Pagina 312 de 1116

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the

Kalandar thus went on with his story before the lady and the

Caliph and Ja'afar:-My uncle struck his son with his

slipper[FN#197] as he lay there a black heap of coal. I marvelled

at his hardness of heart, and grieving for my cousin and the

lady, said, "By Allah, O my uncle, calm thy wrath: dost thou not

see that all my thoughts are occupied with this misfortune, and

how sorrowful I am for what hath befallen thy son, and how

horrible it is that naught of him remaineth but a black heap of

charcoal? And is not that enough, but thou must smite him with

thy slipper?" Answered he,"O son of my brother, this youth from

his boyhood was madly in love with his own sister;[FN#198] and

often and often I forbade him from her, saying to myself:-They

are but little ones.