Six lines it hath； the first， "A fire is in my heart；" The next line setteth forth my passion all in vain；
The third， "My patience fails and eke my life doth waste；" The fourth， "All love with me for ever shall remain."
The fifth， "When shall mine eyes behold thee？ And the sixth，"When shall the day betide of meeting for us twain？
And by way of subscription he wrote these words， "This letter is from the captive of desire， prisoned in the hold of longing， from which there is no deliverance but in union and intercourse with her whom he loveth， after absence and separation： for he suffereth grievous torment by reason of his severance from his beloved." Then his tears rushed out and he wrote the following verses：
I write to thee， my love， and the tears run down as I write； For the tears of my eyes， alack I cease never day or night.
Yet do I not despair； mayhap， of God His grace， The day shall dawn for us of union and delight.
Then he folded the letter and sealed it and gave it to the old woman， saying， "Carry it to the lady Dunya." "I hear and obey，"
answered she； whereupon he gave her a thousand dinars and said to her， "O my mother， accept this， as a token of my affection." She took the letter and the money， calling down blessings on him， and returned to the princess. When the latter saw her， she said to her， "O my nurse， what is it he asks， that we may fulfil his wish to him？" "O my lady，" replied the old woman， "he sends thee this letter by me， and I know not what is in it." The princess took the letter and reading it， exclaimed， "Who and what is this merchant that he should dare to write to me thus？" And she buffeted her face， saying， "What have we done that we should come in converse with shopkeepers？ Alas！ Alas！ By Allah， but that I fear God the Most High， I would put him to death and crucify him before his shop！" "What is in the letter，" asked the old woman，"to trouble thy heart and move thine anger thus？ Doth it contain a complaint of oppression or demand for the price of the stuff？"
"Out on thee！" answered the princess. "There is none of this in it， nought but words of love and gallantry. This is all through thee： else how should this devil know me？" "O my lady，" rejoined the old woman， "thou sittest in thy high palace and none may win to thee， no， not even the birds of the air. God keep thee and keep thy youth from blame and reproach！ Thou art a princess， the daughter of a king， and needest not reck of the barking of dogs.
Blame me not that I brought thee this letter， knowing not what was in it； but it is my counsel that thou send him an answer，threatening him with death and forbidding him from this idle talk. Surely he will abstain and return not to the like of this."
"I fear，" said the princess， "that， if I write to him， he will conceive hopes of me." Quoth the old woman， "When he reads thy threats and menace of punishment， he will desist." So the princess called for inkhorn and paper and pen of brass and wrote the following verses：
O thou who feignest thee the prey of love and wakefulness And plainst of that thou dost endure for passion and distress Thinkst thou， deluded one， to win thy wishes of the moon？ Did ever any of a moon get union and liesse？
I rede thee put away the thought of this thou seekst from thee，For that therein but peril is for thee and weariness.
If thou to this thy speech return， a grievous punishment Shall surely fall on thee from me and ruin past redress.
By Him， the Almighty God， I swear， who moulded man from clay， Him who gave fire unto the sun and lit the moon no less If thou offend anew， for sure， upon a cross of tree I"ll have thee crucified for all thy wealth and goodliness！
Then she folded the letter and giving it to the old woman， said，"Carry this to him and bid him desist from this talk." "I hear and obey，" replied she， and taking the letter， returned，rejoicing， to her own house， where she passed the night and in the morning betook herself to the shop of Taj el Mulouk， whom she found expecting her. At sight of her， he well-nigh lost his reason for delight， and when she came up to him， he rose to his feet and seated her by his side. Then she brought out the letter and gave it to him， saying， "Read this. When the princess read thy letter， she was angry； but I coaxed her and jested with her till I made her laugh， and she had pity on thee and has returned thee an answer." He thanked her and bade Aziz give her a thousand dinars： then he read her letter and fell to weeping sore， so that the old woman"s heart was moved to pity for him and his tears and complaints grieved her. So she said to him， "O my son， what is there in this scroll， that makes thee weep？" "She threatens me with death and crucifixion，" replied he， "and forbids me to write to her： but if I write not， my death were better than my life. So take thou my answer to her letter and let her do what she will."
"By the life of thy youth，" rejoined the old woman， "needs must I venture my life for thee， that I may bring thee to thy desire and help thee to win that thou hast at heart！" And he said， "Whatever thou dost， I will requite thee therefor， and do thou determine of it； for thou art versed in affairs and skilled in all fashions of intrigue： difficult matters are easy to thee： and God can do all things." Then he took a scroll and wrote therein the following verses：
My love with slaughter threatens me， woe"s me for my distress！
But death is foreordained； to me， indeed， "twere happiness；
Better death end a lover"s woes than that a weary life He live，rejected and forlorn， forbidden from liesse.
Visit a lover， for God"s sake， whose every helper fails， And with thy sight thy captive slave and bondman deign to bless！
Have ruth upon me， lady mine， for loving thee； for all， Who love the noble， stand excused for very passion"s stress.
