curious and admirable to look upon; and I bought it to pleasure
thee." She put forth her hand and taking it from me examined it
by turning it rightwards and leftwards; then exclaimed, "Didst
thou in very sooth buy this on my account?" Replied I, "By Allah,
O my lady, I bought it for thee at a thousand gold pieces."
Hereupon she shook her head at me, O my lord the Sultan, and
cried out after a long look at my face, "What meaneth that bite
on thy cheek?" Then with a loud and angry voice she called to her
women who came down the stairs forthright bearing the body of a
young girl with the head cut off and set upon the middle of the
corpse;[FN#97] and I looked and behold, it was the head of the
damsel who had sold me the cock for a kiss and who had bitten my
cheek. Now my wife had sent her with the toy by way of trick,
saying to her, "Let us try this youth whom I have wedded and see
if he hold himself bound by his plighted word and pact or if he
be false and foul." But of all this I knew naught. Then she cried
a second cry and behold, up came three handmaids bearing with
them three cocks like that which I had brought for her and she
said, "Thou bringest me this one cock when I have these three
cocks; but inasmuch as, O youth, thou hast broken the covenant
that was between me and thee, I want thee no more: go forth! wend
thy ways forthright!" And she raged at me and cried to her
mother, "Take him away!"[FN#98]--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 suffer me to survive?" Now when it
was the next night and that was