I went out and found her not; but I did find that she had taken
my clothes and all that was in them of silver, to wit, four
hundred dirhams. She had also carried off my turband and my
kerchief and I lacked the wherewithal to veil my shame; so I
suffered somewhat than which death is less grievous and abode
looking about the place, hoping that haply I might espy a rag
wherewith to hide my nakedness. Then I sat a little and presently
going up to the door, smote upon it; whereat up came the
Housekeeper and I said to her, "O my sister, what hath Allah done
with the woman who was here?" She replied, "The lady came down
just now and said, 'I'm going to cover the boys with the
clothes,' adding, 'and I have left him sleeping; an he awake,
tell him not to stir till the clothes come to him.'" Then cried
I, "O my sister, secrets are safe with the fair-dealing 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 of her to cover me, informing her that my
private parts were clean unconcealed. She laughed and cried out
to the women of the lodging-house, saying, "Ho, Fatimah! Ho,
Khadijah! Ho, Harifah! Ho, Saninah!" Whereupon all those who were
in the place of women and neighbours flocked to me and fell
a-mocking me and saying, "O pimp,[FN#57] what hadst thou to do
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 liked thee and was in
love with thee! What is there in thee to love?" A third said,
"This is an old man without wisdom;" and all vied one with other
in exercising their wits upon me, I suffering mighty sore
chagrin. However, one of the women took compassion on me after a
while, and brought me a rag of thin stuff and cast it on me. With