238
about to rub it, when he raised his hand with the sword and smote her on the neck; and she gave one cry and fell down dead.
With this Marouf awoke and seeing his wife lying on the ground, with her blood flowing, and his son standing with the drawn sword in his hand, said to him, ‘What is this, O my son?’ ‘O my father,’ answered the prince, ‘how often hast thou said to me, “Thou hast a fine sword; but thou hast not gone down with it to battle nor cut off a head.” And I have answered thee, saying, “I will not fail to cut off with it a head worth the cutting.” And now, behold, I have cut off for thee therewith a head worth the cutting!’ And he told him what had passed. Marouf sought for the ring, but found it not; so he searched the dead woman’s body till he saw her hand closed upon it; whereupon he took it from her hand and said to the boy, ‘Thou art indeed my very son, without doubt; may God ease thee in this world and the next, even as thou hast eased me of this vile woman! Her endeavour led but to her own destruction, and gifted of God is he who saith:
When God His aid unto a man vouchsafes, good hap is his And still his wish of everything he doth fulfil, ywis;
But, if the Almighty’s countenance to any be denied, The first to sin against the wight his own endeavour is.’
Then he called to some of his attendants, who came in haste, and he told them what his wife Fatimeh had done and bade them take her and lay her in a place till the morning. They did as he bade them and [on the morrow] he gave her in charge to a number of eunuchs, who washed her and shrouded her and made her a tomb and buried her. Thus her coming from Cairo was but to her grave, and gifted of God is he who saith:
