Page:The Celebrated Romance of the Stealing of the Mare.djvu/78

 And they answered, "Fear thou nought. We will keep close thy secret,

For that which thou hast done we too had surely done it.

We will be to thee in this to the end of thy heart's wishes,

And to him too, to the end. No ear shall learn it of us."

Said the Narrator:

And when the maidens and Alia had made an end of their talking, and they had said to her, " Fear not, we are with thee, and of nothing of our souls will we be niggardly for thy sake, and all that thou hast done that too would we have done; and one such as is this knight were more worthy our possessing than all else in the world, for he is without guile and without blemish; —then Alia, hearing this, her heart was quieted, and she arose full of joy, and bent down and kissed the hands of Abu Zeyd. And all the damsels in like manner kissed his hands. And they undid their veils before him to the right and to the left. And Alia bade them bring meats in dishes, and the damsels brought them. And the servants and they rejoiced and were glad together. And when their meal was ended they brought wine and drank of it, and made merry until night fell on them. And they sang psalms and canticles, and played on instruments of music, nor did they leave their merriment for twenty nights, so that Abu Zeyd forgot his people, and it was to him as to one who had been born among