第59章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(21)

Then he put his hand to the ribbon of her trousers and drew it and loosed it，for that his soul lusted after her，when he saw a jewel，red as dragons blood，[44] made fast to the band.He untied and examined it and seeing two lines of writing graven thereon，in a character not to be read，marvelled and said in himself，Except she set great store by this，she had not tied it to the ribbon of her trousers nor hidden it in the most private place about her person，that she might not be parted from it.I wonder what she doth with it and what is the secret that is in it.'So saying，he took it and went without the tent to look at it in the light；but as he was examining it，a bird swooped down on him and snatching it from his hand，flew off with it and lighted on the ground at a little distance.Fearing to lose the talisman，he ran after the bird；but it flew on before him，keeping just out of his reach，and drew him on from place to place and from hill to hill，till the night came on and the air grew dark，when it roosted on a high tree.Kemerezzeman stopped under the tree，confounded and faint for hunger and weariness，and giving himself up for lost，would have turned back，but knew not the way，for the darkness had overtaken him.So he exclaimed，There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High，the Supreme！'and lying down under the tree，slept till the morning，when he awoke and saw the bird also awake and fly away.He arose and walked after it，and it flew on little by little before him，after the measure of his going；at which he smiled and said，By Allah，this is a strange thing！Yesterday，the bird flew before me as fast as I could run；and to-day，knowing that I am tired and cannot run，it flieth after the measure of my walking.By Allah，this is wonderful！But，whether it lead me to my death or to my life，I must needs follow it，wherever it goeth，for it will surely not abide save in some inhabited land.So hefollowed the bird，eating of the fruits of the earth and drinking of its waters，for ten days space，and every night the bird roosted on a tree.At the end of this time，he came in sight of an inhabited city，whereupon the bird darted off like the glance of the eye and entering the town，was lost to view： and Kemerezzeman marvelled at this and exclaimed，Praised be God，who hath brought me hither in safety！'Then he sat down by a stream and washed his hands and feet and face and rested awhile： and recalling his late easy and pleasant life of union with his beloved and contrasting it with his present plight of trouble and weariness and hunger and strangerhood and severance，the tears streamed from his eyes and he repeated the following cinquains：

I strove to hide the load that love on me did lay；In vain，and sleep for me is changed to wake alway.

Whenas wanhope doth press my heart both night and day，I cry aloud，'O Fate，hold back thy hand，I pray.

For all my soul is sick with dolour and dismay！'

If but the Lord of Love were just indeed to me，Sleep had not fled mine eyes by his unkind decree.

Have pity，sweet，on one that is for love of thee Worn out and wasted sore；once rich and great was he，Now beggared and cast down by love from his array.

The railers chide at thee full sore；I heed not，I，But stop my ears to them and give them back the lie.

'Thou lovst a slender one，'say they；and I reply，'Ive chosen her and left all else beneath the sky.'

Enough；when fate descends，the eyes are blinded aye.

As soon as he was rested，he rose and walked on，little by little，till he came to the city-gate and entered，knowing not whither he should go.He traversed the city from end to end，without meeting any of the townsfolk，entering by the land-gate and faring on till he came out at the sea-gate，for the city stood on the sea-shore.Presently，he found himself among the orchards and gardens of the place and passed among the trees，till he came to a garden-gate and stopped before it，whereupon the keeper came out to him and saluted him.The prince returned his greeting and the other bade him welcome，saying，Praised be God that thou hast come off safe from the people of the city！

Quick，come into the garden，ere any of the townsfolk see thee.'

So Kemerezzeman entered the garden，amazed，and said to the keeper，Who and what then are the people of this city？Know，answered the other，'that the people of this city are all Magians： but，God on thee，tell me how and why thou camest hither.'Accordingly，Kemerezzeman told him all that had befallen him，at which the gardener marvelled greatly and said，Know，O my son，that from this place to the cities of Islam is four months journey by sea and a whole year by land.We have a ship that sails yearly hence with merchandise to the Ebony Islands，which are the nearest Muslim country，and thence to the Khalidan Islands，the dominions of King Shehriman.'Kemerezzeman considered awhile and concluding that he could not do better than abide with the gardener and become his assistant，said to him，Wilt thou take me into thy service，to help thee in this garden？Willingly，'answered the gardener and clothing him in a short blue gown，that reached to his knees，taught him to lead the water to the roots of the trees.So Kemerezzeman abode with him，watering the trees and hoeing up the weeds and weeping floods of tears；for he had no rest day or night，by reason of his strangerhood and separation from his beloved，and he ceased not to repeat verses upon her，amongst others the following：

Ye made us a promise of yore；will ye not to your promise be true？Ye spoke us a word aforetime；as ye spoke to us，will ye not do？

We waken，whilst ye are asleep，according to passions decree；So have ye the vantage of us，for watchers and sleepers are two.

We vowed to each other，whilere，that we would keep secret our loves；But the breedbate possessed you to speak，and you spoke and revealed what none knew.

Belovéd in pleasure and pain，chagrin and contentment alike，Whateer may betide，ye alone are the goal that my wishes ensue.