第35章

Now there were in the church ten blind cripples，and one of them said to him，'Bring me a pot.' So he brought it him and he cacked and eased himself therein and said，'Throw away the ordure.' He did so，and the blind man said，'The Messiah's blessing be upon thee，O servant of the church！' Presently behold，the old woman came in and said to him，'Why hast thou not done thy service in the church？' Answered he，'How many hands have I，that I should suffice for all this work？' She rejoined，'Thou fool，I brought thee not hither except to work；' and she added，'Take，O my son，this rod （which was of copper capped with a cross） and go forth into the highway and，when thou meetest the governor of the city，say to him，'I summon thee to the service of the church，in the name of our Lord the Messiah.' And he will not disobey thee.Then make him take the wheat，sift，grind，bolt，knead，and bake it into cracknels； and if any gainsay thee，beat him and fear none.'

'To hear is to obey，' answered he and did as she said，and never ceased pressing great and small into his service； nor did he leave to do thus for the space of seventeen years.Now one day as he sat in church，lo！ the old woman came to him and said，'Go forth of the convent.' He asked，'Whither shall I go？' and she answered，'Thou canst pass the night in a tavern or with one of thy comrades.' Quoth he，'Why dost thou send me forth of the church？' and quote she，'The Princess Husn Maryam，daughter of Yohanna，[121] King of this city，purposeth to visit the church and it befitteth not that any abide in her way.' So he made a show of obeying her orders and rose up and pretended that he was leaving the church； but he said in his mind，'I wonder whether the Princess is like our women or fairer than they！ At any rate I will not go till I have had a look at her.' So he hid himself in a closet with a window looking into the church and，as he watched，behold，in came the King's daughter.He cast at her one glance of eyes that cost him a thousand sighs，for he found her like the full moon when it cometh swimming out of the clouds； and he saw with her a young lady，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Ala al-Din looked at the King's daughter，he saw with her a young lady to whom he heard her say，'Thy company hath cheered me，O

Zubaydah.' So he looked straitly at the damsel and found her to be none other than his dead wife，Zubaydah the Lutist.Then the Princess said to Zubaydah，'Come，play us an air on the lute.'

But she answered，'I will make no music for thee，till thou grant my wish and keep thy word to me.' Asked the Princess，'And what did I promise thee？'； and Zubaydah answered，'That thou wouldst reunite me with my husband Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat，the Trusty，the Faithful.' Rejoined the Princess，'O Zubaydah，be of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool and clear； play us a piece as a thank-offering and an ear-feast for reunion with thy husband Ala al-Din.' 'Where is he？' asked Zubaydah，and Maryam answered，'He is in yonder closet listening to our words.' So Zubaydah played on the lute a melody which had made a rock dance for glee； and when Ala al-Din heard it，his bowels yearned towards her and he came forth from the closet and，throwing himself upon his wife Zubaydah，strained her to his bosom.She also knew him and the twain embraced and fell to the ground in a swoon.Then came forward the Princess Husn Maryam and sprinkled rose water on them，till they revived when she said to them，'Allah hath reunited you.' Replied Ala al-Din，'By thy kind of offices，O lady.' Then，turning to his wife，he said to her，'O Zubaydah，thou didst surely die and we tombed thee in the tomb： how then returnedst thou to life and camest thou to this place？' She answered，'O my lord，I did not die； but an Aun[122] of the Jinn snatched me up and dew with me hither.She whom thou buriedst was a Jinniyah，who shaped herself to my shape and feigned herself dead； but when you entombed her she broke open the tomb and came forth from it and returned to the service of this her mistress，the Princess Husn Maryam.As for me I was possessed[123] and，when I opened my eyes，I found myself with this Princess thou seest； so I said to her，'Why hast thou brought me hither？' Replied she，'I am predestined to marry thy husband，Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat： wilt thou then，O Zubaydah，accept me to co-consort，a night for me and a night for thee？'