On her head she wore a
network of pearls, gemmed with various kinds of jewels, and she
moved with a coquettish swimming gait, swaying wonder-gracefully,
whilst the damsels held up her skirts. When Sherkan saw her
beauty and grace, he was transported for joy and forgot his army
and the Vizier Dendan end springing to his feet, cried out,
"Beware, beware of that girdle rare!" and repeated the following
verses:
Heavy of buttocks, languorous of gait, With limber shape and
breasts right delicate,
She hides what passion in her bosom burns; Yet cannot I my heat
dissimulate.
Her maidens, like strung pearls, behind her fare, Now all
dispersed now knit in ordered state.
She fixed her eyes on him and considered him awhile, till she was
assured of him, when she came up to him and said, "Indeed the
place is honoured and illumined by thy presence, O Sherkan! How
didst thou pass the night, O hero, after we went away and left
thee? Verily lying is a defect and a reproach in kings,
especially in great kings; and thou art Sherkan, son of King Omar
ben Ennuman; so henceforth tell me nought but truth and strive
not to keep the secret of thy condition, for falsehood engenders
hatred and enmity. The arrow of destiny hath fallen on thee, and
it behoves thee to show resignation and submission." When Sherkan
heard what she said, he saw nothing for it but to tell her the
truth so he said, "I am indeed Sherkan, son of Omar ben Ennuman,
whom fortune hath afflicted and cast into this place: so now do
whatsoever thou wilt.
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