Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/213

185 peace, intercedeth for them [with God]. For whom among them do they ask me in marriage?’ ‘For a youth known as Otbeh ben el Hubab,’ answered he; and she said, ‘I have heard of this Otbeh that he performs what he promises and attains what he seeks.’ Quoth Ghitrif, ‘I swear that I will never marry thee to him, for there hath been reported to me somewhat of thy converse with him.’ ‘What was that?’ said she. ‘But in any case, I swear that the Ansaris shall not be uncivilly rejected; wherefore do thou make them a fair answer.’ ‘How so?’ asked he; and she, ‘Make the dowry heavy to them and they will desist.’ Quoth he, ‘Thou sayst well,’ and going out in haste, said to the Ansaris, ‘The girl consents; but she requires a dowry worthy herself; who, then, engageth for this?’ ‘I,’ answered I. Then said he, ‘I require for her a thousand bracelets of red gold and five thousand dirhems of the coinage of Hejer and a hundred pieces of woollen stuffs and striped stuffs of Yemen and five bladders of ambergris.’ ‘Thou shalt have this,’ answered I; ‘dost thou consent?’ And he said, ‘I do consent.’ So I despatched to Medina the Luminous a company of the Ansaris, who brought all for which I had engaged; whereupon they slaughtered sheep and cattle and the folk assembled to eat of the food.

We abode thus forty days, at the end of which time Ghitrif said to us, ‘Take your bride.’ So we set her in a litter and her father equipped her with thirty camel-loads of things of price; after which we took leave of him and journeyed till we came within a day’s journey of Medina, when there fell upon us horsemen, with intent to plunder, and methinks they were of the Benou Suleim. Otbeh drove at them and slew of them much people, but presently fell back, wounded by a spear-thrust, and dropped to the earth. Then there came to us a succour of the country people, who drove away the highwaymen; but Otbeh’s days were