hich thou wiliest and biddest me withal. I have with
me in my house a jar of the wine of our country, the which I have kept
stored these eight years under the earth; so I go now to fill from it
our sufficiency and will return to thee forthright." Therewithal the
Lady Bedrulbudour, that she might beguile him more and more, said to
him, "O my beloved, do not thou go thyself and leave me. Send one of thy
servants to fill us from the jar and abide thou sitting with me, that I
may take comfort in thee." "O my lady," answered he, "none knoweth the
place of the jar save myself; but I will not keep thee waiting."
[603] So saying, he went out and returned after a little with their
sufficiency of wine; and the Lady Bedrulbudour said to him, "Thou hast
been at pains [604] [for me], and I have put thee to unease, [605] O
my beloved." "Nay," answered he, "O [thou that art dear to me as] mine
eyes, I am honoured by thy service." Then she sat down with him at table
and they both fell to eating. Presently, the princess called for drink
and the handmaid immediately filled her the cup; then she filled for the
Maugrabin and the Lady Bedrulbudour proceeded to drink to his life and
health, [606] and he also drank to her life and she fell to carousing
[607] with him. Now she was unique in eloquence and sweetness of speech
and she proceeded to beguile him and bespeak him with words significant
[608] and sweet, so she might entangle him yet straitlier in the toils
of her love. The Maugrabin thought that all this was true [609] and knew
not that the love she professed to him was a snare set for him to slay
him. So he redoubled in desire for her and was like to die for love
of her, when he saw from her that which she showed him of sweetness
of speech and coquetry; [610] his head swam with ecstasy [611] and the
world became changed [612] in his eyes.

When they came to the last of the supper and the princess knew that the
wine had gotten the mastery in his head, she said to him, "We have in
our country a custom, meknoweth not if you in this country use it or
not." "And what is this custom?" asked the Maugrabin. "It is," answered
she, "that, at the end of supper, each lover taketh the other's cup and
drinketh it." So saying, she took his cup and filling it for herself
with wine, bade the handmaid give him her cup, wherein was wine mingled
with henbane, even as she had taught her how she should do, for that all
the slaves and slave-girls in the pala