gravers upon the eyecorners it were a warner to whoso would be warned." "How is
that?" asked the King, and the young man began to tell
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The Tale of the Ensorcelled Prince.
Know then, O my lord, that whilome my sire was King of this city, and his name was Mahmud, entitled Lord of the Black Islands, and owner of what are now these four mountains. He ruled three score and ten years, after which he went to the mercy of the Lord and I reigned as Sultan in his stead. I took to wife my cousin, the
daughter of my paternal uncle,[FN#117] and she loved me with such abounding love that whenever I was absent she ate not and she
drank not until she saw me again. She cohabited with me for five years till a certain day when she went forth to the Hammam bath; and I bade the cook hasten to get ready all requisites for our supper. And I entered this palace and lay down on the bed where I was wont to sleep and bade two damsels to fan my face, one
sitting by my head and the other at my feet. But I was troubled and made restless by my wife's absence and could not sleep; for although my eyes were closed my mind and thoughts were wide awake. Presently I heard the slave girl at my head say to her at
my feet, "O Mas'udah, how miserable is our master and how wasted in his youth and oh! the pity of his being so be trayed by our mistress, the accursed whore!''[FN#118] The other replied, "Yes indeed: Allah curse all faithless women and adulterous; but the
like of our master, with his fair gifts, deserveth something
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better than this harlot who lieth abroad every night." Then quoth she who sat by my head, "Is our lord dumb or fit only for bubbling that he questioneth her not!" and quoth the other, "Fie on thee! cloth our lord know her ways or cloth she allow him his choice? Nay, more, cloth she not drug every night the cup she
giveth him to drink before sleep time, and put Bhang[FN#119] into it? So he sleepeth and wotteth not whither she goeth, nor what
she doeth; but we know that after giving him the drugged wine, she donneth her richest raiment and perfumeth herself and then she fareth out from him to be away till break of day; then she cometh to him, and burneth a pastile under his nose and he awaketh from his deathlike sleep." When I heard the slave girl's words, the light became black before my sight and I thought night would never-fall. Presently the daughter of my uncle came from the baths; and they set the table for us and we ate and sat
together a fair half hour quaffing our wine as was ever our wont. Then she called for the particular wine I used to drink before sleeping and reached me the cup; but, seeming to drink it according to my wont, I poured the contents into my bosom; and, lying down, let her hear that I was asleep. Then, behold, she
cried, "Sleep out the night, and never wake again: by Allah, I loathe thee and I loathe thy whole body, and my soul turneth in disgust from cohabiting with thee; and I see not the moment when Allah shall snatch away thy life!" Then she rose and donned her fairest dress and perfumed her person and slung my sword over her shoulder; and, opening the gates of the palace, went her ill way.
I rose and followed her as she left the palace and she threaded the streets until she came to the city gate, where she spoke
words I understood not, and the padlocks dropped of themselves as
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if broken and the gate leaves opened. She went forth (and I after her without her noticing aught) till she came at last to the outlying mounds[FN#120] and a reed fence built about a round
roofed hut of mud bricks. As she entered the door, I climbed upon the roof which commanded a view of the interior, and lo! my fair cousin had gone in to a hideous negro slave with his upper lip
like the cover of a pot, and his lower like an open pot; lips
which might sweep up sand from the gravel-floor of the cot. He was to boot a leper and a paralytic, lying upon a strew of sugar cane trash and wrapped in an old blanket and the foulest rags and tatters. She kissed the earth before him, and he raised his head
so as to see her and said, "Woe to thee! what call hadst thou to stay away all this time? Here have been with me sundry of the black brethren, who drank their wine and each had his young lady, and I was not content to drink because of thine absence." Then she, "O my lord, my heart's love and coolth of my eyes [FN#121]
knowest thou not that I am married to my cousin whose very look I
loathe, and hate myself when in his company? And did not I fear for thy sake, I would not let a single sun arise before making
his city a ruined heap wherein raven should croak and howlet hoot, and jackal and wolf harbour and loot; nay I had removed its very stones to the back side of Mount Kaf." [FN#122] Rejoined the slave, Thou liest, damn thee! Now I swear an oath by the velour
and honour of blackamoor men (and deem not our manliness to be ;
the poor manliness of white men), from today forth if thou stay away till this hour, I will not keep company with thee nor will I glue my body with thy body and strum and belly bump Dost play fast and loose with us, thou cracked pot, that we may satisfy thy dirty lusts? stinkard! bitch! vilest of the vile whites!" When I
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heard his words, and saw with my own eyes what passed between these two wretches, the world waxed dark be fore my face and my soul knew not in what place it was. But , my wife humbly stood up weeping before and wheedling the slave, and saying, O my beloved, and very fruit of my heart, there is none left to cheer me but
thy dear self; and, if thou cast me off who shall take me in, O
my beloved, O light of my eyes?" And she ceased not weeping and abasing herself to him until he deigned be reconciled with her. Then was she right glad and stood up and doffed her clothes, even to her petticoat trousers, and said, 0 my master what hast thou
here for thy handmaiden to eat? Uncover the basin," he grumbled, "and thou shalt find t the bottom the broiled bones of some rats we dined on, pick at them, and then go to that slop pot where
thou shalt find some leavings of beer [FN#123] which thou mayest drink." So she ate and drank and washed her hands, and went and lay down by the side of the slave, upon the cane trash and,
stripping herself stark naked, she crept in with him under his foul coverlet and his rags and tatters. When I saw my wife, my cousin, the daughter of my uncle, do this deed[FN#124] I clean lost my wits, and climbing down from the roof, I entered and took the sword which she had with her and drew it, determined to cut down the twain. I first struck at the slave's neck and thought
that the death decree had fallen on him:"And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eighth Night,
She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young ensorcelled Prince said to the King, "When I smote the
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slave with intent to strike off his head, I thought that I had slain him; for he groaned a loud hissing groan, but I had cut only the skin and flesh of the gullet and the two arteries! It
awoke the daughter of my uncle, so I sheathed the sword and fared forth for the city;
