Awhile after this a friend of mine invited me to his house and
when I came to him, we ate and drank and talked. Then said he to
me, 'O my friend, hath there befallen thee in thy life aught of
calamity?' 'Nay,' answered I; 'but tell me [first], hath there
befallen thee aught?' ['Yes,'] answered he. 'Know that one day I
espied a fair woman; so I followed her and invited her [to come
home with me]. Quoth she, "I will not enter any one's house; but
come thou to my house, if thou wilt, and be it on such a day."
Accordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger came to me,
purposing to carry me to her; so I arose and went with him, till
we came to a handsome house and a great door. He opened the door
and I entered, whereupon he locked the door [behind me] and would
have gone in, but I feared with an exceeding fear and foregoing
him to the second door, whereby he would have had me enter,
locked it and cried out at him, saying, "By Allah, an thou open
not to me, I will kill thee; for I am none of those whom thou
canst cozen!" Quoth he, "What deemest thou of cozenage?" And I
said, "Verily, I am affrighted at the loneliness of the house and
the lack of any at the door thereof; for I see none appear." "O
my lord," answered he, "this is a privy door." "Privy or public,"
answered I, "open to me."

So he opened to me and I went out and had not gone far from the
house when I met a woman, who said to me, "Methinks a long life
was fore-ordained to thee; else hadst thou not come forth of
yonder house." "How so?" asked I, and she answered, "Ask thy
friend [such an one," naming thee,] "and he will acquaint thee
with strange things." So, God on thee, O my friend, tell me what