第55章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(17)

after which he bade perfume the palace with saffron and decorate the city，saying to Merzewan，By Allah，O my son，thou hast a lucky and a blessed aspect！'And he made much of him and called for food，which when they brought，Merzewan said to the prince，Come，eat with me.'So he obeyed him and ate with him，while the King called down blessings on Merzewan and said，How auspicious is thy coming，O my son！'When he saw Kemerezzeman eat，his joy redoubled and he went out and told the princes mother and the people of the palace.Then he let call abroad the good news of the princes recovery and proclaimed the decoration of the city： so the people rejoiced and decorated the city and it was a day of high festival.Merzewan passed the night with Kemerezzeman，and the King also slept with them，in the excess of his joy for his sons recovery.Next morning，when the King had gone away and the two young men were left alone，Kemerezzeman told Merzewan his story from first to last and the latter said to him，I know her with whom thou didst foregather；her name is the princess Budour and she is daughter to King Gha？our.'Then he told him all that had befallen the princess and acquainted him with the excessive love she bore him，saying，All that befell thee with thy father hath befallen her with hers，and thou art without doubt her beloved，even as she is thine；so brace up thy resolution and take heart，for I will bring thee to her and unite you both anon and deal with you even as saith the poet：

Though to the lover adverse be the fair And drive him with her rigours to despair，Yet will I soon unite them，even as I The pivot of a pair of scissors were.

And he went on to comfort and hearten Kemerezzeman and urged him to eat and drink，cheering him and diverting him with talk and song and stories，till he ate food and drank wine and life and strength returned to him.In good time he became free of his disorder and stood up and sought to go to the bath.So Merzewan took him by the hand and carried him to the bath，where they washed their bodies and made them clean.When his father heard of this，in his joy he freed the prisoners and gave alms to the poor；moreover he bestowed splendid dresses of honour upon his grandees and let decorate the city seven days.Then said Merzewan to Kemerezzeman，Know，O my lord，that the sole object of my journey hither was to deliver the princess Budour from her present strait；and it remains but for us to devise how we may get to her，since thy father cannot brook the thought of parting with thee.So it is my counsel that tomorrow thou ask his leave to go a-hunting，saying，'I have a mind to divert myself with hunting in the desert and to see the open country and pass the night there.'Then do thou take with thee a pair of saddle-bags full of gold and mount a swift hackney and I will do the like；

and we will take each a spare horse.Suffer not any servant to follow us，for as soon as we reach the open country，we will go our ways.'Kemerezzeman rejoiced mightily in this plan and said，It is good.'Then he took heart and going in to his father，sought his leave to go out to hunt，saying as Merzewan had taught him.The King consented and said，O my son，a thousandfold blessed be the day that restores thee to health！I will not gainsay thee in this；but pass not more than one night in the desert and return to me on the morrow；for thou knowest that life is not good to me without thee，and indeed I can hardly as yet credit thy recovery，because thou art to me as he of whom quoth the poet：

Though Solomon his carpet were mine both day and night，Though the Choero？s empire，yea，and the world were mine，All were to me in value less than a midges wing，Except mine eyes still rested upon that face of thine.'

Then he equipped the prince and Merzewan for the excursion，bidding make them ready four horses，together with a dromedary to carry the money and a camel for the water and victuals；and Kemerezzeman forbade any of his attendants to follow him.His father bade him farewell and pressed him to his breast and kissed him，saying，I conjure thee by Allah，be not absent from me more than one night，wherein sleep will be denied me，for I am even as saith the poet：

Thy presence with me is my heaven of delight And my hell of affliction the loss of thy sight.

My soul be thy ransom！If love be my crime For thee，my offence，of a truth，is not light.

Doth passion blaze up in thy heart like to mine？I suffer the torments of hell day and night.'

O my father，'answered Kemerezzeman，God willing，I will lie but one night abroad.'Then he took leave of him，and he and Merzewan mounted and taking with them the dromedary and camel，rode out into the open country.They drew not bridle from the first of the day till nightfall，when they halted and ate and drank and fed their beasts and rested awhile；after which they again took horse and fared on three days，till they came to a spacious wooded tract.Here they alighted and Merzewan，taking the camel and one of the horses，slaughtered them and cut the flesh off their bones.Then he took from Kemerezzeman his shirt and trousers and cassock and tearing them in shreds，smeared them with the horses blood and cast them down in the fork of the road.Then they ate and drank and taking horse set forward again.'O my brother，'said Kemerezzeman，what is this thou hast done and how will it profit us？Know，'answered Merzewan，that thy father，when he finds that we have outstayed the night for which we had his leave，will mount and follow in our track till he comes hither；and when he sees the blood and thy clothes torn and bloodied，he will deem thee to have been slain of highway robbers or wild beasts；so he will give up hope of thee and return to his city，and by this devise we shall gain our end.'By Allah，'said Kemerezzeman，this is indeed a rare device！Thou hast done well.'Then they fared on days and nights and Kemerezzeman did nought but weep and complain，till they drew near their journeys end，when he rejoiced and repeated the following verses：