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Alaeddin came forth and went in to his mother, with whom was a company of women of rank. As they sat talking, in came he upon them, as he were a drunken white slave,[1] for the excess of his beauty; and when they saw him, they veiled their faces and said to his mother, ‘God requite thee, O such an one! How canst thou let this strange slave in upon us? Knowest thou not that modesty is a point of the Faith?’ ‘Pronounce the name of God,’[2] answered she. ‘This is my son, the darling of my heart and the son of the Provost Shemseddin.’ Quoth they, ‘We never knew that thou hadst a son:’ and she, ‘His father feared the evil eye for him and shut him up in a chamber under the earth, Night ccli.nor did we mean that he should come out, before his beard was grown; but it would seem as if the slave had unawares left the door open, and he hath come out.’ The women gave her joy of him, and he went out from them into the courtyard, where he seated himself in the verandah.[3] Presently, in came the slaves with his father’s mule, and he said to them, ‘Whence comes this mule?’ Quoth they, ‘Thy father rode her to the shop, and we have brought her back.’ ‘And what is my father’s trade?’ asked he. And they replied, ‘He is Provost of the merchants of Cairo and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs.’ Then he went in to his mother and said to her, ‘O my mother, what is my father’s trade?’ Said she, ‘He is a merchant and Provost of the merchants of Cairo and Sultan of the Sons of the Arabs. His slaves consult him not in selling aught whose price is less than
- ↑ Alluding to the redness of his cheeks, as if they had been flushed with wine. The passage may be construed, “As he were a white slave, with cheeks reddened by wine.” The Turkish and other white slaves were celebrated for their beauty.
- ↑ As a protection against the evil eye. We may perhaps, however, read, “Ask pardon of God!”, i.e. for your unjust reproach.
- ↑ See note, post, p. 299.
