Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/207

187 O that the raven of ill-luck, that croaked our parting hour, May lose his plumes nor find a nest in which his bead to lay! My patience fails me for desire, my body wasteth sore; How many a veil the hands of death and parting rend in tway! I wonder, will our happy nights come ever back again, Or one house hold us two once more, after the olden way!

Then he wept sore and laying his head on his father’s tomb, remained plunged in melancholy thought till drowsiness overcame him and he fell asleep. He slept on till the moon rose, when his head rolled off the tomb and he lay on his back, with his face gleaming in the moon. Now the cemetery was haunted by true-believing Jinn, and presently a Jinniyeh came out and seeing Bedreddin lying asleep, marvelled at his beauty and grace and said, “Glory be to God! This can be no other than one of the children of Paradise.” Then she rose into the air to fly about, as was her wont, and met an Afrit flying, who saluted her, and she said to him, “Whence comest thou?” “From Cairo,” replied he. Quoth she, “Wilt thou come with me and look on the beauty of a youth who sleeps in the burial-ground yonder?” And he said, “I will well.” So they both flew down to the tomb and she showed him Bedreddin, saying, “Sawest thou ever the like of this young man?” The Afrit looked at him and exclaimed, “Blessed be God to whom there is none like! But, O my sister, shall I tell thee what I have seen this day?” “What is that?” asked she; and he answered, “I have seen a young lady in the land of Egypt, who is the counterpart of this youth. She is the daughter of the Vizier Shemseddin of Cairo and is possessed of beauty and grace and symmetry and perfection. When she reached the age of fifteen, the Sultan of Egypt heard of her and sending for the Vizier her father, said to him, ‘O Vizier, it has come to my knowledge that thou hast a daughter and I wish to demand her of thee in marriage.’ ‘O my lord the Sultan,’ replied the Vizier, ‘I prithee