Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/267

233 darkness. Then came in to him his boon-companions of the notables [of the kingdom], according to their wont, and sat with him, by way of solace and diversion, till midnight, when they craved leave to withdraw. He gave them leave and they retired to their houses; after which there came in to him a slave-girl affected to the service of his bed, who spread him the mattress and doing off his apparel, clad him in his sleeping-gown. Then he lay down and she kneaded his feet, till he fell asleep; whereupon she withdrew to her own chamber and slept.

Presently, he felt something beside him in the bed and starting up in alarm, said, ‘I seek refuge with God from Satan the Stoned!’ Then he opened his eyes and seeing by his side a woman foul of favour, said to her, ‘Who art thou?’ ‘Fear not,’ answered she. ‘I am thy wife Fatimeh.’ Whereupon he looked in her face and knew her by her misshapen form and the length of her dog-teeth: so he said to her, ‘Whence camest thou in to me and who brought thee to this country?’ Quoth she, ‘In what country art thou at this present?’ And he said, ‘In the city of Ikhtiyan el Khuten. But thou, when didst thou leave Cairo?’ ‘But now,’ answered she. ‘How can that be?’ asked he. ‘Know,’ said sheshe, [sic] ‘that, when I fell out with thee and Satan prompted me to do thee a mischief, so that I complained of thee to the magistrates, they sought for thee and the Cadis enquired of thee, but found thee not. When two days were past, repentance gat hold upon me and I knew that the fault was with me; but repentance availed me not, and I abode awhile weeping for thy loss, till what was in my hand failed and needs must I beg my bread. So I fell to begging of all, rich and poor, and since thou leftest me, I have eaten of the humiliation of beggary and have been in the sorriest of plights. Every night I sat weeping for thy loss and for