Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/214

184 the cavern door; but the hermit made him no answer, neither came forth to him; wherefore he sighed heavily and recited the following verses:

Hardly had he made an end of these verses when, behold, the door of the cavern opened and he heard one say, ‘Alas, the pity of it!’ So he entered and saluted the hermit, who returned his greeting and said to him, ‘What is thy name?’ ‘Uns el Wujoud,’ answered the young man. ‘And what brings thee hither?’ asked the hermit. So he told him his whole story, whereat he wept and said, ‘O Uns el Wujoud, these twenty years have I dwelt in this place, but never beheld I any here, till the other day, when I heard a noise of cries and weeping, and looking forth in the direction of the sound,