Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/215

187 her and found her looking at her face in the mirror and saying:

When he heard this, he turned back and went his way unseen of Hind; then, being minded to put her away, he sent Abdallah ben Tahir to her, to divorce her. So Abdallah went in to her and said to her, ‘El Hejjaj Abou Mohammed saith to thee, “Here be the two hundred thousand dirhems of thy contingent dowry;” and he hath deputed me to divorce thee.’ ‘O Ibn Tahir,’ replied she, ‘I consent gladly; for know that I never for one day took pleasure in him; so, if we separate, by Allah, I shall never regret him, and the two hundred thousand dirhems I give to thee as a reward for the glad tidings thou bringest me of my release from yonder dog of a Thekifi.’

After this, the Commander of the Faithful Abdulmelik ben Merwan heard of her beauty and symmetry and the amorous grace of her glances and sent to her, to demand her in marriage; and she wrote him in reply a letter, in which, after the customary glorification of God and benediction of His Prophet, she said, ‘Know, O Commander of the Faithful, that the dog hath lapped in the vase.’ When the Khalif read her answer, he laughed and wrote to her, citing the prophet’s saying, ‘If a dog lap in the vessel of one of you, let him wash it seven times, once thereof with earth,’ and adding, ‘Wash the affront from the place of usance.’ With this, she could not gainsay him; so she replied to him, saying, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, I will not consent save on condition that El Hejjaj lead