to the Hammam and coming out, opened my shop and sat selling and
buying as was my wont, but saw no more of that man or that woman
till, one day, there stopped before my shop a young
Turkoman,[FN#82] as he were the full moon; and he was a
sheep-merchant and had with him a leathern bag, wherein was
money, the price of sheep he had sold. He was followed by the
woman, and when he stopped over against my shop, she stood by his
side and cajoled him, and indeed he inclined to her with great
inclination. As for me, I was dying of solicitude for him and
began casting furtive glances at him and winked at him, till he
chanced to look round and saw me signing to him; whereupon the
woman gazed at me and made a signal with her hand and went away.
The Turkoman followed her and I deemed him dead without a doubt;
wherefore I feared with exceeding fear and shut my shop. Then I
journeyed for a year's space and returning, opened my shop;
whereupon, behold, the woman as she walked by came up to me and
said, "This is none other than a great absence." I replied, "I
have been on a journey;" and she asked, "Why didst thou wink at
the Turkoman?" I answered, "Allah forfend! I did not wink at
him." Quoth she, "Beware lest thou thwart me;" and went away.
Awhile after this a familiar of mine invited me to his house and
when I came to him, we ate and drank and chatted. Then he asked
me, "O my friend, hath there befallen thee aught of sore trouble
in the length of thy life?" Answered I, "Tell me first, hath
there befallen thee aught?" He rejoined, "Know that one day I
espied a fair woman; so I followed her and sued her to come home
with me. Quoth she, 'I will not enter any one's house but my own;
so come thou to my home, an thou wilt, and be it on such a day.'
Accordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger[FN#83] came to
me, proposing to carry me to her; and when he announced his