Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/210

188 As soon as he came within sight of the princesses, he fell to making signs to them with his hands and feet; nor was it long ere he reached the castle and alighting from the elephant, came in to them, whereupon they embraced him and kissed his hands and saluted him. Then he sat down, whilst the girls talked with him and questioned him of his absence. Quoth he, ‘I was sitting but now with your aunt, when I smelt the perfumes and hastened to you on this elephant. What wouldst thou, O daughter of my brother?’ ‘O uncle,’ answered she, ‘indeed we longed for thee, for the year is past and it is not thy wont to be absent from us more than a year.’ ‘I was busy,’ answered he, ‘but I purposed to come to you to-morrow.’ Wherefore they thanked him and blessed him and sat talking with him.

Presently the eldest said to him, ‘O my uncle, we told thee the story of Hassan of Bassora, whom Behram the Magian brought and how he slew the latter and after made prize of the Supreme King’s daughter and took her to wife and journeyed with her to his native land?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he; ‘and what befell him after that?’ ‘He was blest with two sons by her,’ said the princess; ‘but she played him false; for she took them in his absence and fled with them to her own country, saying to his mother, “When thy son returneth and asketh for me and the nights of separation are long upon him and he craveth reunion with me and meeting and the winds of love and longing agitate him, let him come to me in the Islands of Wac”’Wac.”’ [sic]

When Abdulcuddous heard this, he shook his head and bit his hands; then, bowing his head, he fell a-drumming on the earth with his fingers; after which he shook his head and looked right and left and shook his head again, whilst Hassan watched him from a place where he was hidden from him. Then said the princesses to their