Thousand & One Nights: 176th Night: The Wealthy Man & The Slave Girl -6

The following night Shahrazad said:
I heard O happy king, that Shams al-Nahar thanked the druggist Abu al-Hasan ibn Tahir saying, "My gratitude prompts me to reward you for your exceeding kindness for the bow of your generosity has hit every mark and left no favour untouched." Abu al-Hasan bowed his head shyly and invoked blessings upon her.  Then turning to young Nur al-Din Ali ibn Bakkar she said, "May you overcome all obstacles to love and attain all your heart's desires.  Place your trust in God alone, submit to his will and decree, and bear your burden patiently."

He replied, "My lady, being with you and looking at you neither consoles me nor extinguishes the fire of my heart, and I declare that I will never stop loving you until the day I die; for your love, which has mastered my soul, will never die, as long as my heart continue to beat."  Then he wept and made her weep with him, and their tears, like unstrung pearls, ran down their cheeks, which flushed like twin roses wet in the rain.  Abu al-Hasan al-Attar acclaimed, "Your case is marvelous, and your condition is strange and interesting.
If this is what you do while you are together, what will you do when you part?  Enjoy yourselves and forget trouble and pain, for the moments of love are fortive and short-lived."

The two stopped weeping.  Shams al-Nahar made a signal to the first girl, who departed hurriedly, and returned with two maids bearing a silver tray.  They set the tray before the guests, and Shams al-Nahar turned to them and said, "There is nothing more fitting after conversation and fun than enjoying a meal together.  Please help yourselves."  They began to eat, and Shams al-Nahar and Nur al-Din Ali fed each other until they were satisfied.  Then the maid removed the tray and set a basin of silver, and a ewer of gold before them, and after they washed their hands, they returned to their places.

Then Shams al-Nahar made a signal to the girl, who disappeared and returned with three maids, bearing three gold trays, each bearing a different kind of wine in a flagon of cut crystal, which they set before Shams al-Nahar and the guests.  Then Shams al-Nahar ordered ten maids to stand in attendance.  Ten singing girls joined them and dismissed the rest.  She took a cup and filling, turned to one of the girls, and said, "Sing a song."  The girls sang the following verses:

My life for him who greeted back
With smiles. Turning despair into Hope.  I could not hide my secret 
Love from my critic nor cope.
My tears of passion pressed Between us twain, lovers' pain.

Shams al-Nahar drank off the cup and, taking another, kissed it and gave it to her beloved Ali ibn Bakkar, 
who took it and kissed it too.  Then she said to another girl, "Sing a song."  And the girl sang these verses:

My flowing tears, the red wine
My eyes brimming, like the wine
Brimming in the cup. By God, I know 
Not, whether it is wine or my tears.

The young man drank off the cup; then Shams al-Nahar took another, and filling it, kissed it, and gave it to Abu al-Hasan, who took it from her hand and kissed it.  Then she reached out and snatched the lute from one of the girls, saying, "Abu al-Hasan, none but myself shall sing over this cup, for you deserve much more than this tribute."  Then she sang these verses:

Tears run down his cheeks
Passion burns within his heart
He always fears, he will lose her
He always weeps, whether she
Is near him or is away from him.

The two men were stricken with wonder and delight, and as he listened to her excellent voice, which blended with the sound of strings, the young men felt as if a bird has stolen his wings, and had left him helpless swaying with the music from side to side.

Thus they were enjoying, themselves, a girl came in, flying like a bee, and shaking like a palm tree, and said, "O my lady 'Afif and Masrur and Wasif and others of the Commander of the Faithful's eunuchs are at the door."
Fearing that they have been discovered, the two guests nearly collapsed with anxiety and alarm and almost died of fright and terror.  The moon of their delight had set, and the stars of happiness had vanished.

Morning overtook Shahrazad and she lapsed into silence.










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