Thou excellest knights of the world in stowre, ✿ With delight and beauty and bounty dight.
When she had finished her verses, she wrote them on a sheet of paper, which she folded in a piece of gold-embroidered silk and placed under her pillow. Now one of her nurses had seen her; so she came up to her and held her in talk till she slept, when she stole the scroll from under her pillow; and, after reading it, knew that she had fallen in love with Uns al-Wujud. Then she returned the scroll to its place and when her mistress awoke, she said to her, “O my lady, indeed I am to thee a true counsellor and am tenderly anxious on thy account. Know that love is a tyrant and the hiding it melteth iron and entaileth sickness and unease; nor for whoso confesseth it is there aught of reproach.” Rejoined Rose-in-Hood, “And what is the medicine of passion, O nurse mine?” Answered the nurse, “The medicine of passion is enjoyment.” Quoth she, “And how may one come by enjoyment?” Quoth the other, “By letters and messages, my lady; by whispered words of compliment and by greetings before the world;[[37]] all this bringeth lovers together and makes hard matters easy. So if thou have aught at heart, mistress mine, I am the fittest to keep thy secret and do thy desires and carry thy letters.” Now when the damsel heard this, her reason flew and fled for joy; but she restrained herself from speech till she should see the issue of the matter, saying within herself, “None knoweth this thing of me, nor will I trust this one with my secret, till I have tried her.” Then said the woman, “O my lady, I saw in my sleep as though a man came to me and said:—Thy mistress and Uns al-Wujud love each other; so do thou serve their case by carrying their messages and doing their desires and keeping their secrets; and much good shall befal thee. So now I have told thee my vision and it is thine to decide.” Quoth Rose-in-Hood, after she heard of the dream,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Three Hundred and Seventy-second Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King that Rose-in-Hood asked her nurse after hearing of the dream, “Tell me, canst thou keep a secret, O my nurse?”; whereto she answered, “And how should I not keep secrecy, I that am of the flower of the free?”[[38]] Then the maiden pulled out the scroll, whereon she had written the verses and said, “Carry me this my letter to Uns al-Wujud and bring me his reply.” The nurse took the letter and, repairing to Uns al-Wujud, kissed his hands and greeted him right courteously, then gave him the paper; and he read it and, comprehending the contents, wrote on the back these couplets:—
I soothe my heart and my love repel; ✿ But my state interprets my love too well:
When tears flow I tell them mine eyes are ill, ✿ Lest the censor see and my case foretell,
I was fancy-free and unknew I Love; ✿ But I fell in love and in madness fell.
I show you my case and complain of pain, ✿ Pine and ecstasy that your ruth compel:
I write you with tears of eyes, so belike ✿ They explain the love come my heart to quell;
Allah guard a face that is veiled with charms, ✿ Whose thrall is Moon and the Stars as well: