her and said to him, "Her sooth-fastness will presently be
distinguished from thy sooth-fastness and her leasing from thy
leasing."

Then they all four arose, laying wagers with one another, and
went forth, walking, from the palace-gate [and fared on] till
they came in at the gate of the street in which Aboulhusn el
Khelia dwelt. He saw them and said to his wife Nuzhet el Fuad,
"Verily, all that is sticky is not a pancake and not every time
cometh the jar off safe.[FN#38]' Meseemeth the old woman hath
gone and told her lady and acquainted her with our case and she
hath disputed with Mesrour the eunuch and they have laid wagers
with one another about our death and are come to us, all four,
the Khalif and the eunuch and the Lady Zubeideh and the old
woman." When Nuzhet el Fuad heard this, she started up from her
lying posture and said, "How shall we do?" And he said, "We will
both feign ourselves dead and stretch ourselves out and hold our
breath." So she hearkened unto him and they both lay down on the
siesta[-carpet] and bound their feet and shut their eyes and
covered themselves with the veil and held their breath.

Presently, up came the Khalif and the Lady Zubeideh and Mesrour
and the old woman and entering, found Aboulhusn and his wife both
stretched out [apparently] dead; which when the Lady Zubeideh
saw, she wept and said, "They ceased not to bring [ill] news of
my slave- girl, till she died; methinketh Aboulhusn's death was
grievous to her and that she died after him."[FN#39]. Quoth the
Khalif, "Thou shalt not forestall me with talk and prate. She
certainly died before Aboulhusn, for he came to me with his
clothes torn and his beard plucked out, beating his breast with