Quoth one
of the eunuchs, "O my lord, this is not of thy wont, O Commander of
the Faithful!" Then the rest of the handmaids of the palace came up to
him and lifted him into a sitting posture, when he found himself
upon a mattress raised a cubit's height from the ground and all
stuffed with floss silk. So they seated him upon it and propped his
elbow with a pillow, and he looked at the apartment and its vastness
and saw those eunuchs and slave girls in attendance upon him and
standing about his head, whereupon he laughed at himself and said, "By
Allah, 'tis not as I were on wake, yet I am not asleep!" And in his
perplexity he bowed his chin upon his bosom, and then opened his eyes,
little by little, smiling, and saying, "What is this state wherein I
find myself?" Then he arose and sat up, whilst the damsels laughed
at him privily, and he was bewildered in his wit, and bit his
finger, and as the bite pained him, he cried "Oh!" and was vexed.
And the Caliph watched him whence he saw him not, and laughed.
Presently Abu al-Hasan turned to a damsel and called to her,
whereupon she answered, "At thy service, O Prince of True
Believers!" Quoth he, "What is thy name?" and quoth she, "Shajarat
al-Durr.
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