Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/53

33 When the princess saw her in this case, she said to her, “What plight is this [in which I see thee]? What is thy story and what maketh thee weep?” And Nuzhet el Fuad answered, weeping and crying out the while, “O my lady, may thy head live and mayst thou survive Aboulhusn el Khelia! For he is dead.” The Lady Zubeideh mourned for him and said, “Alas for Aboulhusn el Khelia!” And she wept for him awhile. Then she bade her treasuress give Nuzhet el Fuad a hundred dinars and a piece of silk and said to her, “O Nuzhet el Fuad, go, lay him out and carry him forth.”

So she took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and returned to her dwelling, rejoicing, and went in to Aboulhusn and told him what had befallen, whereupon he arose and rejoiced and girt his middle and danced and took the hundred dinars and the piece of silk and laid them up. Then he laid out Nuzhet el Fuad and did with her even as she had done with him; after which he rent his clothes and plucked out his beard and disordered his turban [and went forth] and gave not over running till he came in to the Khalif, who was sitting in the hall of audience, and he in this plight, beating upon his breast. Quoth the Khalif to him, “What aileth thee, O Aboulhusn!” And he wept and said, “Would thy boon-companion had never been and would his hour had never come!” “Tell me [thy case,]” said the Khalif; and Aboulhusn said, “O my lord, may thy head outlive Nuzhet el Fuad!” Quoth the Khalif, “There is no god but God!” And he smote hand upon hand. Then he comforted Aboulhusn and said to him, “Grieve VOL. I.