saying, "O my daughter, we fear lest thou be discovered, and they
find thee out to be a girl." I replied, "Our Lord will veil our
secret;" and she rejoined, "Then do thou obey them." So I lay
with the young man's mother nor did any divine that I was a maid,
albeit from the time when I entered into that youth's service my
strength and comeliness had increased. At last, one night of the
nights, I went after supper to sleep at my employer's and the
young man's mother chanced to glance in my direction when she saw
my loosed hair which gleamed and glistened many-coloured as a
peacock's robe. Next morning I arose and gathering up my locks
donned the Takiyah[FN#162] and proceeded, as usual, to do service
about the house never suspecting that the mother had taken notice
of my hair. Presently she said to her son, "'Tis my wish that
thou buy me a few rose-blossoms which be fresh." He asked, "To
make conserve?" and she answered, "No." Then he enquired;
"Wherefore wantest thou roses?" and she replied, "By Allah, O my
son, I wish therewith to try this our servant whom I suspect to
be a girl and no boy; and under him in bed I would strew
rose-leaves, for an they be found wilted in the morning he is a
lad, and if they remain as they were he is a lass."[FN#163] So he
fared forth and presently returned to his mother with the
rose-blossoms; and, when the sleeping-hour came, she went and
placed them in my bed. I slept well and in the morning when I
arose she came to me and found that the petals had not changed
for the worse; nay, they had gained lustre. So she made sure that
I was a girl.--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and
fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her
sister Dunyazad, "How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how
enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared
with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran