第17章

Hasan's sister made reply，'O King's daughter，in very sooth this human is perfect in nobleness and purposeth thee no villainy；but he loveth thee，and women were not made save for men.Did he not love thee，he had not fallen sick for thy sake and well-nigh given up the ghost for desire of thee.'And she told her the whole tale how Hasan had seen her bathing in the basin with her attendants，and fallen in love with her，and none had pleased him but she，for the rest were all her handmaids，and none had availed to put forth a hand to her.When the Princess heard this；she despaired of deliverance and presently Hasan's sister went forth and brought her a costly dress，wherein she robed her.

Then she set before her somewhat of meat and drink and ate with her and heartened her heart and soothed her sorrows.And she ceased not to speak her fair with soft and pleasant words；saying，'Have pity on him who saw thee once and became as one slain by thy love；'and continued to console her and caress her；quoting fair says and pleasant instances.But she wept till daybreak，when her trouble subsided and she left shedding tears；knowing that she had fallen into the net and that there was no deliverance for her.Then said she to Hasan's sister，'O King's daughter，with this my strangerhood and severance from my country and sisterhood which Allah wrote upon my brow，patience becometh me to support what my Lord hath foreordained.' Therewith the youngest Princess assigned her a chamber in the palace，than which there was none goodlier and ceased not to sit with her and console her and solace her heart，till she was satisfied with her lot and her bosom was broadened and she laughed and there ceased from her what trouble and oppression possessed her，by reason of her separation from her people and country and sisterhood and parents.Thereupon Hasan's sister repaired to him，and said；'Arise，go in to her in her chamber and kiss her hands and feet.'[71]So he went in to her and did this and bussed her between the eyes，saying，'O Princess of fair ones and life of sprites and beholder's delight，be easy of heart，for I took thee only that I might be thy bondsman till the Day of Doom，and this my sister will be thy servant；for I，O my lady，desire naught but to take thee to wife，after the law of Allah and the practice of His Apostle，and whenas thou wilt，I will journey with thee to my country and carry thee to Baghdad-city and abide with thee there： moreover，I will buy thee handmaidens and negro chattels；

and I have a mother，of the best of women，who will do thee service.There is no goodlier land than our land；everything therein is better than elsewhere and its folk are a pleasant people and bright of face.' Now as he bespake her thus and strave to comfort her，what while she answered him not a syllable，lo！ there came a knocking at the palace-gate.So Hasan went out to see who was at the door and found there the six Princesses，who had returned from hunting and birding，whereat he rejoiced and went to meet them and welcomed them.They wished him safety and health and he wished them the like；after which they dismounted and going each to her chamber doffed their soiled clothes and donned fine linen.Then they came forth and demanded the game，for they had taken a store of gazelles and wild cows；hares and lions，hyaenas，and others；so their suite brought out some thereof for butchering，keeping the rest by them in the palace，and Hasan girt himself and fell to slaughtering for them in due form，[72] whilst they sported and made merry，joying with great joy to see him standing amongst them hale and hearty once more.When they had made an end of slaughtering，they sat down and addressed themselves to get ready somewhat for breaking their fast，and Hasan，coming up to the eldest Princess，kissed her head and on like wise did he with the rest，one after other.

Whereupon said they to him，'Indeed，thou humblest thyself to us passing measure，O our brother，and we marvel at the excess of the affection thou showest us.But Allah forfend that thou shouldst do this thing，which it behoveth us rather to do with thee，seeing thou art a man and therefor worthier than we，who are of the Jinn.'[73] Thereupon his eyes brimmed with tears and he wept sore；so they said to him，'What causeth thee to weep？ Indeed，thou troublest our pleasant lives with thy weeping this day.'Twould seem thou longest after thy mother and native land.An things be so，we will equip thee and carry thee to thy home and thy friends.' He replied，'By Allah，I desire not to part from you！'Then they asked，'Which of us hath vexed thee；that thou art thus troubled？' But he was ashamed to say，'Naught troubleth me save love of a damsel，'lest they should deny and disavow him： so he was silent and would tell them nothing of his case.Then his sister came forward and said to them，'He hath caught a bird from the air and would have you help him to tame her.'Whereupon they all turned to him and cried，'We are at thy service every one of us and whatsoever thou seekest that will we do： but tell us thy tale and conceal from us naught of thy case.'

So he said to his sister，'Do thou tell them，for I am ashamed before them nor can I face them with these words.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.