Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/339

305 is nought between me and thee.” But he ceased not to say, “No,” and she to press him to speak, till at last she conjured him to tell her, and he answered, “The crow said to me, ‘Do with thy mistress even as doth her husband.’”

When she heard this, she laughed till she fell backward and said, “This is a light matter, and I may not cross thee therein.” So saying, she went up to a tree and spreading the carpet under it, [lay down and] called to him to come and do her need, when, behold, her husband, who had followed them unawares and saw this, called out to the page, saying, “Harkye, boy! What ails thy mistress to lie there, weeping?” “O my lord,” answered the page, “she fell off the tree and was [all but] killed; and none but God (may He be exalted and glorified!) restored her to thee. Wherefore she lay down awhile to recover herself.” When the lady saw her husband standing by her, she rose and made a show of weakness and pain, saying, “O my back! O my sides! Come to my help, O my friends! I shall never survive this.” So her husband was deceived and sending the page for the horse, set her thereon and carried her home, the boy holding one stirrup and the man the other and saying, “God vouchsafe thee ease and recovery!” These then, O King,’ said the damsel, ‘are some instances of the craft and perfidy of men; wherefore let not thy viziers turn thee from succouring me and doing me justice.’ [sic] Then she wept, and when the King saw her weeping, (for she was the dearest to him of all his slave-girls,) he once more commanded to put his son to death; but the sixth vizier entered and kissing the earth before him, said, ‘May God the Most High advance the King! Verily I am a loyal counsellor to thee, in that I counsel thee to deal deliberately in the matter of thy son; for falsehood is as smoke and truth is a strongly stablished

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