caravanserais and abode three days to rest himself and the mule and to

smell the air. Then, being determined to travel afar and Allah



having written safety in his fate, he set out again, mending without

wotting whither he was going. And having fallen in with certain



couriers, he stinted not traveling till he had reached Bassorah

city, albeit he knew not what the place was.



It was dark night when he alighted at the khan, so he spread out his

prayer carpet and took down the saddlebags from the back of the mule



and gave her with her furniture in charge of the doorkeeper that he

might walk her about. The man took her and did as he was bid. Now it



so happened that the Wazir of Bassorah, a man shot in years, was

sitting at the lattice window of his palace opposite the khan and he



saw the porter walking the mule up and down. He was struck by her

trappings of price, and thought her a nice beast fit for the riding of



wazirs or even of royalties, and the more he looked, the more was he

perplexed, till at last he said to one of his pages, "Bring hither yon



doorkeeper." The page went and returned to the Wazir with the

porter, who kissed the ground between his hands, and the Minister



asked him, "Who is the owner of yonder mule, and what manner of man is

he?" and he answered, "O my lord, the owner of this mule is a comely



young man of pleasant manners, withal grave and dignified, and

doubtless one of the sons of the merchants."



When the Wazir heard the doorkeeper's words he arose forthright and,

mounting his horse, rode to the khan and went in to Nur al-Din, who,



seeing the Minister making toward him, rose to his feet and advanced

to meet him and saluted him. The Wazir welcomed him to Bassorah and



dismounting, embraced him and made him sit down by his side, and said,

"O my son, whence comest thou, and what dost thou seek?" "O my



lord," Nur al-Din replied, "I have come from Cairo city, of which my

father was whilom Wazir, but he hath been removed to the grace of



Allah." And he informed him of all that had befallen him from

beginning to end, adding, "I am resolved never to return home before I



have seen all the cities and countries of the world." When the Wazir

heard this, he said to him: "O my son, hearken not to the voice of



passion lest it cast thee into the pit, for indeed many regions be

waste places, and I fear for thee the turns of Time." Then he let load



the saddlebags and the silk and prayer carpets on the mule and carried

Nur al-Din to his own house, where he lodged him in a pleasant place



and entreated him honorably and made much of him, for he inclined to

love him with exceeding love.



After a while he said to him: "O my son, here am I left a man in

years and have no male children, but Allah hath blessed me with a



daughter who eveneth thee in beauty, and I have rejected all her

many suitors, men of rank and substance. But affection for thee hath



entered into my heart. Say me, then, wilt thou be to her a husband? If

thou accept this, I will go with thee to the Sultan of Bassorah and



will tell him that thou art my nephew, the son of my brother, and

bring thee to be appointed Wazir in my place that I may keep the



house, for, by Allah, O my son, I am stricken in years and aweary."

When Nur al-Din heard the Wazir's words, he bowed his head in



modesty and said, "To hear is to obey!" At this the Wazir rejoiced and

bade his servants prepare a feast and decorate the great assembly hall



wherein they were wont to celebrate the marriages of emirs and

grandees. Then he assembled his friends and the notables of the



reign and the merchants of Bassorah, and when all stood before him

he said to them: "I had a brother who was Wazir in the land of



Egypt, and Allah Almighty blessed him with two sons, whilst to me,

as well ye wot, He hath given a daughter. My brother charged me to



marry my daughter to one of his sons, whereto I assented, and when

my daughter was of age to marry, he sent me one of his sons, the young



man now present, to whom I purpose marrying her, drawing up the

contract and celebrating the night of unveiling with due ceremony. For



he is nearer and dearer to me than a stranger, and after the

wedding, if he please he shall abide with me, or if he desire to



travel, I will forward him and his wife to his father's home."

Hereat one and all replied, "Right is thy recking," and they looked at



the bridegroom and were pleased with him.

