Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/347

317 He thanked her and kissing her hands, wrote the following verses:

He folded the letter and gave it to the old woman, together with two purses, containing two hundred dinars, which she would have refused, but he conjured her to take them. So she took them and said, ‘Needs must I bring thee to thy desire, despite thine enemies!’ Then she returned to the palace and gave the letter to Heyat en Nufous, who said, ‘What is this, O my nurse? Here are we in correspondence [with a man] and thou coming and going! Indeed, I fear lest the matter get wind and we be disgraced.’ ‘How so, O my lady?’ rejoined the old woman. ‘Who dare speak such a word?’ So she took the letter and read it and smote hand on hand, saying, ‘Verily, this is a calamity that is fallen upon us, and I know not whence this young man came to us!’ ‘O my lady,’ said the old woman, ‘God on thee, write him another letter; but be round with him this time and say to him, “If thou write me another word after this, I will have thy head struck off.”’ ‘O my nurse,’ answered the princess, ‘I am assured that the thing will not end after this fashion; it were better to leave it unanswered, and except the dog take warning by my previous threats, I will strike off his head.’ Quoth the old woman, ‘Then write him a letter and give him to