Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (Arabian Nights) Volume 09 — Night 895 - 896

When it was the Eight Hundred and Ninety-Fifth Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old woman said to the man, "However the secret must not go beyond us three, to wit me, thee and her; and there is no help but thou be lavish of thy money to boot."

He replied, "Though my life were the price of her favours 'twere no great matter."

"So it was agreed" (continued the man of Upper Egypt), "that I should pay her fifty dinars and that she should come to me; whereupon I procured the money and gave it to the old woman.

She took it and said, 'Make ready a place for her in thy house, and she will come to thee this night.'

Accordingly I went home and made ready what I could of meat and drink and wax candles and sweetmeats.

Now my house overlooked the sea and 'twas the season of summer; so I spread the bed on the terrace roof.

Presently, the Frank woman came and we ate and drank, and the night fell dark.

We lay down under the sky, with the moon shining on us, and fell to watching the shimmering of the stars in the sea: and I said to myself, 'Art thou not ashamed before Allah (to whom belong Might and Majesty!

) and thou a stranger, under the heavens and in presence of the deep waters, to disobey Him with a Nazarene woman and merit the torment of Fire?'

Then said I, 'O my God, I call Thee to witness that I abstain from this Christian woman this night, of shamefastness before Thee and fear of Thy vengeance!'

So I slept till the morning, and she arose at peep of day full of anger and went away.

I walked to my shop and sat there; and behold, presently she passed, as she were the moon, accompanied by the old woman who was also angry; whereat my heart sank within me and I said to myself, 'Who art thou that thou shouldst refrain from yonder damsel?

Art thou Sarí al-Sakatí or Bishr Barefoot or Junayd of Baghdad or Fuzayl bin 'Iyáz?'

[FN#31] Then I ran after the old woman and coming up with her said to her, 'Bring her to me again;' and said she, 'By the virtue of the Messiah, she will not return to thee but for an hundred ducats!'

Quoth I, 'I will give thee a hundred gold pieces.'

So I paid her the money and the damsel came to me a second time; but no sooner was she with me than I returned to my whilome way of thinking and abstained from her and forbore her for the sake of Allah Almighty.

Presently she went away and I walked to my shop, and shortly after the old woman came up, in a rage.

Quoth I to her, 'Bring her to me again;' and quoth she, 'By the virtue of the Messiah, thou shalt never again enjoy her presence with thee, except for five hundred ducats, and thou shalt perish in thy pain!'

At this I trembled and resolved to spend the whole price of my flax and therewith ransom my life.

But, before I could think, I heard the crier proclaiming and saying, 'Ho, all ye Moslems, the truce which was between us and you is expired, and we give all of you Mahometans who are here a week from this time to have done with your business and depart to your own country.'

Thus her visits were cut off from me and I betook myself to getting in the price of the flax which men had bought upon credit, and to bartering what remained in my hands for other goods.

Then I took with me fair merchandise and departed Acre with a soul full of affection and love-longing for the Frankish woman, who had taken my heart and my coin.

So I journeyed till I made Damascus, where I sold the stock in trade I had brought from Acre, at the highest price, because of the cutting off of communication by reason of the term of truce having expired; and Allah (extolled and exalted be He!

) vouchsafed me good gain.

Then I fell to trading in captive slave- girls, thinking thus to ease my heart of its pining for the Frankish woman, and in this traffic engaged I abode three years, till there befel between Al-Malik al-Násir and the Franks what befel of the action of Hattin and other encounters and Allah gave him the victory over them, so that he took all their Kings prisoners and he opened [FN#32] the coast [FN#33] cities by His leave.

Now it fortuned one day after this, that a man came to me and sought of me a slave-girl for Al-Malik al-Nasir.

Having a handsome handmaid I showed her to him and he bought her of me for an hundred dinars and gave me ninety thereof, leaving ten still due to me, for that there was no more found in the royal treasury that day, because he had expended all his monies in waging war against the Franks.

Accordingly they took counsel with him and he said, 'Carry him to the treasury[FN#34] where are the captives' lodging and give him his choice among the damsels of the Franks, so he may take one of them for the ten dinars,'" -- And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.