Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 2.djvu/31

15 mistress, who had been stoned on thine account, and that I was of accord with thee concerning the robbing of the villager’s house and had opened the doors to thee.’ And she prayed for him and he was made whole of his sickness.] Then said she to [the townsman], him of the tribute, ‘I am she who gave thee the [thousand] dirhems and thou didst with me what thou didst.’ And she craved pardon for him and prayed for him and he was made whole; whereupon the folk marvelled at her oppressors, who had been afflicted alike, so God (extolled be His perfection and exalted be He!) might show forth her innocence before witnesses.

Then she turned to the old man who had delivered her from the pit and prayed for him and gave him presents galore and among them a myriad of money; and they all departed from her, except her husband. When she was alone with him, she made him draw near unto her and rejoiced in his coming and gave him the choice of abiding with her. Moreover, she assembled the people of the city and set out to them his virtue and worth and counselled them to invest him with the charge of their governance and besought them to make him king over them. They fell in with her of this and he became king and took up his abode amongst them, whilst she gave herself up to her religious exercises and abode with her husband on such wise as she was with him aforetime.