第41章
When the King heard this，he equipped troops to escort her to her sister and brought out to her from his treasuries meat and drink and monies and jewels and rarities which beggar deion.Now the King had seven daughters，all sisters-german by one mother and father except the youngest： the eldest was called Nār al-Hud…，the second Najm al-Sab h，the third Shams al-Zuh…，the fourth Shajarat al-Durr，the fifth Kāt al-Kulāb，the sixth Sharaf al-Ban t and the youngest Manar al-Sana，Hasan's wife，who was their sister by the father's side only.[150]Anon the old woman again presented herself and kissed ground before the Princess，who said to her，'Hast thou any need，O my mother？'Quoth Shawahi，'Thy sister，Queen Nur al-Huda，biddeth thee clothe thy sons in the two habergeons which she fashioned for them and send them to her by me，and I will take them and forego thee with them and be the harbinger of glad tidings and the announcer of thy coming to her.'When the Princess heard these words，her colour changed and she bowed her head a long while，after which she shook it and looking up，said to the old woman，'O my mother，my vitals tremble and my heart fluttereth when thou namest my children；for，from the time of their birth none hath looked on their faces either Jinn or man；male or female，and I am jealous for them of the zephyr when it breatheth in the night.'Exclaimed the old woman，'What words are these，O my lady？ Dost thou fear for them from thy sister？'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Thirteenth Night； She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the old woman said to the Princess Manar al-Sana，'What words be these，O my lady？ Dost thou fear for them from thy sister？ Allah safeguard thy reason！ Thou mayst not cross the Queen's majesty in this matter，for she would be wroth with thee.However，O my lady，the children are young，and thou art excusable in fearing for them，for those that love well are wont to deem ill： but，O
my daughter，thou knowest my tenderness and mine affection for thee and thy children，for indeed I reared thee before them.I will take them in my charge and make my cheek their pillow and open my heart and set them within，nor is it needful to charge me with care of them in the like of this case；so be of cheerful heart and tearless eye and send them to her，for，at the most，I shall but precede thee with them a day or at most two days.'And she ceased not to urge her，till she gave way，fearing her sister's fury and unknowing what lurked for her in the dark future，and consented to send them with the old woman.So she called them and bathed them and equipped them and changed their apparel.Then she clad them in the two little coats of mail and delivered them to Shawahi，who took them and sped on with them like a bird，by another road than that by which their mother should travel，even as the Queen had charged her；nor did she cease to fare on with all diligence，being fearful for them，till she came in sight of Nur al-Huda's city，when she crossed the river and entering the town，carried them in to their aunt.The Queen rejoiced at their sight and embraced them，and pressed them to her breast；after which she seated them，one upon the right thigh and the other upon the left；and turning round said to the old woman，'Fetch me Hasan forthright，for I have granted him my safeguard and have spared him from my sabre and he hath sought asylum in my house and taken up his abode in my courts，after having endured hardships and horrors and passed through all manner mortal risks，each terribler than other；yet hitherto is he not safe from drinking the cup of death and from cutting off his breath.'--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Eight Hundred and Fourteenth Night； She continued，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Queen Nur al-Huda bade the old woman bring Hasan she said；'Verily he hath endured hardships and horrors and passed through all manner mortal risks each terribler than other；yet hitherto he is not safe from death and from the cutting off of his breath.'Replied Shawahi，'An I bring him to thee，wilt thou reunite him with these his children？ Or，if they prove not his；wilt thou pardon him and restore him to his own country？'
Hearing these her words the Queen waxed exceeding wroth and cried to her，'Fie upon thee，O ill-omened old woman！ How long wilt thou false us in the matter of this strange man who hath dared to intrude himself upon us and hath lifted our veil and pried into our conditions？ Say me： thinkest thou that he shall come to our land and look upon our faces and betray our honour，and after return in safety to his own country and expose our affairs to his people，wherefore our report will be bruited abroad among all the Kings of the quarters of the earth and the merchants will journey bearing tidings of us in all directions，saying，'A mortal entered the Isles of Wak and traversed the Land of the Jinn and the lands of the Wild Beasts and the Islands of Birds and set foot in the country of the Warlocks and the Enchanters and returned in safety？'This shall never be；no，never；and I swear by Him who made the Heavens and builded them；yea，by Him who dispread the earth and smoothed it，and who created all creatures and counted them，that，an they be not his children，I will assuredly slay him and strike his neck with mine own hand！'Then she cried out at the old woman，who fell down for fear；and set upon her the Chamberlain and twenty Mamelukes，saying，'Go with this crone and fetch me in haste the youth who is in her house.'
So they dragged Shawahi along，yellow with fright and with side-muscles quivering，till they came to her house，where she went in to Hasan，who rose to her and kissed her hands and saluted her.She returned not his salam，but said to him，'Come；