第6章

Then she sought in the box and，finding the paper，opened it，read it，understood it and knew that this was indeed her lord，whereas her heart was solaced and she rejoiced.Now when the old woman saw her laughing，she exclaimed，'This is indeed a blessed day！'； and Naomi said，'O nurse，I have a mind for something to eat and drink.' The old woman said to the serving women，'Bring a tray of dainty viands for your mistress；' whereupon they set food before her and she sat down to eat.And behold in came the Caliph who，seeing her sitting at meat，rejoiced； and the old woman said to him，'O Commander of the Faithful，I give thee joy of thy hand maid Naomi's recovery！ And the cause is that there is lately come to this our city a physician than whom I never saw a better versed in diseases and their remedies.I fetched her medicine from him and she hath drunken of it but once and is restored to health.' Quoth he，'Take a thousand dinars and apply thyself to her treatment，till she be completely recovered.' And he went away，rejoicing in the damsel's recovery，whilst the old woman betook herself to the Persian's house and delivered the thousand dinars，giving him to know that she was become the Caliph's slave and also handing him a letter which Naomi had written.He took it and gave the letter to Ni'amah，who at first sight knew her hand and fell down in a swoon.When he revived he opened the letter and found these words written therein： 'From the slave despoiled of her Ni'amah，her delight； her whose reason hath been beguiled and who is parted from the core of her heart.But afterwards of a truth thy letter hath reached me and hath broadened my breast，and solaced my soul，even as saith the poet，'Thy note came： long lost hungers wrote that note，* Till drop they sweetest scents for what they wrote：

Twas Moses to his mother's arms restored；*'Twas Jacob's eye-sight cured by Joseph's coat！'[16]

When Ni'amah read these verses，his eyes ran over with tears and the old woman said to him，'What maketh thee to weep，O my son？

Allah never cause thine eye to shed tears！' Cried the Persian，'O my lady，how should my son not weep，seeing that this is his slave-girl and he her lord，Ni'amah son of al-Rabi'a of Cufa； and her health dependeth on her seeing him，for naught aileth her but loving him.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-third Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Persian cried out to the old woman，'How shall my son not weep，seeing that this is his slave-girl and he her lord，Ni'amah son of al-Rabi'a of Cufa； and the health of this damsel dependeth on her seeing him and naught aileth her but loving him.So，do thou，O

my lady，take these thousand dinars to thyself and thou shalt have of me yet more than this； only look on us with eyes of rush；

for we know not how to bring this affair to a happy end save through thee.' Then she said to Ni'amah，'Say，art thou indeed her lord？' He replied，'Yes，' and she rejoined，'Thou sayest sooth； for she ceaseth not continually to name thee.' Then he told her all that had passed from first to last，and she said，'O youth，thou shalt owe thy reunion with her to none but myself.'

So she mounted and，at once returning to Naomi，looked in her face and laughed saying，'It is just，O my daughter，that thou weep and fall sick for thy separation from thy master，Ni'amah，son of Al-Rabi'a of Cufa.' Quoth Naomi，'Verily，the veil hath been withdrawn for thee and the truth revealed to thee.' Rejoined the old woman，'Be of good cheer and take heart，for I will assuredly bring you together，though it cost me my life.' Then she returned to Ni'amah and said to him，'I went to thy slave-

girl and conversed with her，and I find that she longeth for thee yet more than thou for her； for although the Commander of the Faithful is minded to become intimate with her，she refuseth herself to him.But if thou be stout of purpose and firm of heart，I will bring you together and venture my life for you，and play some trick and make shift to carry thee into the Caliph's palace，where thou shalt meet her，for she cannot come forth.'

And Ni'amah answered，'Allah requite thee with good！' Then she took leave of him and went back to Naomi and said，'Thy lord is indeed dying of love for thee and would fain see thee and foregather with thee.What sayest thou？' Naomi replied，'And I

too am longing for his sight and dying for his love.' Whereupon the old woman took a parcel of women's clothes and ornaments and，repairing to Ni'amah，said to him，'Come with me into some place apart.' So he brought her into the room behind the shop where she stained his hands and decked his wrists and plaited his hair，after which she clad him in a slave-girl's habit and adorned him after the fairest fashion of woman's adornment，till he was as one of the Houris of the Garden of Heaven，and when she saw him thus she exclaimed，'Blessed be Allah，best of Creators！ By Allah，thou art handsomer than the damsel.[17] Now，walk with thy left shoulder forwards and thy right well behind，and sway thy hips from side to side.'[18] So he walked before her，as she bade him； and，when she saw he had caught the trick of woman's gait，she said to him，'Expect me tomorrow night，and Allah willing，I will take and carry thee to the palace.But when thou seest the Chamberlains and the Eunuchs be bold，and bow thy head and speak not with any，for I will prevent their speech； and with Allah is success！' Accordingly，when the morning dawned，she returned and，carrying him to the palace，entered before him and he after her step by step.The Chamberlain would have stopped his entering，but the old woman said to him，'O most ill omened of slaves，this is the handmaid of Naomi，the Caliph's favourite.