of it and tell her how thou hinderest her slave girl;" and she
cried out to Taj al-Muluk, saying, "Pass on, O damsel!" So he
passed on into the vestibule as she bade him, whilst the Eunuch
was silent and said no more. The Prince counted five doors and
entered the sixth where he found the Princess Dunya standing and
awaiting him. As soon as she saw him, she knew him and clasped
him to her breast, and he clasped her to his bosom. Presently
the old woman came in to them, having made a pretext to dismiss
the Princess's slave girls for fear of disgrace; and the Lady
Dunya said to her, "Be thou our door keeper!" So she and Taj al-
Muluk abode alone together and ceased not kissing and embracing
and twining leg with leg till dawn.[FN#46] When day drew near,
she left him and, shutting the door upon him, passed into another
chamber, where she sat down as was her wont, whilst her slave
women came in to her, and she attended to their affairs and
conversed with them. Then she said to them, "Go forth from me
now, for I wish to amuse myself in privacy." So they withdrew and
she betook herself to Taj al-Muluk, and the old woman brought
them food, of which they ate and returned to amorous dalliance
till dawn. Then the door was locked upon him as on the day
before; and they ceased not to do thus for a whole month. This
is how it fared with Taj al-Muluk and the Lady Dunya; but as
regards the Wazir and Aziz when they found that the Prince had
gone to the Palace of the King's daughter and there delayed all
the while, they concluded that he would never return from it and
that he was lost for ever; and Aziz said to the Wazir, "O my
father, what shall we do?" He replied, "O my son, this is a
difficult matter, and except we return to his sire and tell him,
he will blame us therefor." So they made ready at once and
forthright set out for the Green Land and the Country of the Two