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O my lord, have compassion on thee and give thee fair warning; and it is thine to decide.’ At this, Budour bowed her head in perplexity and said in herself, ‘If I refuse, I am lost, and if I obey, I am shamed. I am now queen of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule and I shall never again foregather with Kemerezzeman except it be in this place; for there is no way for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands. Verily, I know not what to do, for I am no man that I should arise and open this virgin girl; but I commit my case to God, who orders all for the best.’ Then she said to Heyat en Nufous, ‘O my beloved, it is in my own despite that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee.’ And she discovered herself to her and told her her whole story, saying, ‘I conjure thee by Allah to keep my counsel, till God reunite me with my beloved Kemerezzeman, Night ccxi.and then let what will happen.’ Her story moved Heyat en Nufous to wonder and pity, and she prayed God to reunite her with her beloved, saying, ‘Fear nothing, O my sister, but have patience till God accomplish that which is to be.’ And she repeated the following verses:
None keepeth counsel saving those who’re trusty and discreet. A secret’s ever safely placed with honest folk and leal;
And secrets trusted unto me are in a locked-up house, Whose keys are lost and on whose door is set the Cadi’s seal.
‘O my sister,’ continued she, ‘the breasts of the noble are the graves of secrets, and I will not discover thine.’ Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the call to morning-prayer, when Heyat en Nufous arose and slaughtering a young pigeon, besmeared herself and besprinkled her shift with its blood. Then she put off her trousers and cried out, whereupon her waiting-women hastened to her and raised cries of joy. Presently, her mother came in to her aad asked her how she did and tended her and abode with her till evening; whilst the
