drew: and when she had been absent awhile, he asked the
servants of her, and they said, "She hath gone to her sleeping-chamber;
but we will serve thee as thou shalt order." So they set before him rare
meats, and he ate till he was satisfied, when they brought him a basin
of gold and an ewer of silver and he washed his hands. Then his mind
reverted to his troops, and he was troubled, knowing not what had
befallen them in his absence and thinking how he had forgotten his
father's injunctions, so that he abode, oppressed with anxiety and
repenting of what he had done, till the dawn broke and the day appeared,
when he lamented and sighed and became drowned in the sea of melancholy,
repeating the following verses:--

"I lack not of prudence, and yet in this case, I've been fooled;
so what shift shall avail unto me?
If any could ease me of love and its stress, Of my might and
my virtue I'd set myself free.
But alas! my heart's lost in maze of desire, And no helper save
God in my strait can I see.

Hardly had he finished when up came more than twenty damsels like moons,
encompassing the young lady, who appeared among them as the full moon
among stars. She was clad in royal brocade, and girt with a woven girdle
set with various kinds of jewels that straitly clasped her waist.... On
her head she wore a network of pearls, gemmed with various kinds of
jewels, and she moved with a coquettish, swimming gait, swaying
wonder-gracefully, whilst the damsels held up her skirts.... She fixed
her eyes on him, and considered him awhile, till she was assured of him,
when she came up to him and said, "Indeed the place is honored and
illumined with thy presence, O Sherkan! How didst thou pass the night,
O hero, after we went away and left thee? Verily, lying is a defect and
a reproach in kings; especially in great kings: and thou art Sherkan,
son of King Omar ben Ennuman; so henceforth tell me naught but truth,
and strive not to keep the secret of thy condition, for falsehood
engenders hatred and enmity. The arrow of destiny hath fallen upon thee,
and it behooves thee to show resignation and submission." When Sherkan
heard what she said, he saw nothing for it but to tell her the truth: so
he said, "I am indeed Sherkan, son of Omar ben Ennuman; whom fortune
hath afflicted and cast into this place: so now do whatsoever
thou wilt."

FROM 'SINDBAD THE SEAMAN AND SINDBAD THE LANDSMAN'

Portions