第26章

but as regards Kut al-Kulub，when she had taken up her lodging in Ala al-Din's mansion，she and her women，forty in all，besides the eunuchry，she called two of these caponised slaves and said to them，'Sit ye on stools，one on the right and another on the left hand of the door； and，when Ala al-Din cometh home，both of you kiss his hands and say to him，'Our mistress Kut al-Kulub requesteth thy presence in the pavilion，for the Caliph hath given her to thee，her and her women.' They answered，'We hear and obey；' and did as she bade them.So，when Ala al-Din returned，he found two of the Caliph's eunuchs sitting at the door and was amazed at the matter and said to himself，'Surely，this is not my own house； or else what can have happened？' Now when the eunuchs saw him，they rose to him and，kissing his hands，said to him，'We are of the Caliph's household and slaves to Kut al-Kulub，who saluteth thee，giving thee to know that the Caliph hath bestowed her on thee，her and her women，and requesteth thy presence.' Quoth Ala al-Din，'Say ye to her，'Thou art welcome； but so long as thou shalt abide with me，I will not enter the pavilion wherein thou art，for what was the master's should not become the man's；' and furthermore ask her，'What was the sum of thy day's expenditure in the Caliph's palace？'' So they went in and did his errand to her，and she answered，'An hundred dinars a day；' whereupon quoth he to himself，'There was no need for the Caliph to give me Kut al-Kulub，that I should be put to such expense for her； but there is no help for it.' So she abode with him awhile and he assigned her daily an hundred dinars for her maintenance； till，one day，he absented himself from the Divan and the Caliph said to Ja'afar，'O Watir，I gave not Kut al-Kulub unto Ala al-Din but that she might console him for his wife； why，then，doth he still hold aloof from us？' Answered Ja'afar，'O Commander of the Faithful，he spake sooth who said，'Whoso findeth his fere，forgetteth his friends.'' Rejoined the Caliph，'Haply he hath not absented himself without excuse，but we will pay him a visit.' Now some days before this，Ala al-Din had said to Ja'afar，'I complained to the Caliph of my grief and mourning for the loss of my wife Zubaydah and he gave me Kut al-Kulub；' and the Minister replied，'Except he loved thee，he had not given her to thee.Say hast thou gone in unto her，O Ala al-Din？' He rejoined，'No，by Allah！ I know not her length from her breadth.' He asked 'And why？' and he answered，'O Wazir，what befitteth the lord befitteth not the liege.' Then the Caliph and Ja'afar disguised themselves and went privily to visit Ala al-Din； but he knew them and rising to them kissed the hands of the Caliph，who looked at him and saw signs of sorrow in his face.So he said to him，'O Al-Din，whence cometh this sorrow wherein I see thee？ Hast thou not gone in unto Kut al-Kulub？' He replied，'O Commander of the Faithful，what befitteth the lord befitteth not the thrall.No，as yet I have not gone in to visit her nor do I know her length from her breadth； so pray quit me of her.' Quoth the Caliph，'I would fain see her and question her of her case；' and quoth Ala al-Din，'I hear and I obey，O Commander of the Faithful.' So the Caliph went in，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-second Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Caliph went in to Kut al-Kulub，who rose to him on sighting him and kissed the ground between his hands； when he said to her，'Hath Ala al-Din gone in unto thee？' and she answered，'No，O Commander of the Faithful，I sent to bid him come，but he would not.' So the Caliph bade carry her back to the Harim and saying to Ala Al-Din，'Do not absent thyself from us，' returned to his palace.

Accordingly，next morning，Ala Al-Din，mounted and rode to the Divan，where he took his seat as Chief of the Sixty.Presently the Caliph ordered his treasurer to give the Wazir Ja'afar ten thousand dinars and said when his order was obeyed，'I charge thee to go down to the bazar where handmaidens are sold and buy Ala Al-Din，a slave-girl with this sum.' So in obedience to the King，Ja'afar took Ala al-Din and went down with him to the bazar.Now as chance would have it，that very day，the Emir Khalid，whom the Caliph had made Governor of Baghdad，went down to the market to buy a slave-girl for his son and the cause of his going was that his wife，Khatun by name，had borne him a son called Habzalam Bazazah，[86] and the same was foul of favour and had reached the age of twenty，without learning to mount horse； albeit his father was brave and bold，a doughty rider ready to plunge into the Sea of Darkness.[87] And it happened that on a certain night he had a dream which caused nocturnal-pollution whereof he told his mother，who rejoiced and said to his father，'I want to find him a wife，as he is now ripe for wedlock.' Quoth Khalid，'The fellow is so foul of favour and withal-so rank of odour，so sordid and beastly that no woman would take him as a gift.' And she answered，'We will buy him a slave-girl.' So it befell，for the accomplishing of what Allah Almighty had decreed，that on the same day，Ja'afar and Ala al-Din，the Governor Khalid and his son went down to the market and behold，they saw in the hands of a broker a beautiful girl，lovely faced and of perfect shape，and the Wazir said to him，'O

broker，ask her owner if he will take a thousand dinars for her.'

And as the broker passed by the Governor with the slave，Hahzalam Bazazah cast at her one glance of the eyes which entailed for himself one thousand sighs； and he fell in love with her and passion got hold of him and he said，'O my father，buy me yonder slave-girl.' So the Emir called the broker，who brought the girl to him，and asked her her name.She replied，'My name is Jessamine；' and he said to Hahzalam Bazazah，'O my son，as she please thee，do thou bid higher for her.' Then he asked the broker，'What hath been bidden for her？' and he replied，'A thousand dinars.' Said the Governor's son，'She is mine for a thousand pieces of gold and one more；' and the broker passed on to Ala al-Din who bid two thousand dinars for her； and as often as the Emir's son bid another dinar，Ala al-Din bid a thousand.