Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 3.djvu/310

282 do better than abide in the garden with the gardener and become his assistant, receiving for pay one fourth of the produce. So he said to him, "Wilt thou take me into thy service, to help thee in this garden?" Answered the gardener, "To hear is to consent;" and began teaching him to lead the water to the roots of the trees. So Kamar al-Zaman abode with him, watering the trees and hoeing up the weeds and wearing a short blue frock which reached to his knees. And he wept floods of tears; for he had no rest day or night, by reason of his strangerhood and he ceased not to repeat verses upon his beloved, amongst others the following couplets,

Ye promised us and will ye not keep plight? ○ Ye said a say and shall not deed be dight? We wake for passion while ye slumber and sleep; ○ Watchers and wakers claim not equal right: We vowed to keep our loves in secrecy, ○ But spake the meddler and you spoke forthright: O friend in pain and pleasure, joy and grief, ○ In all case you, you only, claim my sprite! Mid folk is one who holds my prisoned heart; ○ Would he but show some ruth for me to sight. Not every eye like mine is wounded sore, ○ Not every heart like mine love-pipings blight: Ye wronged me saying, Love is wrongous aye ○ Yea! ye were right, events have proved that quite. Forget they one love-thralled, whose faith the world ○ Robs not, though burn the fires in heart alight: If an my foeman shall become my judge, ○ Whom shall I sue to remedy his despight? Had not I need of love nor love had sought, ○ My heart forsure were not thus love-distraught.

Such was the case with Kamar al-Zaman; but as regards his wife, the Lady Budur, when she awoke she sought her husband and found him not: then she saw her petticoat-trousers undone, for the band had been loosed and the bezel lost, whereupon she said to herself, "By Allah, this is strange! Where is my husband? It would seem as if he had taken the talisman and gone away, knowing not the secret which is in it. Would to Heaven I knew whither can he have wended! But it must needs have been some extraordinary matter that drew him away, for he cannot brook to leave me a moment. Allah curse the stone and damn its hour!" Then she considered awhile and said in her mind, "If I go out