Thereupon the hunchback came up to Bedreddin
Hassan and said to him, "O my lord, thou hast cheered us with
thy company tonight and overwhelmed us with thy favours. Wilt
thou not now rise and depart?" "In the name of God," replied
Bedreddin, and rising, went out of the door, where the Afrit met
him and said to him, "Stay where thou art, and when the hunchback
goes out to the draught-house, enter thou the bride chamber and
do not hesitate, but sit down in the alcove, and when the bride
comes, say to her, ''Tis I who am thy husband, for the King only
played this trick on thee, to conjure the evil eye from us; and
he whom thou sawest is one of our grooms.' Then go up to her and
uncover her face and fear nothing, for jealousy hath taken us of
this affair and none is worthy to enjoy her youth but thyself.'
As he was yet speaking, the groom came out and entering the
closet, sat down on the stool. Hardly had he done so, when the
Afrit appeared to him in the shape of a mouse, issuing from the
water-trough,[FN#62] and cried "Queek!" Quoth the hunchback,
"What ails thee?" And the mouse increased till it became a cat
and said, "Miaou! Miaou!" Then it grew still more and became a
dog and cried, "Bow! Wow!" When the hunchback saw this, he was
terrified and exclaimed, "Begone, O unlucky one!" The dog
increased and became an ass-colt, that brayed and cried out in
his face, "Heehaw! Heehaw!" Whereupon the hunchback quaked and
cried out, "Come to my aid, O people of the house!" But the ass
increased and swelled, till it became a buffalo and barred the
way against him and said with a human voice, "Out on thee,
hunchback, thou stinkard!" The groom was seized with a colic and
sat down on the jakes with his clothes on and his teeth
chattering.
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