Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 2.djvu/82

 62 Alf Laylah wa Laylah. I fell to the ground, my head touching my feet, and knew naught of my life but that I was in another world. When her device succeeded, she bade put me in this chest, and secretly brought in the slaves and the doorkeepers and bribed them ; and, on the night when thou wast perched upon the date-tree, she sent the blacks to- do with me as thou sawest. So my delivery was at thy hands, and thou broughtest me to this house and hast entreated me honourably and with thy kindest. This is my story, and I wot not what is become of the Caliph during my absence. Know then my con- dition and divulge not my case." When Ghanim heard her words and knew that she was a concubine of the Caliph, he drew back, for awe of the Caliphate beset him, and sat apart from her in one of the corners of the place, blaming himself and brooding over his affair and patiencing his heart bewildered for love of one he could not possess. Then he wept for excess of longing, and plained him of Fortune and her injuries, and the world and its enmities (and praise be to Him who causeth generous hearts to be troubled with love and the beloved, and who endoweth not the minds of the mean and miserly with so much of it as eveneth a grain-weight !). So he began repeating: The lover's heart for his beloved must meet o Sad pain, and from her charms bear sore defeat : What is Love s taste ? They asked and answered I, o- Sweet is the taste but ah ! 'tis bitter-sweet. Thereupon Kut al-Kulub arose and took him to her bosom and kissed him ; for the love of him was firm fixed in her heart, so that she disclosed to him her secret and all the affection she felt ; and, throwing her arms round Ghanim 's neck like a collar of pearls, kissed him again and yet again. But he held off from her in awe of the Caliph. Then they talked together a long while (and indeed both were drowned in the sea of their mutual love) ; and, as the day broke, Ghanim rose and donned his clothes and going to the' bazar, as was his wont, took what the occasion required and) returned home. He found her weeping ; but when she saw him; she checked herself and, smiling through her tears, said, "Thou* hast desolated me, O beloved of my heart. By Allah, this hour of absence hath been to me like a year! 1 I have explained to The most terrible part of a belle passion in the East is that the beloved will not allow her lover leave of absence for an hour.