第107章 (107)
and Abyssinians； and 'Obayd ibn Tahir[428] had given him two hundred white girls and a like number of Abyssinian and native girls.Among these slave-borns was a girl of Bassorah，hight Mahbubah，the Beloved，who was of surpassing beauty and loveliness，elegance and voluptuous grace.Moreover，she played upon the lute and was skilled in singing and making verses and wrote a beautiful hand； so that Al-Mutawakkil fell passionately in love with her and could not endure from her a single hour.But when she saw this affection，she presumed upon his favour to use him arrogantly，wherefore he waxed exceeding wroth with her and forsook her，forbidding the people of the palace to speak with her.She abode on this wise some days，but the Caliph still inclined to her； and he arose one morning and said to his courtiers，'I dreamt，last night，that I was reconciled to Mahhubah.'They answered，'Would Allah this might be on wake！'；
and as they were talking，behold，in came one of the Caliph's maidservants and whispered him； so he rose from his throne and entered the Serraglio； for the whisper had said，'Of a truth we heard singing and lute-playing in Mahbubah's chamber and we knew not what this meant.'So he went straight to her apartment，where he heard her playing upon the lute and singing the following verses，'I wander through the palace，but I sight there not a soul*To whom I may complain or will 'change a word with me.
It is as though I'd done so grievous rebel-deed*Wherefrom can no contrition e'er avail to set me free.
Have we no intercessor here to plead with King，who came*In sleep to me and took me back to grace and amity；
But when the break of day arose and showed itself again，* Then he departing sent me back to dree my privacy？'
Now when the Caliph heard her voice，he marvelled at the verse and yet more at the strange coincidence of their dreams and entered the chamber.As soon as she perceived him，she hastened to rise and throw herself at his feet，and kissing them，said，'By Allah，O my lord，this hap is what I dreamt last night； and，when I awoke，I made the couplets thou hast heard.'Replied Al-
Mutawakkil，'By Allah，I also dreamt the like！'Then they embraced and made friends and he abode with her seven days with their nights.Now Mahbubah had written upon her cheek，in musk，the Caliph's name，which was Ja'afar： and when he saw this，he improvised the following，'One wrote upon her cheek with musk，his name was Ja'afar highs；
* My soul for hers who wrote upon her cheek the name I
sight！
If an her fingers have inscribed one line upon her cheek，* Full many a line in heart of mine those fingers did indite：
O thou，whom Ja'afar sole of men possesseth for himself，* Allah fill Ja'afar[429] stream full draught，the wine of thy delight！'
When Al-Mutawakkil died，his host of women forgot him，all save Mahhubah，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Three Hundred and Fifty-third Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Al-Mutawakkil died，his host of women forgot him all save Mahbubah who ceased not to mourn for him，till she deceased and was buried by his side，the mercy of Allah be on them both！ And men also tell the tale of WARDAN[430] THE BUTCHER； HIS ADVENTURE
WITH THE LADY AND THE BEAR.
There lived once in Cairo，in the days of the Caliph Al-Hakim bi'
Amri'llah，a butcher named Wardan，who dealt in sheep's flesh；
and there came to him every day a lady and gave him a dinar，whose weight was nigh two and a half Egyptian dinars，saying，'Give me a lamb.'So he took the money and gave her the lamb，which she delivered to a porter she had with her； and he put it in his crate and she went away with him to her own place.Next day she came in the forenoon and this went on for a long time，the butcher gaining a dinar by her every day，till at last he began to be curious about her case and said to himself，'This woman buyeth of me a ducat-worth of meat every morning，paying ready money，and never misseth a single day.Verily，this is a strange thing！'So he took an occasion of questioning the porter，in her absence，and asked him，'Whither goest thou every day with yonder woman？'； and he answered，'I know not what to make of her for surprise； inasmuch as every day，after she hath taken the lamb of thee，she buyeth necessaries of the table，fresh and dried fruits and wax-candles a dinar's worth，and taketh of a certain person，which is a Nazarene，two flagons of wine，worth another dinar； and then she leadeth me with the whole and I go with her to the Wazir's Gardens，where she blindfoldeth me，so that I cannot see on what part of earth I set my feet； and，taking me by the hand，she leadeth me I know not whither.
Presently，she sayeth，'Set down here；'and when I have done so，she giveth me an empty crate she hath ready and，taking my hand，leadeth me back to the Wazir's Gardens，the place where she bound my eyes，and there removeth the bandage and giveth me ten silver bits.''Allah be her helper！'quoth Wardan； but he redoubled in curiosity about her case； disquietude increased upon him and he passed the night in exceeding restlessness.And quoth the butcher，'Next morning she came to me as of custom and taking the lamb，for which she paid the dinar，delivered it to the porter and went away.So I gave my shop in charge to a lad and followed her without her seeing me；'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.