I was one day abroad on an occasion with certain of my comrades,
and as we went along, we fell in with a company of women, as they
were moons, and among them one, the tallest and handsomest of
them. When I saw her and she saw me, she tarried behind her
companions and waited for me, till I came up to her and bespoke
her. Quoth she, "O my lord, (God favour thee!) I saw thee prolong
thy looking on me and imagined that thou knewest me. If it be
thus, vouchsafe me more knowledge of thee." "By Allah," answered
I, "I know thee not, save that God the Most High hath cast the
love of thee into my heart and the goodliness of thine attributes
hath confounded me and that wherewith God hath gifted thee of
those eyes that shoot with arrows; for thou hast captivated me."
And she rejoined, "By Allah, I feel the like of that which thou
feelest; so that meseemeth I have known thee from childhood."
Then said I, "A man cannot well accomplish all whereof he hath
need in the market-places." "Hast thou a house?" asked she. "No,
by Allah," answered I; "nor is this town my dwelling-place." "By
Allah," rejoined she, "nor have I a place; but I will contrive
for thee." Then she went on before me and I followed her till she
came to a lodging-house and said to the housekeeper, "Hast thou
an empty chamber?" "Yes," answered she; and my mistress said,
"Give us the key." So we took the key and going up to see the
room, entered it; after which she went out to the housekeeper and
[giving her a dirhem], said to her, "Take the key-money,[FN#110]
for the room pleaseth us, and here is another dirhem for thy
trouble. Go, fetch us a pitcher of water, so we may [refresh
ourselves] and rest till the time of the noonday siesta pass and
the heat decline, when the man will go and fetch the [household]
stuff." Therewith the housekeeper rejoiced and brought us a mat
and two pitchers of water on a tray and a leather rug.
We abode thus till the setting-in of the time of mid-afternoon,
when she said, "Needs must I wash before I go." Quoth I, "Get
water wherewithal we may wash," and pulled out from my pocket
about a score of dirhems, thinking to give them to her; but she
said, "I seek refuge with God!" and brought out of her pocket a
handful of silver, saying, "But for destiny and that God hath
caused the love of thee fall into my heart, there had not
happened that which hath happened." Quoth I, "Take this in
requital of that which thou hast spent;" and she said, "O my
lord, by and by, whenas companionship is prolonged between us,
thou wilt see if the like of me looketh unto money and gain or
no." Then she took a pitcher of water and going into the
lavatory, washed[FN#111] and presently coming forth, prayed and
craved pardon of God the Most High for that which she had done.
Now I had questioned her of her name and she answered, "My name
is Rihaneh," and described to me her dwelling-place. When I saw
her make the ablution, I said in myself, "This woman doth on this
wise, and shall I not do the like of her?" Then said I to her,
"Belike thou wilt seek us another pitcher of water?" So she went
out to the housekeeper and said to her, "Take this para and fetch
us water therewith, so we may wash the flags withal."
Accordingly, the housekeeper brought two pitchers of water and I
took one of them and giving her my clothes, entered the lavatory
and washed.
When I had made an end of washing, I cried out, saying, "Harkye,
my lady Rihaneh!" But none answered me. So I went out and found
her not; and indeed she had taken my clothes and that which was
therein of money, to wit, four hundred dirhems. Moreover, she had
taken my turban and my handkerchief and I found not wherewithal
to cover my nakedness; wherefore I suffered somewhat than which
death is less grievous and abode looking about the place, so
haply I might espy wherewithal to hide my shame. Then I sat a
little and presently going up to the door, smote upon it;
whereupon up came the housekeeper and I said to her, "O my
sister, what hath God done with the woman who was here?" Quoth
she, "She came down but now and said, 'I am going to cover the
boys with the clothes and I have left him sleeping. If he awake,
tell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.'" Then said I,
"O my sister, secrets are [safe] with the worthy and the
freeborn. By Allah, this woman is not my wife, nor ever in my
life have I seen her before this day!" And I recounted to her the
whole affair and begged her to cover me, informing her that I was
discovered of the privities.
She laughed and cried out to the women of the house, saying, "Ho,
Fatimeh! Ho, Khedijeh! Ho, Herifeh! Ho, Senineh!" Whereupon all
those who were in the place of women and neighbours flocked to me
and fell a-laughing at me and saying, "O blockhead, what ailed
thee to meddle with gallantry?" Then one of them came and looked
in my face and laughed, and another said, "By Allah, thou
mightest have known that she lied, from the time she said she
loved thee and was enamoured of thee? What is there in thee to
love?" And a third said, "This is an old man without
understanding." And they vied with each other in making mock of
me, what while I suffered sore chagrin.
However, after awhile, one of the women took pity on me and
brought me a rag of thin stuff and cast it on me. With this I
covered my privities, and no more, and abode awhile thus. Then
said I in myself, "The husbands of these women will presently
gather together on me and I shall be disgraced." So I went out by
another door of the house, and young and old crowded about me,
running after me and saying, "A madman! A madman!" till I came to
my house and knocked at the door; whereupon out came my wife and
seeing me naked, tall, bareheaded, cried out and ran in again,
saying,"This is a madman, a Satan!" But, when she and my family
knew me, they rejoiced and said to me, "What aileth thee?" I told
them that thieves had taken my clothes and stripped me and had
been like to kill me; and when I told them that they would have
killed me, they praised God the Most High and gave me joy of my
safety. So consider the craft of this woman and this device that
she practised upon me, for all my pretensions to sleight and
quickwittedness.'
The company marvelled at this story and at the doings of women.
Then came forward a fourth officer and said, 'Verily, that which
hath betided me of strange adventures is yet more extraordinary
than this; and it was on this wise.