第7章

How durst thou stay her when she would enter？' Then said she，'Come in，O damsel！'； and the old woman went in and they ceased not faring on，till they drew near the door leading to the inner piazza of the palace，when she said to him，'O Ni'amah，hearten thyself and take courage and enter and turn to the left： then count five doors and pass through the sixth，for it is that of the place prepared for thee.Fear nothing，and if any speak to thee，answer not，neither stop.' Then she went up with him to the door，and the Chamberlain there on guard accosted her，saying 'What damsel is this？'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fourth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the Chamberlain accosted the old woman，saying，'What damsel is this？'； quoth the ancient dame，'Our lady hath a mind to buy her；' and he rejoined，'None may enter save by leave of the Commander of the Faithful； so do thou go back with her.I can not let her pass for thus am I commanded.' Replied the old woman，'O Chief Chamberlain，use thy reason.Thou knowest that Naomi，the Caliph's slave-girl，of whom he is enamoured，is but now restored to health and the Commander of the Faithful hardly yet crediteth her recovery.She is minded to buy this hand maid； so oppose thou not her entrance，lest haply it come to Naomi's knowledge and she be wroth with thee and suffer a relapse and this cause thy head to be cut off.' Then said she to Ni'amah，'Enter，O damsel； pay no heed to what he saith and tell not the Queen-consort that her Chamberlain opposed thine entrance.' So Ni'amah bowed his head and entered the palace，and would have turned to the left，but mistook the direction and walked to his right； and，meaning to count five doors and enter the sixth，he counted six and entering the seventh，found himself in a place whose floor was carpeted with brocade and whose walls were hung with curtains of gold-embroidered silk.And therein stood censers of aloes-wood and ambergris and strong-scented musk，and at the upper end was a couch bespread with cloth of gold on which he seated himself，marvelling at the magnificence he saw and knowing not what was written for him in the Secret Purpose.As he sat musing on his case，the Caliph's sister，followed by her handmaid，came in upon him； and，seeing the youth seated there took him for a slave-girl and accosted him and said，'Who art thou O damsel？ and what is thy case and who brought thee hither？' He made no reply，and was silent，when she continued，'O damsel！ if thou be one of my brother's concubines and he be wroth with thee，I will intercede with him for thee and get thee grace.' But he answered her not a word； so she said to her slave-girl，'Stand at the door and let none enter.' Then she went up to Ni'amah and looking at him was amazed at his beauty and said to him，'O lady，tell me who thou art and what is thy name and how thou camest here； for I have never seen thee in our palace.' Still he answered not，whereat she was angered and，putting her hand to his bosom，found no breasts and would have unveiled him，that she might know who he was； but he said to her，'O my lady，I am thy slave and I cast myself on thy protection： do thou protect me.' She said，'No harm shall come to thee，but tell me who thou art and who brought thee into this my apartment.' Answered he，'O Princess，I am known as Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a of Cufa and I have ventured my life for the sake of my slave-girl，Naomi，whom Al-Hajjaj took by sleight and sent hither.' Said she，'Fear not： no harm shall befall thee；'

then，calling her maid，she said to her，'Go to Naomi's chamber and send her to me.' Meanwhile the old woman went to Naomi's bedroom and said to her，'Hath thy lord come to thee？' 'No，by Allah！' answered Naomi，and the other said，'Belike he hath gone astray and entered some chamber other than thine and lost himself.' So Naomi cried，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！ Our last hour is come and we are all lost.' And while they were sitting and sadly enough pondering their case，in came the Princess's handmaid and saluting Naomi said to her，'My lady biddeth thee to her banquet.' 'I hear and I obey，' answered the damsel and the old woman said，'Belike thy lord is with the Caliph's sister and the veil of secrecy hath been rent.' So Naomi at once sprang up and betook herself to the Princess，who said to her，'Here is thy lord sitting with me； it seemeth he hath mistaken the place； but，please Allah，neither thou nor he has any cause for fear.' When Naomi heard these words，she took heart of grace and went up to Ni'amah； and her lord when he saw her.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Forty-fifth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Ni'amah saw his handmaid Naomi，he rose to meet her and strained her to his bosom and both fell to the ground fainting.As soon as they came to themselves，the Caliph's sister said to them，'Sit ye down and take we counsel for your deliverance from this your strait.' And they answered，'O our lady，we hear and obey： it is thine to command.' Quoth she，'By Allah，no harm shall befall you from us！' Then she bade her handmaids bring meat and drink which was done，and they sat down and ate till they had enough，after which they sat drinking.Then the cup went round amongst them and their cares ceased from them； but Ni'amah said，'Would I knew how this will end.' The Princess asked，'O Ni'amah，dost thou love thy slave Naomi？'； and he answered，'Of a truth it is my passion for her which hath brought me to this state of peril for my life.' Then said she to the damsel，'O Naomi，dost thou love thy lord Ni'amah？'； and she replied，'O my lady，it is the love of him which hath wasted my body and brought me to evil case.'