Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/114

102 somewhat of roast meat and wine and fruit and dessert.’ ‘By Allah, O princess of fair ones,’ answered he, ‘I had no money with me but the thousand dinars I paid down to thy price! The few dirhems I had I spent yesterday.’ Quoth she, ‘Hast thou no friend in the town, of whom thou mayst borrow fifty dirhems and bring them to me, that I may tell thee what thou shalt do therewith?’ And he said, ‘I have no friend but the druggist.’

Then he betook himself forthright to the druggist and said to him, ‘Peace be on thee, O uncle!’ He returned his salutation and said to him, ‘O my son, what hast thou bought for a thousand dinars this day?’ ‘I have bought a slave-girl,’ answered Noureddin. ‘O my son,’ rejoined the old man, ‘art thou mad that thou givest a thousand dinars for one slave-girl? What kind of slave-girl is she?’ ‘She is a damsel of the children of the Franks,’ replied Noureddin and the druggist said, ‘O my son, the best of the girls of the Franks are to be had in this town for a hundred dinars, and by Allah, they have put a cheat on thee in the matter of this damsel! However, if thou hast a mind to her, lie with her this night and do thy will of her and to-morrow morning go down with her to the market and sell her, though thou lose two hundred dinars by her, and put it that thou hast been robbed of them or lost them by shipwreck.’ ‘Thou sayst well, O uncle,’ replied Noureddin; ‘but thou knowest that I had but the thousand dinars wherewith I bought the damsel, and now I have not a single dirhem left to spend; so I desire of thy favour and goodness that thou lend me fifty dirhems, to provide me withal, till to-morrow, when I will sell her and repay thee out of her price.’ ‘Willingly, O my son,’ said the old man and counted out to him the fifty dirhems.

Then he said to him, ‘O my son, thou art young and the damsel is fair, and belike thy heart will be taken with her and it will be grievous to thee to part from her. Now