Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/284

256 woman. But which of you knows her?’ ‘We all know her,’ answered they. ‘Send ten men with us, and we will take her.’ So he gave them ten men, and the ass-driver said to them, ‘Follow me, for I should know her with blue eyes.’ Then they went out and presently they met the old woman coming out of a by-street: so they laid hands on her and brought her to the masterMaster [sic] of the police, who said to her, ‘Where are the people’s goods?’ And she answered, saying, ‘I have neither taken them nor seen them.’ Then said he to the gaoler, ‘Take her and clap her into prison till the morning.’ But he said, ‘I will not take her, lest she play a trick on me and I be answerable for her.’ So the Master of police took horse and rode out with Delileh and the rest to the bank of the Tigris, where he bade the executioner crucify her by her hair. So he bound her on the cross and drew her up by the pulley; after which the Master of police set ten men to guard her and went home. Presently, the night fell down and sleep overcame the watchmen.

Now a certain Bedouin heard one man say to another, ‘Praised be God for thy safe return! Where hast thou been?’ ‘In Baghdad,’ answered the other, ‘where I breakfasted on honey-fritters.’ Quoth the Bedouin to himself, ‘Needs must I go to Baghdad and eat honey-fritters;’ for in all his life he had never entered Baghdad nor seen fritters of the sort. So he mounted his horse and rode on towards Baghdad, saying in himself, ‘It is a fine thing to eat honey-fritters! On the honour of an Arab, I will not break my fast on nothing else!’ till he came to the place where Delileh was crucified and she heard him saying this. So he went up to her and said to her, ‘What art thou?’ Quoth she, ‘O Sheik of the Arabs, I throw myself on thy protection!’ ‘May God indeed protect thee!’ answered he. ‘But what is the cause of thy crucifixion?’ Said