Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/114

94 When he saw her making for him, with the knife in her hand, he opened his eyes and rose, laughing; whereupon, ‘It was not of thine own wit,’ said she, ‘that thou camest at the meaning of the token, but by the help of some wily cheat; so tell me whence had thou this knowledge.’ ‘From an old woman,’ answered he and told her all that had passed between himself and the barber’s wife. ‘To-morrow,’ said she, ‘go thou to her and say, “Hast thou any further device in store?” And if she say, “Yes,” do thou rejoin, “Then do thine endeavour to bring me to enjoy her publicly.” But, if she say, “I have no means of doing that, and this is the last of my contrivance,” put her away from thy thought, and to-morrow night my husband will come to thee and invite thee. Do thou come with him and tell me and I will consider what remains to be done.’ ‘Good,’ answered he.

Then he spent the rest of the night with her in kissing and clipping, plying the particle of copulation in concert and according the conjunctive with the conjoined, whilst her husband was as a cast-out nunation of construction,