I was reared in his palace, and when I grew up, he
looked on me, and noting my qualities and the beauty and grace
that God had bestowed on me, conceived a great love for me; so he
took me and assigned me a separate lodging and gave me ten female
slaves to wait on me and all this jewellery thou seest on me. One
day he went on a journey to one of his provinces and the Lady
Zubeideh came to one of my waiting-women and said to her, "I have
somewhat to ask of thee." "What is it, O my lady?" asked she.
"When thy mistress Cout el Culoub is asleep," said Zubeideh, "put
this piece of henbane up her nostrils or in her drink, and thou
shalt have of me as much money as will content thee." "With all
my heart," replied the woman, and took the henbane, being glad
because of the money and because she had aforetime been in
Zubeideh's service. So she put the henbane in my drink, and when
it was night, I drank, and the drug had no sooner reached my
stomach than I fell to the ground, with my head touching my feet,
and knew not but that I was in another world. When Zubeideh saw
that her plot had succeeded, she put me in this chest and
summoning the slaves, bribed them and the doorkeepers, and sent
the former to do with me as thou sawest. So my delivery was at
thy hands, and thou broughtest me hither and hast used me with
the utmost kindness. This is my story, and I know not what is
come of the Khalif in my absence.
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