Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/149

125 I was; whereupon he sprang to his feet and said, “Indeed, I wondered that such excellence should belong to any but the like of thee; and Fortune hath done me a service for which I cannot avail to thank her. But, belike, this is a dream; for how could I hope that the family of the Khalifate should visit me in my own house and carouse with me this night?.” I conjured him to be seated; so he sat down and began to question me, in the most courteous terms, as to the cause of my visit. So I told him the whole matter, concealing nothing, and said to him, “Verily, I have had my desire of the food, but not of the hand and wrist.” Quoth he, “Thou shalt have thy desire of them also, so God will.” Then said he to the slave-girl, “Bid such an one come down.” And he called his slave-girls down, one by one and showed them to me; but I saw not my mistress among them, and he said, “O my lord, there is none left save my mother and sister; but, by Allah, I must needs have them also down and show them to thee.”

I marvelled at his courtesy and large-heartedness and said, “May I be thy ransom! Begin with thy sister.” “Willingly,” replied he. So she came down and behold, it was she whose hand and wrist I had seen. “May God make me thy ransom!” said I. “This is the damsel whose hand and wrist I saw at the lattice.” Then he sent at once for witnesses and bringing out two myriads of dinars, said to the witnesses, “This our lord Ibrahim ben el Mehdi, uncle of the Commander of the Faithful, seeks the hand of my sister such an one, and I call you to witness that I marry her to him and that he has endowed her with a dowry of ten thousand dinars.” And he said to me, “I give thee my sister in marriage, at the dowry aforesaid.” “I consent,” answered I. Whereupon he gave one of the bags to her and the other to the witnesses, and said to me, “O my lord, I desire to array a chamber for thee; where thou mayst lie with thy wife.” But I was abashed