Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/148

124 moved to delight, for the excess of her grace and the beauty of the verses she sang; and I envied her her skill and said, “There lacketh somewhat to thee, O damsel!” Whereupon she threw the lute from her hand, in anger, and cried, “Since when do you use to bring ill-mannered fools into your assemblies?” Then I repented of what I had done, seeing that the others were vexed with me, and said in myself, “My hopes are at an end;” and I saw no way of quitting myself of reproach but to call for a lute, saying, “I will show you what escaped her in the air she sang.” So they brought me a lute and I tuned it and sang the following verses:

When the damsel heard this, she sprang up and throwing herself at my feet, kissed them and said, “It is thine to excuse, O my lord! By Allah, I knew not thy quality nor heard I ever the like of this fashion!” And they all extolled me and made much of me, being beyond measure delighted, and besought me to sing again. So I sang a lively air, whereupon they all became as drunken men, and their wits left them. Then the guests departed to their homes and I abode alone with the host and the girl. The former drank some cups with me, then said to me, “O my lord, my life hath been wasted, in that I have not known the like of thee till now. By Allah, then, tell me who thou art, that I may know who is the boon-companion whom God hath bestowed on me this night.”

I would not at first tell him my name and returned him evasive answers; but he conjured me, till I told him who