第3章

When it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-ninth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the old hag fell to visiting daily Ni'amah's house and frequenting his slave wife，Naomi； and both ceased not to honour her，and she used to go in to them morning and evening and all in the house respected her till，one day，being alone with Naomi，she said to her，'O my lady！ by Allah，when I go to the Holy Places，I will pray for thee； and I only wish thou wert with me，that thou mightest look on the Elders of the Faith who resort thither，and they should pray for thee，according to thy desire.' Naomi cried，'I conjure thee by Allah take me with thee！'； and she replied，'Ask leave of thy mother in law，and I will take thee.' So Naomi said to her husband's mother，'O my lady，ask my master to let us go forth，me and thee，one day with this my old mother，to prayer and worship with the Fakirs in the Holy Places.' Now when Ni'amah came in and sat down，the old woman went up to him and would have kissed his hand，but he forbade her； so she invoked blessings[9] on him and left the house.Next day she came again，in the absence of Ni'amah，and she addressed Naomi，saying，'We prayed for thee yesterday； but arise now and divert thyself and return ere thy lord come home.' So Naomi said to her mother-in-law，'I beseech thee，for Allah's sake，give me leave to go with this pious woman，that I may sight the saints of Allah in the Holy Places，and return speedily ere my lord come back.'

Quoth Ni'amah's mother，'I fear lest thy lord know；' but said the old woman，'By Allah，I will not let her take seat on the floor；

no，she shall look，standing on her feet，and not tarry.' So she took the damsel by guile and，carrying her to Al-Hajjaj's palace，told him of her coming，after placing her in a lonely chamber；

whereupon he went in to her and，looking upon her，saw her to be the loveliest of the people of the day，never had he beheld her like.Now when Naomi caught sight of him she veiled her face from him； but he left her not till he had called his Chamberlain，whom he commanded to take fifty horsemen； and he bade him mount the damsel on a swift dromedary，and bear her to Damascus and there deliver her to the Commander of the Faithful，Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.Moreover，he gave him a letter for the Caliph，saying，'Bear him this letter and bring me his answer and hasten thy return to me.' So the Chamberlain，without losing time，took the damsel （and she tearful for separation from her lord） and，setting out with her on a dromedary，gave not over journeying till he reached Damascus.There he sought audience of the Commander of the Faithful and，when it was granted，the Chamberlain delivered the damsel and reported the circumstance.

The Caliph appointed her a separate apartment and going into his Harim，said to his wife，'Al Hajjaj hath bought me a slave-girl of the daughters of the Kings of Cufa[10] for ten thousand dinars，and hath sent me this letter.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Fortieth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the Caliph acquainted his wife with the story of the slave-girl，she said to him，'Allah increase to thee His favour！' Then the Caliph's sister went in to the supposed slave-girl and，when she saw her，she said，'By Allah，not unlucky is the man who hath thee in his house，were thy cost an hundred thousand dinars！' And Naomi replied，'O fair of face，what King's palace is this，and what is the city？' She answered，'This is the city of Damascus，and this is the palace of my brother，the Commander of the Faithful，Abd al-Malik bin Marwan.[11]' Then she resumed，'Didst thou not know all this？' Naomi said，'By Allah，O my lady，I had no knowledge of it！'； when the other asked，'And he who sold thee and took thy price did he not tell thee that the Caliph had bought thee？' Now when Naomi heard these words，she shed tears and said to herself，'Verily，I have been tricked and the trick hath succeeded，' adding to herself，'If I speak，none will credit me； so I will hold my peace and take patience，for I know that the relief of Allah is near.' Then she bent her head for shame，and indeed her cheeks were tanned by the journey and the sun.So the Caliph's sister left her that day and returned to her on the morrow with clothes and necklaces of jewels，and dressed her； after which the Caliph came in to her and sat down by her side，and his sister said to him，'Look on this handmaid in whom Allah hath conjoined every perfection of beauty and loveliness.'

So he said to Naomi，'Draw back the veil from thy face；' but she would not unveil，and he beheld not her face.However，he saw her wrists and love of her entered his heart； and he said to his sister，'I will not go in unto her for three days，till she be cheered by thy converse.' Then he arose and left her，but Naomi ceased not to brood over her case and sigh for her separation from her master，Ni'amah，till she fell sick of a fever during the night and ate not nor drank； and her favour faded and her charms were changed.They told the Caliph of this and her condition grieved him； so he visited her with physicians and men of skill，but none could come at a cure for her.This is how it fared with her； but as regards Ni'amah，when he returned home he sat down on his bed and cried，'Ho，Naomi！' But she answered not；

so he rose in haste and called out，yet none came to him，as all the women in the house had hidden themselves for fear of him.

Then he went out to his mother，whom he found sitting with her cheek on her hand，and said to her，'O my mother，where is Naomi？' She answered，'O my son，she is with one who is worthier than I to be trusted with her，namely，the devout old woman； she went forth with her to visit devotionally the Fakirs and return.'