Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/304

270 enquiry for her, but could hear nothing of her, till, one day, as he was walking about the streets, he chanced upon her; so he accosted her and asked why she had ceased to attend the market and bring him the two cakes of bread. At first, she evaded giving him a reply; but he conjured her to tell him; so she said, “Know, O my lord, that I was attending upon a certain man, who had an ulcer on his spine, and his doctor used to knead flour with butter into a plaster and lay it on the place of the pain, where it abode all night. In the morning, I used to take the flour and make it into two cakes, which I sold to thee or another; but presently the man died and I was cut off from making the cakes.” When the merchant heard this, he repented, whenas repentance availed nothing, saying, “Verily, we are God’s and to Him we return! There is no power and no virtue but in Him, the Most High, the Supreme!” And he repeated the saying of the Most High, “Whatsoever betideth thee of good, it is from God, and whatsoever betideth thee of ill, it is from thyself,” and vomited till he fell sick.

Moreover, O King,’ continued the second vizier, ‘I have heard tell, of the malice of women, that THE LADY AND HER TWO LOVERS.

There was once a man, who was swordbearer to one of the kings, and he loved a certain woman of the common people. One day, he sent his page to her with a message, as of wont between them, and the latter sat down with her and toyed with her. She inclined to him and pressed him to her bosom, whereupon he sought to lie with her and