Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/285

257 she, ‘I have an enemy, an oilman, who fries fritters, and I stopped to buy of him, when I chanced to spit and the spittle fell on the fritters. So he made his complaint to the judge, who commanded to crucify me, saying, “I adjudge that ye take ten pounds of honey-fritters and feed her therewith. If she eat them, let her go, but if not, leave her hanging.” And my stomach will not brook sweet things.’ ‘By the honour of the Arabs,’ cried the Bedouin, ‘I departed not the camp but that I might eat honey-fritters! I will eat them for thee.’ Quoth she, ‘None may eat them, except he be hung up in my place.’ He fell into the trap and unbound her; whereupon she bound him in her room, after she had stripped him of his clothes and turban and put them on; then, mounting his horse, she rode to her house, where Zeyneb said to her, ‘What meaneth this plight?’ And she answered, saying, ‘They crucified me:’ and told her all that had befallen her.

To return to the watchmen; the first who woke roused his companions and they saw that the day had risen. So one of them raised his eyes and said, ‘Delileh!’ ‘By Allah!’ answered the Bedouin, ‘I have not eaten all night. Have ye brought the honey-fritters?’ And they said, ‘This is a man and a Bedouin.’ Then said one of them to him, ‘O Bedouin, where is Delileh and who loosed her?’ ‘It was I,’ answered he; ‘she shall not eat the honey-fritters against her will; for her soul abhorreth them.’ So they knew that he was a man ignorant of her case, whom she had cozened, and said to one another, ‘Shall we flee or abide the accomplishment of that which God hath decreed to us?’

As they were talking, up came the chiefChief [sic] of the police, with all the folk whom the old woman had cheated, and said to the guards, ‘Arise, loose Delileh.’ Quoth the Bedouin, ‘We have not eaten to-night. Hast thou brought the honey-fritters?’ Whereupon the Master of police VOL. VI.