Thousand & One Nights: 80th Night

Ja'far continued his story to the Caliph Harun al Rashid.

Badr al-Din Hasan sat on a bench next to the hunchbacked. 

Attendants came to the bride to get her dressed. They combed her hair, anointing musk on the comb, braided her hair, perfumed her with the incense of cardomom and ambergris, deked her with robes of jewellery worthy of Persian kings. She paraded in a robe embroidered in gold in figures of birds and beasts, with eyes and bills of precious stones;  necklace with dazzling gems. The attendants led the way with lighted camphor and candles. And she moved like a full moon, accompanied by singing women, tambourine in their hands.

The bride, swaying gracefully passed the hunchbacked, who rose to receive her. But she moved forward and stopped in front of Badr al-Din Hasan. Silence followed a moment. Badr al-Din Hasan rose, began to move towards her, and the tambourines hit the hands of singing women, the jingles jingled, it was full of sound, it was full of voice. Badr al-Din Hasan put his hand in his pocket took a handful of dinars and cast it in  the signing women's tambourines.
Badr al-Din Hasan was looking into the eyes of the bride, and the bride saw him for the first time.

End of Eightieth Night


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