Henceforth we will never make mention of marriage, so take us
back as thy handmaidens that we may eat our mouthful." Quoth I,
"Welcome to you, O my sisters, there is naught dearer to me than you."
And I took them in and redoubled my kindness to them. We ceased not to
live after this loving fashion for a full year, when I resolved to
sell my wares abroad and first to fit me a conveyance for Bassorah. So
I equipped a large ship, and loaded her with merchandise and
valuable goods for traffic and with provaunt and all needful for a
voyage, and said to my sisters, "Will ye abide at home whilst I
travel, or would ye prefer to accompany me on the voyage?" "We will
travel with thee," answered they, "for we cannot bear to be parted
from thee." So I divided my moneys into two parts, one to accompany me
and the other to be left in charge of a trusty person, for, as I
said to myself, "Haply some accident may happen to the ship and yet we
remain alive, in which case we shall find on our return what may stand
us in good stead."
I took my two sisters and we went a-voyaging some days and nights,
but the master was careless enough to miss his course, and the ship
went astray with us and entered a sea other than the sea we sought.
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