeing the
eunuch, whose name was Káfúr, called to him. He made her no answer: so
she came down from the bed on the estrade; and catching hold of his
skirt laid it on her head and kissed his feet, saying, “Veil what Allah
veileth!” Quoth he, “May Allah not veil thee nor him who would veil
thee! Thou didst knock out my grinders and saidst to me, ‘Let none make
mention to me aught of men and their ways!’” So saying, he disengaged
himself from her grasp and running out, locked the door on them and set
another eunuch to guard it. Then he went in to the King who said to him
“Hast thou given the necklace to Hayat al-Nufus?” The eunuch replied,
“By Allah, thou deservest altogether a better fate;” and the King
asked, “What hath happened? Tell me quickly;” whereto he answered, “I
will not tell thee, save in private and between our eyes,” but the King
retorted, saying, “Tell me at once and in public.” Cried the eunuch,
“Then grant me immunity.” So the King threw him the kerchief of
immunity and he said, “O King, I went into the Princess Hayat al-Nufus
and found her asleep in a carpeted chamber and on her bosom was a young
man. So I locked the door upon the two and came back to thee.” When the
King heard these words he started up and taking a sword in his hand,
cried out to the Rais of the eunuchs, saying, “Take thy lads and go to
the Princess’s chamber and bring me her and him who is with her as they
twain lie on the bed; but cover them both up.”——And Shahrazad perceived
the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Seven Hundred and Thirty-fifth Night,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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