Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/31

15 So they rode on four days, alighting at midnight and sleeping till the morning, when they fared on again; and all that Jouder had a mind to, he sought of the Moor, who brought it out of the saddle-bags. On the fifth day, they arrived at Fez and Mequinez and entered the city, where all who met the Moor saluted him and kissed his hands; and he rode through the streets, till he came to a certain door, at which he knocked, whereupon it opened and out came a girl like the moon, to whom said he, ‘O Rehmeh, O my daughter, open us the upper chamber.’ ‘On my head and eyes, O my father!’ replied she and went in, swaying to and fro with a graceful and voluptuous gait, that ravished Jouder’s reason, and he said, ‘This is none other than a King’s daughter.’ So she opened the upper chamber and the Moor, taking the saddle-bags from the mule’s back, said, ‘Go, and God bless thee!’ When behold, the earth opened and swallowing the mule, closed up again as before. And Jouder said, ‘O Protector! praised be God who hath kept us in safety on her back!’ ‘Marvel not, O Jouder,’ quoth the Moor; ‘I told thee that the mule was an Afrit; but come with us into the upper chamber.’

So they went up into the upper chamber, and Jouder was amazed at the profusion of rich furniture and pendants of gold and silver and jewels and other rare and precious things that he saw there. As soon as they were seated, the Moor bade Rehmeh bring him a certain bale and opening it, took out a dress worth a thousand dinars, which he gave to Jouder, saying, ‘Don this dress, O Jouder! and welcome to thee!’ So Jouder put it on and became as he were one of the Kings of the West. Then the Moor laid the saddle-bags before him, and putting in his hand, pulled out dish after dish, till they had before them a tray of forty kinds of meat, when he said to Jouder, ‘Come, O my lord, eat and excuse us, for that we know not what