Tell me
all that grieves you. What is it that gives you pain?' After I had
thus appealed to her for a long time, she arose from her knees, fell
on my neck, and whispered in my ear a wondrous tale of the starry
sky, of sunrise, and heavenly delight, of the bliss and pain of
love. And I swore by Allah and the prophet, by the spirit of her
mother, that I would never speak to another a word of what she had
told me! But, because I love the child of my mistress, the child
that is to me as my own, so dearly, I promised that I would go to
the man she loves and tell him everything in her name."
"Then go seek him she loves! You will find him in the governor's
palace; there he sits enthroned in the midst of his grand and
brilliant harem. She longs to see the doors of this harem thrown
open to her. Go to him and tell what you have to say. You will be
welcome."
"I knew to whom I was to go, and I have already reached my
destination. The heart of a woman who loves can see the absent like
that of a sorceress. Masa said to me: 'Go up the rock to the highest
point; there we vowed eternal fidelity to each other. I know he will
be there! He will seek to wipe out the traces of our morning
communion with his curses, perhaps, too, with his tears.' Now I am
at the place to which Masa sent me, and here, too, is he to whom she
sent me. Mohammed Ali, do not turn from me, do not shake your head.
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