To me their every word and work are mere delight，And martyrs crepe I all they slay in fight and fray：
An ask I，'O Buthaynah！what's this love，I pray，Which eats my heart？' quoth she ''Twill stay for ever and aye！'
And when I cry，'Of wits return some small display For daily use，' quoth she，'Far，far 'tis fled away！
Thou seekst my death；naught else thy will can satisfy While I no goal espy save thee and thee alway.'
'Thou hast spoken right well，' said she，'O King's son，and Jamil also spoke excellently well.But what would Buthaynah have done with him that he saith in his hemistich，'Thou seekst my death；naught else thy will can satisfy？'
'O my lady，' quoth Sharrkan，'she willed to do him what thou willest to do with me，and even that will not satisfy thee.' She laughed at his opportune reply and they ceased not carousing till Day put out her light and Night came in darkness dight.Then she rose and went to her dormitory and slept，while Sharrkan slept in his place till morning dawned.As soon as he awoke，the hand maids came to him with tabrets and other instruments of mirth and merriment，as wont；and，kissing the ground between his hands，said to him，'Bismillah！in Allah's name be so kind as to come[195]： our mistress biddeth thee to her presence！' So he rose and accompanied the slave girls who surrounded him，playing on tabrets and other instruments of music，till they passed from that saloon into another and a yet more spacious hall，decorated with pictured likenesses and figures of birds and beasts，passing all deion.Sharrkan marvelled at the art and artifice of the place and began reciting，'He plucks fruits of her necklace in rivalry，And her breast-pearls that bedded in gold mine lie.
Pure water on silvern bars is her brow，And her cheeks show roses with rubies vie：
Meseems in her eyne that the violet's hue Lies purpling set in the Ithmid's[196] dye.'
When the lady saw Sharrkan，she stood up to him in honour and，taking his hand，seated him by her side and asked，'O son of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman，hast thou any cunning in the game of chess？'
'Yes，' he answered，'but do not thou with me as said the poet，'I speak and longing love upties me and unties me；Till with her honey dew of inner lip she plies me：
I brought the chess board and my liefest lover plays me With white and black，[197] but black cum white ne'er satisfies me：
'Twas as if King for Castle I were fain to place me Till wilful loss of game atwixt two queens surprise me：
And if I seek to read intent in eyes that eye me Oh man！that glance askance with hint of wish defies me.''
Then she brought the chessboard and played with him；but Sharrkan，instead of looking at her moves，kept gazing at her fair mouth，and putting knight in place of elephant and elephant[198] instead of knight.She laughed and said to him，'If thy play be after this fashion，thou knowest naught of the game.' 'This is only our first，' replied he，'judge not by this bout.' When she beat him he replaced the pieces in position and played again with her；but she beat him a second time，a third，a fourth and a fifth.So she turned to him and said，'Thou art beaten in everything；' and he replied，'O my lady，how should one playing with the like of thee avoid being beaten？' Then she bade bring food，and they ate and washed their hands；after which the wine was set before them and they drank.Presently，she took the dulcimer，for her hand was cunning in smiting it，and she began repeating to an accompaniment these couplets，'Twixt the close tied and open wide no medium Fortune knoweth，
Now ebb and flow then flow and ebb this wise her likeness showeth.
Then drink her wine the syne she's thine and smiling thou dost find her Anon she'll fall and fare away when all thy good forth goeth.'
They ceased not to carouse till nightfall and this day was pleasanter even than the first.When darkness set in，the lady betook her to her dormitory，leaving him alone with the hand maids；so he threw himself on the ground and slept till dawn，when the damsels came to him with tambourines and other instruments according to custom.Seeing them he roused him hastily and sat up；and they carried him to their mistress，who came to meet him and，taking him by the hand，seated him by her side.Then she asked him how he had passed his night，whereat he prayed that her life be prolonged；and she took the lute and sang to it these verses which she improvised，'Ne'er incline thee to part Which embitters the heart E'en the sun when he sets Shall in pallor depart.'
While they were solacing themselves after this fashion，behold，there arose a great and sudden clamour，and a confused crowd of knights and men rushed in，holding drawn swords that glittered and gleamed in their hands，and cried aloud in the Grecian tongue 'Thou hast fallen into our hands，O Sharrkan，so make thee sure of death！' When he heard this，he said to himself，'By Allah，she hath entrapped me and held me in play，till her men should come.
These are the Knights with whom she threatened me；but 'tis I who have thrown myself into this strait.' Then he turned towards the young lady to reproach her，but saw that she had changed colour and her face was pale；and she sprang to her feet and asked the crowd，'Who are ye？''O most gracious Princess and peerless onion pearl，' answered the leading Knight，'dost thou weet who is yon man by thy side？' 'Not I，' she replied，'who may he be？' Quoth the Patrician，'This is of towns the highwayman！ This is he who rideth in the horseman's van！ This is Sharrkan，son of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman！ This is he that forceth fortalice and penetrateth every impregnable place！ The news of him reached King Hardub，thy father，by report of the ancient dame Zat al-Dawahi；and thy sire，our sovereign，hath made sure that thou hast rendered good service to the army of the Greeks by taking captive this ominous lion.' When she heard this，she looked at the Knight and asked him，'What be thy name？' and he answered，'I am Masurah，son of thy slave Mausurah bin Kashardah，Knight of Knights.'
