Страница 249 из 1116

Thereupon quoth he (being a merry man), "Thou shouldest have told

me, and I would have brought with me a pony or a she camel to

carry all this market stuff." She smiled and gave him a little

cuff on the nape saying, "Step out and exceed not in words for

(Allah willing!) thy wage will not be wanting." Then she stopped

at a perfumer's and took from him ten sorts of waters, rose

scented with musk, orange-flower, water-lily, willow-flower,

violet and five others; and she also bought two loaves of sugar,

a bottle for perfume spraying, a lump of male incense, aloe-wood,

ambergris and musk, with candles of Alexandria wax; and she put

the whole into the basket, saying, "Up with thy crate and after

me." He did so and followed until she stood before the

greengrocer's, of whom she bought pickled safflower and olives,

in brine and in oil; with tarragon and cream cheese and hard

Syrian cheese; and she stowed them away in the crate saying to

the Porter, "Take up thy basket and follow me." He did so and

went after her till she came to a fair mansion fronted by a

spacious court, a tall, fine place to which columns gave strength

and grace: and the gate thereof had two leaves of ebony inlaid

with plates of red gold.