went out to the Ghautah plain,* and pitched in a green and luxuriant garden. It was a beautifully bright garden the ground was covered with divers kinds of flowers, clear yellow, brilliant red, and pure white.

1

And Sulaiman had a musician named Sinân, whom he had admitted to his friendship, and in whom he confided. And Sulaimân had ordered him to pitch his tent beside his own. And Zhalfâ also had accompanied Sulaimân to his pleasure-ground. continued eating and drinking and amusing himself with perfect enjoyment, until the night was far spent, when he retired to his tent, and Sinân did likewise.

And he

And a number of friends came to Sinân, and said to him, “Allâh preserve thee! We want a feast."

"How would you feast?" he asked.

And they replied, "With eating and drinking and music."

"As for eating and drinking," said he, "that is permitted you; but with regard to music, verily ye know the jealousy of the Commander of the Faithful, and his prohibition of that excepting in his presence."

* The name given to the cultivated country around Damascus.

But they persisted, "We do not want thy food and thy drink if thou wilt not let us hear thee sing." So he said, "Then choose a song, and I will sing it to you."

"Sing us such-and-such a song," said they.

So he began singing these lines:

The hidden one heard my voice, and it brought her unrest,
At the end of the night when awakens the dawn.
When the moon is full, her companion knows not
If 'tis her face beside him or the face of the moon.
Nor guardian nor bolt can shut out a voice,
And her tears overflow when at night it visits her.
Could it be so, her feet to my side would bring her,
But such is her tenderness, walking would wound them.

The narrator proceeds: And Zhalfâ heard Sinân's voice, and she went out into the court of the tent. And so it was, that when she heard mention of this beauty of person and elegance, she fancied that it referred entirely to her and her appearance. Then that which had been at rest in her heart was troubled, and her eyes filled with tears, and her sobs were audible.

And Sulaimân awoke; and when he found her absent, he also went out into the court of the tent, and there he saw her in this condition. So he cried, "What means this, O Zhalfâ ?”

She replied:

A person may inspire admiration, yet be ugly—
May be deformed in feature and base by birth.
Thou mayst be struck with delight at his voice,
Yet may he doubly trace his birth to slaves.

"Have done with thy nonsense!" cried Sulaimân. "By Allâh! he seems to have taken possession of thy heart. Here, slave! bring Sinân to me."

Then Zhalfâ called her servant, and said to him, "If thou canst reach Sinân and give him warning before the messenger of the Commander of the Faithful, ten thousand dirhems are thine, and thou art free to do the will of Allâh."

So the two messengers set off, but he bearing the message of the Commander of the Faithful arrived first. And when he had returned with Sinân, Sulaimân asked, "O Sinân! have I not forbidden thee from thus acting?"

"O Commander of the Faithful!" he replied, "numbers overcame me, and I am the slave of the Commander of the Faithful, and the plant grown by his favour; therefore if it seems well unto the Commander of the Faithful to pardon me, let him do it."

So Sulaimân said, "Verily, I have forgiven thee;

but, nevertheless, hast thou not learnt that if the horse neighs the mare will come to him, and if the he-camel brays the she-camel will follow him? And if a man sings the heart of a woman is drawn to him. Beware of a repetition of thy fault, or thy regret will be lasting."

IT

THE STORY OF KHUZAIMAH AND

'IKRIMAH.

is said that in the days of Sulaimân there lived a man called Khuzaimah-ibn-Bishr, of the sons of Asaad. His means were ample, and he was famed for generosity and goodness and kindness towards his brethren; and this character he kept up until adversity befell him. Then he sought help from his brethren who had been enriched by him, and upon whom he had lavished favours, and for a while they helped him, but afterwards grew weary of him. And when he observed this change in their conduct, he went to his wife, who was his cousin, and said to her, "O daughter of my uncle! surely I have noted the alteration in my brethren, and am resolved to remain shut up in my house until death shall come unto me." So he locked his door and prepared to support himself upon what he had left, until all should be exhausted and he without resource.