Thousand & One Nights: 95th Night

Ninety fifth night.
Shahrazad said:
I heard, O happy King, that Ja'far said to the Caliph.

Badr al-Din said to Ajib, "When I followed you, I was beside myself."
Ajib replied, "You must be very fond of us. You gave us a mouthful of food, and assuming that we owed you something you tried to dishonour us. This time we will not eat anything unless you swear that you will not hold us under any obligation, follow us or make any claim on us. Else we will not visit you again. We are staying here for a about a week, so that my grandfather may buy presents for the king of Egypt."

Badr al-Din said, "Well you may do as you please." Eunuch and Ajib entered the shop, and Badr al-Din ladled from the top of the pot, a boulful of food and placed it before them.

Ajib said to him, "Sit down and eat with us." Badr al-Din was glad and sat down and ate with his son, with his eyes fixed on him, for his whole being yearmed for him.

Ajib said, "Ha ha haven't I told you that you are an overbearing lover? Stop staring at my face. Badr al-Din sighed and recited the following verses:
Passion lies deeply in my heart 
A secret sealed in darkness 

They ate together, and Badr al-Din kept putting morsels in Ajib's mouth, as a mother feeds his son. They were satisfied. They rose up, and Badr al-Din poured water in their hands, and loosening a towel from his waist, gave it to them to wipe their hands with, and sprinkled them with rose water from a casting bottle. Then he ran out of the shop. Then he ran out of the shop and rushed back with an earthen ware pitcher containing a sweet drink flavoured with rosewater and cooled with snow. He set it before them, saying, "complete your kindness to me." Ajib took the pitcher and drank and passed it to eunuch, and they kept passing it around till they had had enough and their stomachs felt too full, for they had eaten much more than usual. Then they thanked him, and bidding him goodbye, hurried through the city until they came out through the Easy Gate and hastened to their tents. Ajib went to see his grandmother, Badr al-Din's mother, and she kissed him, and thinking of her son Badr al-Din and his days with her, sighed and wept, until veil was wet, and recited the following verses:

Had I not thought we would meet Again. I would have life despaired.
My heart holds nothing but your love.

Then she asked, "Son where have you been? She set food before him. She too had cooked a pomegranate-seed dish except that this one had less sugar. She gave him a boulful, together with some bread, and said to the eunuch, "Eat with him."

Saying to himself, "By God, I can't even smell the bread," he sat down to eat.

It was the break of dawn. Shahrazad stopped the story.



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