' 'O my lady,' said he, 'I have wearied for thee all this
time!' But she answered, 'It is I who have wearied for thee,
and hadst thou tarried longer, I had surely died!' 'O my lady,'
rejoined he, 'what thinkest thou of my case with thy father and
how he dealt with me? Were it not for my love of thee, O
ravishment of all creatures, I had surely slain him and made
him a warning to all beholders; but, even as I love thee, so I
love him for thy sake.' Quoth she, 'How couldst thou leave me?
Can life be sweet to me after thee?' Quoth he, 'Let what has
happened suffice now: I am hungry and thirsty.' So she bade her
maidens make ready meat and drink, [and they sat eating and
drinking and conversing] till nigh upon daybreak, when he rose
to take leave of her and depart, ere the eunuch should awake,
and she said, 'Whither goest thou?' 'To my father's house,'
answered he; 'and I plight thee my troth that I will come to
thee once in every week.' But she wept and said, 'I conjure
thee, by God the Supreme, take me with thee whither thou goest
and make me not taste anew the bitterness of separation from
thee.' Quoth he, 'Wilt thou indeed go with me?' and she
answered, 'Yes.
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