And he drew near to them and stood， watching them， without their knowledge， till they came to Nuzhet ez Zeman"s tent， when the eunuch went in to her and said， "O my lady， I have brought thee him whom thou soughtest， and he is a youth， fair of face and bearing the marks of gentle breeding." When she heard this， her heart fluttered and she said， "Let him recite some verses， that I may hear him near at hand， and after ask him his name and extraction." So the eunuch went out to Zoulmekan and said to him，"Recite what verses thou knowest， for my lady is here hard by，listening to thee， and after I will ask thee of thy name and extraction and condition." "Willingly，" replied he； "but as for my name， it is blotted out and my trace among men is passed away and my body wasted. I have a story， the beginning of which is not known nor can the end of it be described， and behold， I am even as one who hath exceeded in drinking wine， till he hath lost the mastery of himself and is afflicted with distempers and wanders from his right mind， being perplexed about his case and drowned in the sea of melancholy." When Nuzhet ez Zeman heard this， she broke out into loud weeping and sobbing and said to the eunuch，"Ask him if he have lost a beloved one， such as his father or mother." The eunuch did as she bade him， and Zoulmekan replied，"Yes， I have lost all whom I loved： but the dearest of all to me was my sister， from whom Fate hath parted me." When Nuzhet ez Zeman heard this， she exclaimed， "May God the Most High reunite him with those he loves！" Then said she to the eunuch， "Tell him to let me hear somewhat on the subject of his separation from his people and his country." The eunuch did so， and Zoulmekan sighed heavily and repeated the following verses：
Ah， would that I knew they were ware Of the worth of the heart they have won！
Would I knew through what passes they fare， From what quarter they look on the sun！ Are they living， I wonder， or dead？
Can it be that their life"s race is run？
Ah， the lover is ever distraught And his life for misgivings undone！
And also these：
I vow， if e"er the place shall bless my longing sight， Wherein my sister dwells， the age"s dear delight，[FN#65]
I"ll take my fill of life and all the sweets of peace， Midst trees and flowing streams： and maidens fair and bright The lute"s enchanting tones shall soothe me to repose， What while I quaff full cups of wine like living light And honeyed dews of love suck from the deep-red lips Of lovelings sleepy-eyed， with tresses black as night.
When he had finished， Nuzhet ez Zeman lifted up a corner of the curtain of the litter and looked at him. As soon as her eyes fell on him， she knew him for certain and cried out， "O my brother！ O Zoulmekan！" He looked at her and knew her and cried out， "O my sister！ O Nuzhet ez Zeman！" Then she threw herself upon him， and he received her in his arms， and they both fell down in a swoon.
When the eunuch saw this， he wondered and throwing over them somewhat to cover them， waited till they should recover. After awhile， they came to themselves， and Nuzhet ez Zeman rejoiced exceedingly. Grief and anxiety left her and joys flocked upon her and she repeated the following verses：
Fate swore "twould never cease to plague my life and make me rue.
Thou hast not kept thine oath， O Fate； so look thou penance do.
Gladness is come and my belov"d is here to succour me； So rise unto the summoner of joys， and quickly too.
I had no faith in Paradise of olden time， until I won the nectar of its streams from lips of damask hue.
When Zoulmekan heard this， he pressed his sister to his breast，whilst， for the excess of his joy， the tears streamed from his eyes and he repeated the following verses：
Long time have I bewailed the severance of our loves， With tears that from my lids streamed down like burning rain，And vowed that， if the days should reunite us two， My lips should never speak of severance again.
Joy hath o"erwhelmed me so， that， for the very stress Of that which gladdens me， to weeping I am fain.
Tears are become to you a habit， O my eyes， So that ye weep alike for gladness and for pain.
They sat awhile at the door of the litter， conversing， till she said to him， "Come with me into the litter and tell me all that has befallen thee， and I will do the like." So they entered and Zoulmekan said， "Do thou begin." Accordingly， she told him all that had happened to her since their separation and said，"Praised be God who hath vouchsafed thee to me and ordained that，even as we left our father together， so we shall return to him together！ Now tell me how it has fared with thee since I left thee." So he told her all that had befallen him and how God had sent the stoker to him， and how he had journeyed with him and spent his money on him and tended him night and day. She praised the stoker for this， and Zoulmekan added， "Indeed， O my sister，the man hath dealt with me in such benevolent wise as would not a lover with his mistress or a father with his son， for that he fasted and gave me to eat， and went afoot， whilst he made me ride； and I owe my life to him." "God willing，" said she， "we will requite him for all this， according to our power." Then she called the eunuch， who came and kissed Zoulmekan"s hand， and she said， "Take thy reward for glad tidings， O face of good omen！ It was thy hand reunited me with my brother； so the purse I gave thee and its contents are thine. But now go to thy master and bring him quickly to me." The eunuch rejoiced and going to the Chamberlain， summoned him to his mistress. Accordingly， he came in to his wife and finding Zoulmekan with her， asked who he was.
