Bedreddin's countenance changed when he
perceived that the lady who spoke to him was the charming person
he had lain with before; he therefore entered the room; but,
calling to mind all that had passed for an interval of ten years,
and not being able to persuade himself that it could have
happened in one night, he went to the place where his clothes and
the purse of sequins lay, and, after examining them very
carefully, By Heaven, cried he, these are things that I can by no
means comprehend! The lady, who enjoyed his confusion, said, Once
more, I pray you, my lord, come to bed again; why do you stand?
He then stepped towards the bed, and said to her, Pray, madam,
tell me, is it long since I left you? The question, answered she,
surprises me. Did you not rise from me but now? Your thoughts are
surely very busy. Madam, replied Bedreddin, I do assure you that
my thoughts are not very easy. I remember, indeed, to have been
with you; but I remember, at the same time, that I have since
lived ten years at Damascus. Now, if I was actually in bed with
you this night, I cannot have been from you so long; these two
things are inconsistent. Pray tell me what to think; whether my
marriage with you be an illusion, or whether my absence from you
be only a dream, Yes, my lord, cried she; doubtless you were
light-headed when you thought you were at Damascus.
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