Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/125

105 me, methought it was thyself and I was perplexed about my case. Would we had never seen this merchant nor companied with him and would he had never left his own country and we had not known him, for he hath troubled my life, that before was serene, causing unkindness to succeed good faith and making doubt to enter into my heart!’ ‘Look in my face,’ said she. ‘Belike I am she who was with him and he is my lover and I disguised myself as a slave-girl and agreed with him that he should show me to thee, so he might lay a snare for thee.’ ‘What words are these?’ answered he. ‘Indeed, I never thought that thou wouldst do the like of this thing.’

Now this jeweller was unversed in women’s wiles and knew not how they do with men, nor had he heard the saying of the poet:

Nor that of another:

And a third:

‘Here am I sitting in my chamber,’ said she. So‘So [sic] go