Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 5.djvu/340

306 [fortress]; yea, and the light thereof dispels the darkness of falsehood. Know that the perfidy of women is great, even as saith God the Most High in His Holy Book, “Verily, the malice of you [women] is great.” And indeed I have heard tell of a certain woman who befooled the chiefs of the state on such wise as never did any before her.’ ‘And how was that?’ asked the King. ‘I have heard tell, O King,’ answered the vizier, ‘that THE LADY AND HER FIVE SUITORS.

A certain woman of the daughters of the merchants was married to a man who was a great traveller. It chanced once that he set out for a far country and was absent so long that his wife, for pure weariness, fell in love with a handsome young man of the sons of the merchants, who returned her passion, and they loved each other with an exceeding love. One day, the youth fell out with another man, who lodged a complaint against him with the chief of the police, and he cast him into prison. When the news came to his mistress, she well-nigh lost her wits and rising, donned her richest clothes and repaired to the house of the chief of the police, whom she saluted and presented with a petition to the effect that the prisoner was her brother, who had been unjustly accused and condemned on false witness, and that she had none other to come in to her nor to provide for her support and beseeching him of his grace to release him. When the magistrate had read the petition, he cast his eyes on her and fell in love with her; so he said to her, “Go into the house, till I bring him before me; then will I send for thee and thou shalt take him.” “O my lord,” answered she, “I have none save God the Most High. Indeed, I am a stranger and may not enter any one’s house.” Quoth the chief of the police, “I will not let him go, except thou enter my