Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/45

33 began to sell all his property, saying in himself, ‘Except I remove her from her native land [and separate them], they will never turn back from this that they are engaged in.’ So, when he had turned all his possessions into money, he forged a letter, purporting to come from his kinsmen and inviting him to visit them, him and his wife, and read it to her. ‘How long shall we tarry with them?’ asked she, and he replied, ‘Twelve days.’ So she consented to this and said, ‘Shall I take any of my maids with me?’ ‘Take Huboub and Sukoub,’ answered he, ‘and leave Khutoub here.’

Then he made ready a handsome camel litter for his wife and her women and prepared to set out with them; whilst she sent to Mesrour, telling him what had happened and saying, ‘If the trysting-time that is between us pass and I come not [back], know that he hath put a cheat on us and laid a plot to separate us from each other; so forget thou not the plighted faith betwixt us, for I fear his craft and perfidy.’ Then she fell a-weeping and lamenting and no peace was left her, night or day. Her husband saw this, but took no note thereof; and when she saw there was no help for it, she gathered together her clothes and gear and deposited them with her sister, telling her what had befallen her. Then she took leave of her and going out from her, weeping, returned to her own house, where she found her husband had brought the camels and was busy loading them, having set apart the handsomest for her riding; and when she saw this and knew that needs must she be separated from Mesrour, she was distracted.

Now it chanced that the Jew went out on some occasion of his; so she went forth to the outer door and wrote thereon the following verses:

VOL. VIII.