' Then they sat eating and drinking, whilst
Behadir waited upon them, till midnight, when the latter, weary
with service and beating, fell asleep in the midst of the hall
and snored and snorted; whereupon the lady, who was heated with
wine, said to Amjed, 'Arise, take the sword that hangs yonder and
cut off this slave's head, or I will be the death of thee.'
'What possesses thee to kill my slave?' asked Amjed; and she
answered, 'Our delight will not be fulfilled but by his death.
If thou wilt not kill him, I will do it myself.' 'For God's
sake,' cried Amjed, 'do not this thing!' 'It must be,' replied
she and taking down the sword, drew it and made at Behadir to
kill him; but Amjed said in himself, 'This man hath entreated us
courteously and sheltered us and done us kindness and made
himself my servant: and shall we requite him by killing him?
This shall never be. Then he said to the lady, 'If my slave must
be killed, better I should do it than thou.' So saying, he took
the sword from her and raising his hand, smote her on the neck
and made her head fly from her body. It fell upon Behadir, who
awoke and sitting up, saw Amjed standing by him, with the
bloodstained sword in his hand, and the damsel lying dead.
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