Page 580 of 1116

Art thou still sitting here? By Allah I was wishing that thou

wert my bridegroom or, at least, that thou and the hunchbacked

horse-groom were partners in me." He replied, "O beautiful lady,

how should the Syce have access to thee, and how should he share

in thee with me?" "Then," quoth she, "who is my husband, thou or

he?" "Sitt al-Husn," rejoined Hasan, "we have not done this for

mere fun, [FN#424] but only as a device to ward off the evil eye

from thee; for when the tirewomen and singers and wedding guests

saw thy beauty being displayed to me, they feared fascination and

thy father hired the horse-groom for ten dinars and a porringer

of meat to take the evil eye off us; and now he hath received his

hire and gone his gait." When the Lady of Beauty heard these

words she smiled and rejoiced and laughed a pleasant laugh.