Presently, the lady took the dulcimer, for she was skilled to
play thereon, and sang to it the following verses:
Fortune is still on the shift, now gladness and now woe; I liken
it to the tide, in its ceaseless ebb and flow.
So drink, if thou have the power, whilst it is yet serene, Lest
it at unawares depart, and thou not know.
They gave not over carousing till nightfall, and this day was
pleasanter than the first. When the night came, the lady went to
her sleeping-chamber, leaving Sherkan with the damsels. So he
threw himself on the ground and slept till the morning, when
the damsels came to him with tambourines and other musical
instruments, according to their wont. When he saw them, he sat
up; and they took him and carried him to their mistress, who came
to meet him and taking him by the hand, made him sit down by her
side. Then she asked him how he had passed the night, to which he
replied by wishing her long life; and she took the lute and sang
the following verses:
Incline not to parting, I pray, For bitter its taste is alway.
The sun at his setting grows pale, To think he must part from the
day.
Hardly had she made an end of singing, when there arose of a
sudden a great clamour, and a crowd of men and knights rushed
into the place, with naked swords gleaming in their hands, crying
out in the Greek tongue, "Thou hast fallen into our hands, O
Sherkan! Be sure of death!" When he heard this, he said to
himself, "By Allah, she hath laid a trap for me and held me in
play, till her men should come! These are the knights with whom
she threatened me: but it is I who have thrown myself into this
peril.
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