第35章

Wherefore，an thou be afraid，I will send with thee one who will convey thee to the coast and there bring one who will embark thee on board a ship that bear thee to thine own land.But an thou be content to tarry with us；I will not forbid thee and thou shalt be with me in mine eye，[128] till thou win thy wish，Inshallah！'Quoth he，'O my lady，I will never quit thee till I foregather with my wife or lose my life！'；and quoth she，'This is a light matter；be of good heart，for soon shalt thou come to thy desire，Allah willing；and there is no help but that I let the Queen know of thee，that she may help thee to attain thine aim.'Hasan blessed her and kissed her head and hands，thanking her for her good deed and exceeding kindness and firm will.Then he set out with her；pondering the issue of his case and the horrors of his strangerhood；wherefore he fell a-weeping and a-wailing and recited these couplets；'A Zephyr bloweth from the lover's site；* And thou canst view me in the saddest plight：

The Night of Union is as brilliant morn；* And black the Severance-day as blackest night：

Farewelling friend is sorrow sorest sore * Parting from lover's merest undelight.

I will not blame her harshness save to her，* And'mid mankind nor friend nor fere I sight：

How can I be consoled for loss of you？ * Base censor's blame shall not console my sprite！

O thou in charms unique，unique's my love；* O peerless thou，my heart hath peerless might！

Who maketh semblance that be loveth you * And dreadeth blame is most blame-worthy wight.'

Then the old woman bade beat the kettle-drums for departure and the army set out.Hasan fared with her，drowned in the sea of solicitude and reciting verses like those above，whilst she strave to comfort him and exhorted him to patience；but he awoke not from his tristesse and heeded not her exhortations.They journeyed thus till they came to the boundaries of the Land of Birds[129] and when they entered it，it seemed to Hasan as if the world were turned topsy-turvy for the exceeding clamour.His head ached and his mind was dazed，his eyes were blinded and his ears deafened，and he feared with exceeding fear and made certain of deaths saying to himself，'If this be the Land of Birds，how will be the Land of Beasts？'But，when the crone hight Shawahi saw him in this plight，she laughed at him，saying，'O my son，if this be thy case in the first island，how will it fare with thee；when thou comest to the others？' So he prayed to Allah and humbled himself before the Lord，beseeching Him to assist him against that wherewith He had afflicted him and bring him to his wishes；and they ceased not going till they passed out of the Land of Birds and，traversing the Land of Beasts，came to the Land of the Jann which when Hasan saw，he was sore affrighted and repented him of having entered it with them.But he sought aid of Allah the Most High and fared on with them，till they were quit of the Land of the Jann and came to the river and set down their loads at the foot of a vast mountain and a lofty，and pitched their tents by the stream-bank.Then they rested and ate and drank and slept in security，for they were come to their own country.On the morrow the old woman set Hasan a couch of alabaster，inlaid with pearls and jewels and nuggets of red gold；by the river-side，and he sat down thereon，having first bound his face with a chin-kerchief，that discovered naught of him but his eyes.Then she bade proclaim among the troops that they should all assemble before her tent and put off their clothes and go down into the stream and wash；and this she did that she might parade before him all the girls，so haply his wife should be amongst them and he know her.So the whole army mustered before her and putting off their clothes，went down into the stream，and Hasan seated on his couch watched them washing their white skins and frolicking and making merry，whilst they took no heed of his inspecting them，deeming him to be of the daughters of the Kings.

When he beheld them stripped of their clothes，his chord stiffened for that looking at them mother-naked he saw what was between their thighs，and that of all kinds，soft and rounded；plump and cushioned；large-lipped，perfect，redundant and ample，[130] and their faces were as moons and their hair as night upon day，for that they were of the daughters of the Kings.

When they were clean，they came up out of the water，stark naked；as the moon on the night of fullness and the old woman questioned Hasan of them，company by company，if his wife were among them；

but，as often as she asked him of a troop，he made answer，'She is not among these，O my lady.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Eight Hundred and Seventh Night； She resumed，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the old woman questioned Hasan of the girls，company after company，if haply his wife were among them；but as often as she asked him of a troop，he made answer，'She is not among these，O my lady！'

Last of all，there came up a damsel，attended by ten slave-girls and thirty waiting-women，all of them high-bosomed maidens.They put off their clothes and went down into the river，where the damsel fell to riding the high horse over her women，throwing them down and ducking them.On this wise she continued for a full hour，after which all came up out of the water and sat down；