第88章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(50)

'By the Great God，'said the Khalif，'she is as handsome as Num，and to-morrow，I will appoint her a separate chamber beside that of Num and send her furniture and linen and all that befits her，in honour of Num.'Then，the princess called for food and set it before her brother，who ate and filling a cup，signed to Num to sing.So she took the lute，after drinking two cups，and sang the following verses：

Whenas my cup-companion hath poured me out of wine Three foaming cups，brimmed over with nectar from the vine，I trail my skirts in glory all night，as if oer thee，Commander of the Faithful，the empery were mine.

The Khalif was delighted and filling another cup，gave it to Num and bade her sing again.So she drank off the cup，and sweeping the strings of the lute，sang as follows：

O thou，the noblest man of men that live in this our day，Whose equal none may boast himself in power and mightiness，O all unpeered in pride of place，to whom munificence Is as a birthright，Lord and King，whom all in all confess，Thou，that dost lord it，sovran-wise，oer all the kings of earth And without grudging or reproach，givst bountiful largesse，God have thee ever in His guard，despite thine every foe，And be thy fortune ever bright with victory and success！

When the Khalif heard this，he exclaimed，'By Allah，it is good！

By Allah，it is excellent！Verily，God hath been good to thee，Num！How sweet is thy voice and how clear thy speech！'They passed the time thus in mirth and good cheer，till midnight，when the Khalifs sister said to him，'O Commander of the Faithful，give ear to a tale I have read in books of a certain man of rank.'And what is this tale？'asked he.'Know，'said she，'that there lived once in the city of Cufa，a youth called Nimeh ben er Rebya，and he had a slave-girl whom he loved and who loved him.They had been reared in one bed；but when they grew up and mutual love took possession of them，fate smote them with its calamities and decreed separation unto them.For designing folk enticed her by sleight forth of his house and stealing her away from him，sold her to one of the Kings for ten thousand dinars.

Now the girl loved her lord even as he loved her；so he left house and home and fortune and setting out in quest of her，made shift，at the peril of his life，to gain access to her；but they had not been long in company，when in came the King，who had bought her of her ravisher，and hastily bade put them to death，without waiting to enquire into the matter，as was just.What sayest thou，O Commander of the Faithful，of this Kings conduct？'This was indeed a strange thing，'answered the Khalif；'it behoved the King to use his power with clemency，and he should have considered three things in their favour；first，that they loved one another；secondly，that they were in his house and under his hand；and thirdly，that it behoves a King to be deliberate in judging between the folk，and how much more so when he himself is concerned！Wherefore the King in this did unkingly.'Then said his sister，'O my brother by the Lord of heaven and earth，I conjure thee，bid Num sing and give ear to that she shall sing！'And he said，'O Num，sing to me.'So she played a lively measure and sang the following verses：

Fortune hath played the traitor；indeed，twas ever so，Transpiercing hearts and bosoms and kindling care and woe And parting friends in sunder，that were in union knit，So down their cheeks thou seest the tears in torrents flow.

They were，and I was with them，in all delight of life，And fortune did unite us full straitly whiles ago.

So gouts of blood，commingled with tears，both night and day Ill weep，my sore affliction for loss of thee to show.

When he heard this，he was moved to great delight，and his sister said to him，'O my brother，he who decideth in aught against himself，it behoveth him to abide by it and do according to his word；and thou hast by this judgment decided against thyself.'

Then said she，'O Nimeh，stand up，and do thou likewise，O Num！'

So they stood up and she continued，'O Commander of the Faithful，she who stands before thee is Num，whom El Hejjaj ben Yousuf eth Thekefi stole and sent to thee，falsely pretending in his letter to thee that he had bought her for ten thousand dinars.This other is her lord，Nimeh ben er Rebya；and I beseech thee，by the honour of thy pious forefathers and by Hemzeh and Akil and Abbes，[85] to pardon them and bestow them one on the other，that thou mayst earn the recompense in the next world of thy just dealing with them；for they are under thy hand and have eaten of thy meat and drunken of thy drink；and behold，I make intercession for them and beg of thee the boon of their lives.'

'Thou sayst sooth，'replied the Khalif，'I did indeed give judgment as thou sayst，and I use not to go back on my word.'