'Asked I，'What shall I do，O daughter of my uncle：I beg thee，by Allah，to help me in this my calamity.'Answered she，'On my head and eyes！if thou wilt hearken to my words and do my bidding，thou shalt have thy will.'Quoth I，'I will indeed hearken to thy words and do thy bidding；'and quoth she，'When it is time for thee to go，I will tell thee.'Then she pressed me to her bosom and laying me on the bed，shampoo'd my feet，till drowsiness overcame me and I was drowned in sleep，then she took a fan and seated herself at my head with the fan in her hand and she was weeping till her clothes were wet with tears.Now when she saw that I was awake，she wiped away the drops and fetched me some food and set it before me.I refused it，but she said to me，'Did I not tell thee that thou must do my bidding？Eat！'So I ate and thwarted her not and she proceeded to put the food into my mouth and I to masticate it，till I was full.Then she made me drink jujube sherbet[513] and sugar and washed my hands and dried them with a kerchief；after which she sprinkled me with rose water，and I sat with her awhile in the best of spirits.
When the darkness had closed in，she dressed me and said to me，'O son of my uncle，watch through the whole night and sleep not；for she will not come to thee this tide till the last of the dark hours and，Allah willing，thou shalt be at one with her this night；but forget not my charge.'Then，she wept，and my heart was pained for her by reason of her over much weeping，and I asked，'What is the charge thou gayest me？'She answered，'When thou takest leave of her repeat to her the verse before mentioned.'So，full of joy I left her and repairing to the garden，went up into the pavilion where，being satiated with food，I sat down and watched till a fourth part of the dark hours was past.That night seemed longsome to me as it were a year：
but I remained awake till it was three quarters spent and the cocks crew and I was famished for long watching.Accordingly I
went up to the table and ate my fill，whereupon my head grew heavy and I wanted to sleep，when behold，a light appeared ****** towards me from afar.I sprang up and washed my hands and mouth and roused myself；and before long she came with ten damsels，in whose midst she was like the full moon among the stars.She was clad in a dress of green satin purfled with red gold，and she was as saith the poet，'She lords it o'er our hearts in grass green gown，With buttons[514] loose and locks long flowing down.
Quoth I，'What is thy name？'Quoth she，'I'm she，Who burns the lover-heart live coals upon：'
I made my plaint to her of loving lowe；Laughed she，'To stone thou moanest useless moan！'
Quoth I，'An be of hardest stone thy heart，Allah drew sweetest spring from hardest stone.'
When she saw me she laughed and said，'How is it that thou art awake and that sleep overcame thee not？Forasmuch as thou hast watched through the night，I know that thou art a lover；for night watching is the mark of lovers displaying brave endurance of their desires.'Then she turned to her women and signed to them and they went away from her，whereupon she came up to me and strained me to her breast and kissed me，whilst I kissed her，and she sucked my upper lip whilst I sucked her lower lip.I put my hand to her waist and pressed it and we came not to the ground save at the same moment.Then she undid her petticoat trousers which slipped down to her anklets，and we fell to clasping and embracing and toying and speaking softly and biting and inter twining of legs and going round about the Holy House and the corners thereof，[515] till her joints became relaxed for love delight and she swooned away.I entered the sanctuary，and indeed that night was a joy to the sprite and a solace to the sight even as saith the poet，'Sweetest of nights the world can show to me，that night When cups went round and round as fed by ceaseless spring：
There utter severance made I 'twixt mine eyes and sleep，And joined，re joined mine ear drop with the anklet ring.'[516]
We lay together in close embrace till the morning when I would have gone away，but she stopped me and said，'Stay till I tell thee something'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Nineteenth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the young merchant continued his recital to Taj al Muluk：'When I would have gone away，she stopped me and said，'Stay，till I tell thee something and charge thee with a charge.'So I stayed whilst she unfolded a kerchief and drew out this piece of linen and spread it open before me.I found worked on it these two figures of gazelles and admired it with great admiration.Then I took the piece of linen and went away，joyful，after we had agreed that I should visit her every night in the garden；but in my joy I forgot to repeat to her the verse my cousin had taught me.For when giving me the piece of linen with the gazelles she had said to me，'Keep this carefully，as it is my sister's handiwork.'I asked her，'What is thy sister's name？'and she answered，'Her name is Nur al-Huda.'When I went to my cousin，I found her lying down；but as soon as she saw me，she rose，with the tears running from her eyes，and came up to me，and kissed me on the breast and said，'Didst thou do as I enjoined thee？and repeat the verse to her？''I forgot it，'replied I；'and nothing drove it out of my mind but these two figured gazelles.'And I threw the piece of linen on the floor before her.She rose and sat down again，but was unable to contain herself for impatience，and her eyes ran over with tears，whilst she repeated these two couplets，'O thou who seekest parting，softly fare！Let not the Pair delude with cunning art：
Pare softly，Fortune's nature is to 'guile，And end of every meeting is to part.'
