Then came the princess and sprinkled rose-water on them, till
they revived, when she said to them, 'God hath reunited you.' 'By
thy kind offices, O my lady,' replied Alaeddin and turning to his
wife, said to her, 'O Zubeideh, thou didst surely die and we
buried thee: how then camest thou to life and to this place?' 'O
my lord,' answered she, 'I did not die; but a Marid of the Jinn
snatched me up and flew with me hither. She whom thou buriedst
was a Jinniyeh, who took my shape and feigned herself dead, but
presently broke open the tomb and returned to the service of this
her mistress, the princess Husn Meryem. As for me, I was in a
trance, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself with the
princess; so I said to her, "Why hast thou bought me hither?" "O
Zubeideh," answered she, "know that I am predestined to marry thy
husband Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat: wilt thou then accept of me to
fellow-wife, a night for me and a night for thee?" "I hear and
obey, O my lady," rejoined I; "but where is my husband?" Quoth
she, "Upon his forehead is written what God hath decreed to him;
as soon as what is there written is fulfilled to him he must
needs come hither, and we will beguile the time of our separation
from him with songs and smiting upon instruments of music, till
it please God to unite us with him.
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