Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 2.djvu/324

289 till it befell that the princess was taken with a desire to divert herself in the garden. Now this she had been wont to do only in company with her nurse; so she sent for her and spoke her fair and made her peace with her, saying, ‘I wish to go forth to the garden, that I may divert myself with the sight of its trees and fruits and gladden my heart with its flowers.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ replied the old woman; ‘but let me first go to my house and change my dress, and I will be with thee anon.’ ‘Go,’ said the princess; ‘but be not long absent from me.’ So the old woman left her and repairing to Taj el Mulouk, said to him, ‘Don thy richest clothes and go to the gardener and salute him and make shift to hide thyself in the garden.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered he; and she agreed with him upon a signal to be made by her to him and returned to the princess. As soon as she was gone, the Vizier and Aziz rose and dressed Taj el Mulouk in a right costly suit of kings’ raiment, worth five thousand dinars, and girt his middle with a girdle of gold set with jewels. Then he repaired to the garden and found the keeper seated at the gate. As soon as the latter saw him, he sprang to his feet and received him with all respect and consideration and opening the gate, said, ‘Enter and take thy pleasure in the garden.’ Now the gardener knew not that the princess was to visit the garden that day: but Taj el Mulouk had been there but a little while, when he heard a noise and ere he could think, out came the eunuchs and damsels by the private door. When the gardener saw this, he came up to the prince and said to him, ‘O my lord, what is to be done? The Princess Dunya, the King’s daughter, is here.’ ‘Fear not,’ replied the prince; ‘no harm shall befall thee: for I will conceal myself somewhere about the garden.’ So the gardener exhorted him to the utmost prudence and went away. Presently, the princess entered the garden, attended by her damsels and the old woman, who said to VOL. II.