The queen returned from the bath; we supped together, and, before
we went to bed, she presented me with a cup of water such as I
was accustomed to drink; but, instead of putting it to my mouth,
I went to a window that stood open, and threw out the water so
privately that she did not perceive it, and put the cup again
into her hands, to persuade her I had drunk it.
We went to bed together, and soon after, believing that I was
asleep, though I was not, she got up with so little precaution,
that she said, so loud as I could hear distinctly, Sleep, and may
you never awake again. She dressed herself speedily, and went out
of the chamber. As Scheherazade spoke these words, she saw day
appear, and stopped.
Dinarzade had heard, her sister with a great deal of pleasure;
and Shahriar thought the history of the king of the Black Isles
so worthy of his curiosity, that he rose up full of impatience
for the rest of it.
The Twenty-third Night.
An hour before day, Dinarzade, being awake, failed not to call
upon the sultaness, and said, Pray, dear sister, go on with the
history of the young king of the Black Islands. Scheherazade,
calling to mind where she left off, resumed ths story thus:
As soon as the queen my wife went out, continues the king of the
Black Islands, I got up, dressed me in haste, took my scimitar,
and followed her so quick that I soon heard the sound of her feet
before me, and then walked softly after her, for fear of being
heard.
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