Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/296

266 She turned her head and looking at me, made answer forthright with the following:

I was astounded at the readiness of her reply and the sweetness of her speech and rejoined with this verse:

She answered me, without hesitation, thus:

Never entered my ears sweeter than her speech nor ever saw I brighter than her face: so I changed the rhyme and measure, to try her, in my wonder at her speech, and repeated the following verse:

She smiled at this, (never saw I fairer than her mouth nor sweeter than her lips,) and answered me, without hesitation, as follows:

At this, I sprang up and kissing her hands, said, “I had not thought that Fortune would vouchsafe me such an opportunity. Do thou follow me, not of command or against thy will, but of thy grace and favour to me.” Then I went on and she after me.

Now I had not, at that time, a lodging I deemed fit for the like of her; Muslim ben El Welid was my fast friend, and he had a handsome house. So I made for his abode and knocked at the door, whereupon he came out, and I saluted him, saying, “It is for a time like this that