Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/183

171 go beyond us three, and needs must thou be lavish with money, to boot.” And I answered, “Though my life were the price of her favours, it were no great matter.” So it was agreed that I should pay her fifty dinars and that she should come to me; whereupon I procured the money and gave it to the old woman. She took it and said, “Make ready a place for her in thy house, and she will come to thee this night.” So I went home and made ready what I could of meat and drink and wax candles and sweetmeats. Now my house overlooked the sea and it was the season of summer; so I spread the bed on the roof of the house.

Presently, the Frank woman came and we ate and drank and the night fell down. We lay down under the sky, with the moon shining on us, and fell to watching the reflection of the stars in the sea: and I said to myself, “Art thou not ashamed before God (to whom belong might and majesty!) and thou a stranger, under the heavens and in presence of the sea, to disobey Him with a Nazarene woman and merit the fiery torment?” Then said I, “O my God, I call thee to witness that I abstain from this Christian woman this night, of shamefastness before Thee and fear of Thy wrath!” So I slept till the morning, and she arose at peep of day and went away, full of anger. I went to my shop and sat there; and presently she passed, as she were the moon, followed by the old woman, who was angry; whereat my heart sank within me and I said to myself, “Who art thou that thou shouldst forbear yonder damsel? Art thou Seri es Seketi or Bishr Barefoot or Junaid of Baghdad or Fuzail ben Iyaz?”

Then I ran after the old woman and said to her,