第37章

Wherefore，if thou wilt become a Moslem，well and good； if not，thy death were better than thy life.' Ala al-Din also exhorted him to embrace the True Faith； but he refused and was contumacious； so Ala al-Din drew a dagger and cut his throat from ear to ear.[126] Then he wrote a scroll，setting forth what had happened and laid it on the brow of the dead，after which they took what was light of load and weighty of worth and turned from the palace and returned to the church.Here the Princess drew forth the jewel and，placing her hand upon the facet where was figured a couch，rubbed it； and behold，a couch appeared before her and she mounted upon it with Ala al-Din and his wife Zubaydah，the lutist，saying，'I conjure thee by the virtue of the names and talismans and characts engraver on this jewel，rise up with us，O Couch！' And it rose with them into the air and flew，till it came to a Wady wholly bare of growth，when the Princess turned earthwards the facet on which the couch was figured，and it sank with them to the ground.Then she turned up the face where on was fashioned a pavilion and tapping it said，'Let a pavilion be pitched in this valley；' and there appeared a pavilion，wherein they seated themselves.Now this Wady was a desert waste，without grass or water； so she turned a third face of the jewel towards the sky，and said，'By the virtue of the names of Allah，let trees upgrow here and a river flow beside them！' And forthwith trees sprang up and by their side ran a river plashing and dashing.They made the ablution and prayed and drank of the stream； after which the Princess turned up the three other facets till she came to the fourth，whereon was portrayed a table of good，and said，'By the virtue of the names of Allah，let the table be spread！' And behold，there appeared before them a table，spread with all manner of rich meats，and they ate and drank and made merry and were full of joy.Such was their case；

but as regards Husn Maryam's father，his son went in to waken him and found him slain； and，seeing Ala al-Din's scroll，took it and read it，and readily understood it.Then he sought his sister and finding her not，betook himself to the old woman in the church，of whom he enquired for her，but she said，'Since yesterday I have not seen her.' So he returned to the troops and cried out，saying，'To horse，ye horsemen！' Then he told them what had happened，so they mounted and rode after the fugitives，till they drew near the pavilion.Presently Husn Maryam arose and looked up and saw a cloud of dust which spread till it walled the view，then it lifted and flew，and lo！ stood disclosed her brother and his troops，crying aloud，'Whither will ye fly，and we on your track！' Then said she to Ala al-Din，'Are thy feet firm in fight？' He replied，'Even as the stake in bran，I know not war nor battle，nor swords nor spears.' So she pulled out the jewel and rubbed the fifth face，that on which were graven a horse and his rider，and behold，straightway a cavalier appeared out of the desert and ceased not to do battle with the pursuing host and smite them with the sword，till he routed them and put them to flight.Then the Princess asked Ala al-Din，'Wilt thou go to Cairo or to Alexandria？'； and he answered，'To Alexandria.' So they mounted the couch and she pronounced over it the conjuration，whereupon it set off with them and，in the twinkling of an eye，brought them to Alexandria.They alighted without the city and Ala al-Din hid the women in a cavern，whilst he went into Alexandria and fetched them outer clothing，wherewith he covered them.Then he carried them to his shop and，leaving them in the 'ben'[127] walked forth to fetch them the morning-meal，and behold he met Calamity Ahmad who chanced to be coming from Baghdad.He saw him in the street and received him with open arms，saluting him and welcoming him.Whereupon Ahmad al-Danaf gave him the good news of his son Aslan and how he was now come to the age of twenty： and Ala al-Din，in his turn，told the Captain of the Guard all that had befallen him from first to last，whereat he marvelled with exceeding marvel.Then he brought him to his shop and sitting room where they passed the night； and next day he sold his place of business and laid its price with other monies.Now Ahmad al-Danaf had told him that the Caliph sought him； but he said，'I am bound first for Cairo，to salute my father and mother and the people of my house.' So they all mounted the couch and it carried them to Cairo the God-guarded；