Mayhap he only comes to hear me talk； so I will give him a fair answer." All this while， she had kept her eyes fixed on the ground； then she raised them to him and said in a sweet voice，"And upon thee be peace， O my lord， and the mercy of God and His blessing！ This is what is commanded of the Prophet， whom God bless and preserve！ As for thine enquiry how I do， if thou wouldst know my condition， it is such as thou wouldst not wish but to thine enemies." And she was silent. When the merchant heard what she said， he was beside himself for delight in her and turning to the Bedouin， said to him， "What is her price， for indeed she is illustrious！" At this the Bedouin was angry and said， "Thou wilt turn me the girl"s head with this talk！ Why dost thou say that she is illustrious，[FN#25] for all she is of the scum of slave-girls and of the refuse of the people？ I will not sell her to thee." When the merchant heard this， he knew he was dull-witted and said to him， "Calm thyself， for I will buy her of thee， notwithstanding the defects thou mentionest." "And how much wilt thou give me for her？" asked the Bedouin "None should name the child but its father，" replied the merchant. "Name thy price for her." "Not so，" rejoined the Bedouin； "do thou say what thou wilt give." Quoth the merchant in himself， "This Bedouin is an addle-pated churl. By Allah， I cannot tell her price， for she has mastered my heart with her sweet speech and her beauty： and if she can read and write， it will be the finishing touch to her good fortune and that of her purchaser. But this Bedouin does not know her value." Then he turned to the latter and said to him， "O elder of the Arabs， I will give thee two hundred dinars for her，in cash， clear of the tax and the Sultan"s dues." When the Bedouin heard this， he flew into a violent passion and cried out at the merchant， saying， "Begone about thy business！ By Allah，wert thou to offer me two hundred dinars for the piece of camel-cloth on her head， I would not sell it to thee！ I will not sell her， but will keep her by me， to pasture the camels and grind corn." And he cried out to her， saying， "Come， thou stinkard， I will not sell thee." Then he turned to the merchant and said to him， "I thought thee a man of judgment； but， by my bonnet， if thou begone not from me， I will let thee hear what will not please thee！" "Verily，" said the merchant to himself，"this Bedouin is mad and knows not the girl"s value， and I will say no more to him about her price for the present； for by Allah，were he a man of sense， he would not say， "By my bonnet！" By Allah， she is worth the kingdom of the Chosroes and I will give him what he will， though it be all I have." Then he said to him，"O elder of the Arabs， calm thyself and take patience and tell me what clothes she has with thee." "Clothes！" cried the Bedouin；
"what should the baggage want with clothes？ The camel-cloth in which she is wrapped is ample for her." "With thy leave，" said the merchant， "I will lift her veil and examine her as folk examine girls whom they think of buying." "Up and do what thou wilt，" replied the other， "and God keep thy youth！ Examine her，inside and out， and if thou wilt， take off her clothes and look at her naked." "God forbid！" said the merchant； "I will but look at her face." Then he went up to her， confounded at her beauty and grace， and seating himself by her side， said to her， "O my mistress， what is thy name？" "Dost thou ask what is my name now，"
said she， "or what it was formerly？" "Hast thou then two names？"
asked the merchant. "Yes，" replied she， "my whilom name was Nuzhet ez Zeman；[FN#26] but my name at this present is Ghusset ez Zeman."[FN#27] When the merchant heard this， his eyes filled with tears， and he said to her， "Hast thou not a sick brother？"
"Indeed， my lord， I have，" answered she； "but fortune hath parted us， and he lies sick in Jerusalem." The merchant"s heart was confounded at the sweetness of her speech， and he said to himself， "Verily， the Bedouin spoke the truth of her." Then she called to mind her brother and how he lay sick in a strange land，whilst she was parted from him and knew not what was become of him； and she thought of all that had befallen her with the Bedouin and of her severance from her father and mother and native land； and the tears ran down her cheeks and she repeated the following verses：
May God keep watch o"er thee， belov"d， where"er thou art， Thou that， though far away， yet dwellest in my heart！
Where"er thy footsteps lead， may He be ever near， To guard thee from time"s shifts and evil fortune"s dart！
Thou"rt absent， and my eyes long ever for thy sight， And at thy thought the tears for aye unbidden start.
Would that I knew alas！ what country holds thee now， In what abode thou dwell"st， unfriended and apart！
If thou， in the green o the rose， still drink o" the water of life， My drink is nought but tears， since that thou didst depart.
If sleep e"er visit thee， live coals of my unrest， Strewn betwixt couch and side， for aye my slumbers thwart All but thy loss to me were but a little thing， But that and that alone is sore to me， sweetheart.
When the merchant heard her verses， he wept and put out his hand to wipe away her tears； but she let down her veil， saying， "God forbid， O my master！" The Bedouin， who was sitting at a little distance， watching them， saw her cover her face and concluded that she would have hindered him from handling her： so he rose and running to her， dealt her such a blow on the shoulders with a camel"s halter he had in his hand， that she fell to the ground on her face. Her eyebrow smote against a stone， which cut it open，and the blood streamed down her face； whereupon she gave a loud scream and fainted away. The merchant was moved to tears for her and said in himself， "I must and will buy this damsel， though I pay down her weight in gold， and deliver her from this tyrant."
And he began to reproach the Bedouin， whilst Nuzhet ez Zeman lay insensible. When she came to herself， she wiped away her tears and bound up her head： then， raising her eyes to heaven， she sought her Lord with a sorrowful heart and repeated the following verses：