第25章

How then shall 'joy man joy or taste delight，* Upon whose cheeks shall rest the dust and clay？'

When the Caliph had made an end of condoling with him，he charged him not to absent himself from the Divan and returned to his palace.And Ala Al-Din，after a last sorrowful night，mounted early in the morning and，riding to the court，kissed the ground before the Commander of the Faithful who made a movement if rising from the throne[85] to greet and welcome him； and bade him take his appointed place in the Divan，saying，'O Ala al-Din，thou art my guest to-night.' So presently he carried him into his serraglio and calling a slave-girl named Kut al-Kulub，said to her，'Ala al-Din had a wife called Zubaydah，who used to sing to him and solace him of cark and care； but she is gone to the mercy of Almighty Allah，and now I would have thee play him an air upon the lute，'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-first Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Caliph said to the damsel Kut al-Kulub，'I would have thee play him upon the lute an air，of fashion sweet and rare，that he may be solaced of his cark and care.' So she rose and made sweet music；

and the Caliph said to Ala al-Din，'What sayst thou of this damsel's voice？' He replied，'Verily，O Commander of the Faithful，Zubaydah's voice was the finer； but she is skilled in touching the lute cunningly and her playing would make a rock dance with glee.' The Caliph asked，'Doth she please thee？'' and he answered，'She doth，O Commander of the Faithful；' whereupon the King said，'By the life of my head and the tombs of my forefathers，she is a gift from me to thee，she and her waiting-women！' Ala al-Din fancied that the Caliph was jesting with him；

but，on the morrow，the King went in to Kut al-Kulub and said to her，'I have given thee to Ala Al-Din，whereat she rejoiced，for she had seen and loved him.Then the Caliph returned from his serraglio palace to the Divan； and，calling porters，said to them，'Set all the goods of Kut al-Kulub and her waiting-women in a litter，and carry them to Ala al-Din's home.' So they conducted her to the house and showed her into the pavilion，whilst the Caliph sat in the hall of audience till the dose of day，when the Divan broke up and he retired to his harem.Such was his case；