His passage was by
the gate of victories [or openings] and after this he entered the
Monday market and those of Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and
finding the carpet after the measure of the estrade, he plied [or
turned] the box within its sheath [or cover] till he came to [the
end of] it.[FN#100] When it was morning, he exclaimed, 'Alas for
delight that is not fulfilled! The raven[FN#101] takes it and
flies away!' 'What means this saying?' asked she, and he
answered, 'O my lady, I have but this hour to abide with thee.'
Quoth she, 'Who saith so?' and he, 'Thy father made me give him a
bond to pay ten thousand dinars to thy dowry; and except I pay it
this very day, they will lay me in prison therefor in the Cadi's
house; and now my hand lacketh one para of the sum.' 'O my lord,'
said she, 'is the marriage bond in thy hand or in theirs?' 'In
mine,' answered he, 'but I have nothing.' Quoth she, 'The matter
is easy; fear nothing. Take these hundred dinars; if I had more,
I would give thee what thou lackest; but my father, for his love
of my cousin, hath transported all his good, even to my trinkets,
from my lodging to his. But when they send thee a serjeant of the
court and the Cadi and my father bid thee divorce, answer thou,
"By what code is it right that I should marry at nightfall and
divorce in the morning?" Then kiss the Cadi's hand and give him a
present, and in like manner kiss the Assessors' hands and give
each of them half a score dinars.
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