Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/58

40 surpassing comeliness, so that I was, in respect of thee, even as saith the poet:

So praised be God who hath shown me thy face! But, by Allah, had it been other than thou, I had crucified the keeper of the garden and the porter of the khan and the tailor and him who had recourse to them! But how shall I contrive for somewhat thou mayst eat, without the knowledge of my women?’ Quoth Ibrahim, ‘I have here what we may eat and drink.’ And he opened the bag before her. She took a fowl and began to feed him and he to feed her; which when he saw, it seemed to him that this was a dream. Then he brought out wine and they drank, what while the damsels sang on; nor did they leave to do thus from morn to noon, when she rose and said, ‘Go now and get thee a boat and await me in such a place, till I come to thee; for I have no patience left to brook separation from thee.’ ‘O my lady,’ answered he, ‘I have with me a ship of my own, whose crew are in my hire, and they await me.’ ‘This is as we would have it,’ rejoined she and returning to her women, said to them, ‘Come, let us go back to our palace.’ ‘Why should we return now,’ asked they, ‘seeing that we used to abide here three days?’ Quoth she, ‘I feel an exceeding oppression in myself, as I were sick, and I fear lest this increase upon me.’

So they answered, ‘We hear and obey,’ and donning their clothes, went down to the river-bank and embarked; whereupon the keeper of the garden came up to Ibrahim and said to him, knowing not what had happened, ‘O Ibrahim, thou hast not had the luck to enjoy the sight of her, and I fear lest she have seen thee, for it is her custom to abide here three days.’ ‘She saw me not.not, [sic] nor I her,’ replied Ibrahim; ‘for she came not forth of the