whilst they led thus the most joyous life, behold!
Al-Hajjaj,[FN#6] the Viceroy of Cufa said to himself, "Needs must
I contrive to take this girl named Naomi and send her to the
Commander of the Faithful, Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, for he hath
not in his palace her like for beauty and sweet singing." So he
summoned an old woman of the duennas of his wives and said to
her, "Go to the house of Al-Rabi'a and foregather with the girl
Naomi and combine means to carry her off; for her like is not to
be found on the face of the earth." She promised to do his
bidding; the next morning she donned the woollen clothes of a
devotee and hung around her neck a rosary of beads by the
thousand; and, henting in hand a staff and a leather water bottle
of Yamani manufacture.-- And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Thirty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the old
woman promised to do the bidding of Al-Hajjaj, and whenas it was
morning she donned the woollen clothes of a devotee[FN#7] and
hung around her neck a rosary of beads by the thousand and hent
in hand a staff and a leather water bottle of Yamani manufacture
and fared forth crying, "Glory be to Allah! Praised be Allah!
There is no god but the God! Allah is Most Great! There is no
Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the
Great!" Nor did she leave off her lauds and her groaning in
prayer whilst her heart was full of guile and wiles, till she
came to the house of Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a at the hour of noon
prayer, and knocked at the door. The doorkeeper opened and said
to her, "What dost thou want?" Quoth she, "I am a poor pious