He fell on his back, and she said to him, "Rise, I
give thee thy life a second time. I spared thee before for the
sake of thy prophet, for that he forbade the killing of women,
and I do so this second time because of thy weakness and tender
age and strangerhood; but I charge thee, if there be, in the army
sent by King Omar ben Ennuman to the succour of the King of
Constantinople, a stronger than thou, send him hither and tell
him of me, for in wrestling there are divers kinds of strokes and
tricks, such as feinting and the fore-tripe and the back-tripe
and the leg-crick and the thigh-twist and the jostle and the
cross-buttock." "By Allah, O my lady," replied Sherkan, (and
indeed he was greatly incensed against her), "were I the chief Es
Sefedi or Mohammed Caimal or Ibn es Seddi,[FN#9] I had not
observed the fashion thou namest; for, by Allah, it was not by
thy strength that thou overthrewest me, but by filling me with
the desire of thy buttocks, because we people of Chaldaea love
great thighs, so that nor wit nor foresight was left in me. But
now if thou have a mind to try another fall with me, with my wits
about me, I have a right to this one bout more, by the rules of
the game, for my presence of mind has now returned to me." "Hast
thou not had enough of wrestling, O conquered one?" rejoined she.
"However, come, if thou wilt; but know that this bout must be the
last.
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