Khaled, A Tale of Arabia

by F. Marion Crawford

'Do you think that love is nothing but a whim of the fancy?' asked Khaled bitterly.

'What else can it be? Would you love me if you were blind?'

'Yes.'

'And if you were deaf?'

'Yes.'

'And if you could not touch my face with your hands, nor kiss me with your lips?'

'Yes.'

Zehowah laughed.

'Then love is indeed a fancy. For if you could not see me, nor touch me, nor hear me, what would remain to you but an empty thought?'

'Have I seen you, or touched you, or heard your voice for these two months and a half?' asked Khaled. 'Yet I have loved you as much during all that time.'