So the Wazir sent for the kazi and legal witnesses and they wrote



out the marriage contract, after which the slaves perfumed the

guests with incense, and served them with sherbet of sugar and



sprinkled rose-water on them, and all went their ways. Then the

Wazir bade his servants take Nur al-Din to the hammam baths and sent



him a suit of the best of his own especialraiment, and napkins and

towelry and bowls and perfume-burners and all else that was



required. And after the bath, when he came out and donned the dress,

he was even as the full moon on the fourteenth night, and he mounted

• commander [kə´mɑ:ndə] n.指挥员，司令员 (初中英语单词)


• faithful [´feiθfəl] a.忠实的；可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• mourning [´mɔ:niŋ] n.悲伤；治丧；戴孝 (初中英语单词)


• whenever [wen´evə] conj.&ad.无论何时 (初中英语单词)


• conceive [kən´si:v] v.设想；表达；怀孕 (初中英语单词)


• impose [im´pəuz] v.课税；强加；利用 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• dignity [´digniti] n.尊严，尊贵；高官显贵 (初中英语单词)


• wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊；流浪 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• saddle [´sædl] n.鞍子 v.装鞍(于) (初中英语单词)


• indian [´indiən] a.印度的 n.印度人 (初中英语单词)


• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)


• moreover [mɔ:´rəuvə] ad.再者，此外，而且 (初中英语单词)


• carpet [´kɑ:pit] n.地毯 vt.铺地毯 (初中英语单词)


• abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)


• awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)


• overcome [,əuvə´kʌm] vt.战胜，克服 (初中英语单词)


• thence [ðens] ad.从那里；因此 (初中英语单词)


• charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)


• hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)


• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)


• nephew [´nevju:, ´nɛfju] n.侄子；外甥 (初中英语单词)


• decorate [´dekəreit] vt.装饰；装修(房屋等) (初中英语单词)


• assembly [ə´sembli] n.集会；装配；与会者 (初中英语单词)


• celebrate [´selibreit] vt.庆祝；表扬；赞美 (初中英语单词)


• ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)


• sultan [´sʌltən] n.苏丹 (高中英语单词)


• generosity [,dʒenə´rɔsiti] n.慷慨；慷慨的行为 (高中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• pleasing [´pli:ziŋ] a.使人愉快的；合意的 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• partnership [´pɑ:tnəʃip] n.合伙关系 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• strain [strein] vt.拉紧 vi.拖 n.张力 (高中英语单词)


• onward [´ɔnwəd] ad.&a.向前(的) (高中英语单词)


• porter [´pɔ:tə] n.守门人；勤杂工人 (高中英语单词)


• dignified [´dignifaid] a.尊贵的 (高中英语单词)


• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• whilst [wailst] conj.当…时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)


• incense [´insens, in´sens] n.香(气) vt.激怒 (高中英语单词)


• experienced [ik´spiəriənst] a.有经验的；熟练的 (英语四级单词)


• semblance [´sembləns] n.外表；伪装；相似 (英语四级单词)


• setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)


• comply [kəm´plai] vi.照做 (英语四级单词)


• feminine [´feminin] a.女性的 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• watchful [´wɔtʃfəl] a.注意的；戒备的 (英语四级单词)


• withal [wi´ðɔ:l] ad.加之；同样；然而 (英语四级单词)


• whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)


• befallen [bi´fɔ:lən] befall的过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)


• hearken [´hɑ:kən] vi.听 (英语四级单词)


• exceeding [ik´si:diŋ] a.超越的，非常的 (英语四级单词)


• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)


• almighty [ɔ:l´maiti] a.万能的；全能的 (英语四级单词)


• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)


• bridegroom [´braidgru:m] n.新郎 (英语四级单词)


• raiment [´reimənt] n.衣饰 (英语四级单词)


• ceremonial [,seri´məuniəl] a.礼仪的，仪式的 (英语六级单词)


• mortify [´mɔ:tifai] v.克制；禁欲；使受辱 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• wherewith [wɛə´wiθ] ad.用什么；用以 (英语六级单词)


• noontide [´nu:ntaid] n.正午 (英语六级单词)


• forage [´fɔridʒ] n.饲料 v.搜寻(粮草) (英语六级单词)


• nightfall [´nait,fɔ:l] n.黄昏；傍晚 (英语六级单词)


• albeit [ɔ:l´bi:it] conj.即使；纵使；虽然 (英语六级单词)


• honorably [´ɔnərəbli] ad.光荣地；光明正大地 (英语六级单词)


• especial [i´speʃəl] a.特别的，特殊的 (英语六级单词)