Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/380

350 fear gat hold upon him, by reason of that which he knew of the princess’s violence and that her father was ruled by her, and he said in himself, ‘Belike the King hath commanded the nurse to carry his daughter forth upon some occasion of hers, whereof she would have none know; and if I stop her, she will be wroth with me and will say, “This fellow stopped me, that he might pry into my affairs.” So she will go about to kill me, and I have no call to meddle in this matter.’

So saying, he turned back, and the thirty eunuchs with him, and drove the people from the door of the palace; whereupon the nurse entered and saluted the eunuchs with her head, whilst they stood to do her honour and returned her salutation. The prince followed her from door to door, and [God] the Protector protected them, so that they passed all the guards, till they came to the seventh door, which was that of the great pavilion, wherein was the King’s throne, and communicated with the apartments of his women and the saloons of the harem, as well as with his daughter’s palace. Here the old woman halted and said, ‘Glory be to God, O my son, who hath brought us thus far in safety! We cannot foregather with the princess except by night; for night covers the fearful.’ ‘True,’ answered he; ‘but what is to be done?’ Quoth she, ‘Behind the door is a dark and deep cistern, with a cover thereto, wherein thou must hide thyself till nightfall.’ So he entered the cistern, and she went away and left him there till ended day, when she returned and carried him into the palace, till they came to the door of Heyat en Nufous’s apartment. The old woman knocked at the door and a little maid came out and said, ‘Who is there?’ ‘It is I,’ answered the nurse; whereupon the maid returned and told the princess, who said, ‘Let her enter, with her companion.’

So they entered and found that the princess had made