Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/379

349 him with henna from his nails to his shoulders and from his insteps to his thighs and tattooed him about the body, till he was like red roses on tables of alabaster. After a little, she washed him and dried him and bringing out a shift and a pair of trousers, made him put them on. Then she clad him in the dress aforesaid and binding the kerchief about his head, veiled him and taught him how to walk, saying, ‘Advance thy left and draw back thy right.’ He did as she bade him and walked before her, as he were a houri escaped from Paradise. Then said she to him, ‘Fortify thy heart, for we are going to the King’s palace, where there will without fail be guards and eunuchs at the gate; and if thou take fright at them and show hesitation or fear, they will suspect thee and examine thee, and we shall both lose our lives: wherefore an thou feel thyself unable to do this, tell me.’ ‘This thing hath no terrors for me,’ answered he; ‘so take courage and be of good cheer.’

Then she went out and he followed her, till they came to the gate of the palace which was full of eunuchs. She turned and looked at him, to see if he were troubled or no, and finding him unchanged, went on. The chief eunuch looked at the nurse and knew her, but seeing a damsel following her, whose charms confounded the reason, he said in himself, ‘As for the old woman, she is the nurse; but who is the girl with her? There is none in our land resembleth her in favour or approacheth her in beauty save the princess Heyat en Nufous, who is cloistered and never goeth out. Would I knew how she came into the street and whether or no it was by leave of the King!’ Then he rose to discover the matter and nigh thirty eunuchs followed him; which when the old woman saw, her reason fled for fear and she said, ‘There is no power and no virtue, save in God! Verily, we are God’s and to Him we return! Without doubt we are dead folk this time.’ When the chief eunuch heard her say this,