Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/174

162 When the knights and horsemen who rode with her father saw his three sons slain, who were the doughtiest of the folk of their day, there fell on their hearts terror of the Princess Meryem and they bowed their heads in affright and confusion and made sure of destruction. So they turned their backs and addressed themselves to flight. When the king saw his sons slain and his troops in full flight, there fell on him dismay and bewilderment and his heart was on fire. ‘Verily,’ quoth he, ‘the Princess Meryem hath the better of us; and if I venture myself and go out against her alone, most like she will overcome me and slay me without pity, even as she slew her brothers, and make of me the foulest of examples; for she hath no longer any desire for us nor have we any hope of her return. Wherefore, meseemeth I were better guard my honour and return to my capital city.’ So he gave reins to his horse and returned to the city.

When he found himself in his palace, fire was loosed in his heart for rage and chagrin for the death of his sons and the defeat of his troops and the violation of his honour; nor did he abide half an hour before he summoned his grandees and officers of state and complained to them of that which his daughter had done with him of the slaughter of her brothers and all he suffered of grief and chagrin therefrom, and sought counsel of them. They all counselled him to write to the Vicar of God in His earth, the Commander of the Faithful, Haroun er Reshid, and acquaint him with the case. So he wrote a letter to the Khalif, containing, after the usual salutations, the following words: ‘Know that we have a daughter called Meryem, and a Muslim captive, by name Noureddin Ali, son of the merchant Tajeddin of Cairo, hath debauched her from us and taken her by night and gone forth with her to his own country: wherefore I beg of the favour of our