Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/194

166 me?’ ‘Foul befall the prince!’ answered the Persian. ‘He is a scurril knave.’ And she said, ‘Out on thee! How darest thou disobey thy lord’s commandment!’ ‘He is no lord of mine,’ rejoined the Persian. ‘Knowst thou who I am?’ ‘I know nothing of thee,’ replied the princess, ‘save what thou toldest me.’ Quoth he, ‘What I told thee was a trick of mine against thee and the prince. I am he who made this horse under us, and I have long regretted its loss; for the prince made himself master of it. But now I have gotten possession of it and of thee too, and I will rack his heart, even as he hath racked mine; nor shall he ever have the horse again. So take comfort and be of good cheer, for I can be of more service to thee than he.’ When she heard this, she buffeted her face and cried out, saying, ‘Ah, woe is me! I have neither gotten my beloved nor kept my father and mother!’ And she wept sore over what had befallen her, whilst the Persian fared on with her, without ceasing, till he came to the land of the Greeks and alighted in a verdant meadow, abounding in trees and streams.

Now this meadow was near a city, in which was a king of great puissance, and it befell that he went forth that day to hunt and divert himself. As he passed by the meadow, he saw the Persian standing there, with the princess and the horse by his side, and before he was aware, the King’s followers fell upon him and carried him, the lady and the horse to their master, who noting the foulness of his favour and the beauty and grace of the princess, said to the latter, ‘O my lady, what kin is this old fellow to thee?’ The Persian made haste to reply, ‘She is my wife and the daughter of my father’s brother.’ But she gave him the lie and said, ‘O King, by Allah, I know him not, nor is he my husband, but hath stolen me away by force and fraud.’ Thereupon the King bade beat the Persian, and they beat him, till he was well-nigh dead;