第65章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(27)
By Allah，O my lord，answered he，they have no value in our country and the fifty jars may be worth some hundred dirhems；but their owner tarried behind us，and he is a poor man.'And what are they worth here？asked she.'A thousand dirhems，'replied he.'I will take them at that price，'quoth she and bade carry the fifty jars to the palace.When it was night，she called for a jar of olives and opened it，there being none present but herself and the princess Heyat en Nufous.Then，taking a dish，she turned into it the contents of the jar，when behold there fell out into the dish with the olives a heap of red gold and she said to Heyat en Nufous，This is nought but gold！'So she sent for the rest of the jars and found each one full of gold and scarce enough olives in the whole fifty to fill one jar.Moreover，she sought among the gold and found the talisman，which she took and examined and knew for that which Kemerezzeman had taken from off the riband of her trousers；whereupon she cried out for joy and fell down in a swoon.When she revived，she said in herself，Verily，this talisman was the cause of my separation from my beloved Kemerezzeman；but now it is an omen of good.'Then she showed it to Heyat en Nufous and said to her，This was the cause of separation and now，please God，it shall be the cause of reunion.'As soon as it was day，she seated herself on her throne and sent for the captain，who came and kissed the ground before her.Quoth she，Where didst thou leave the owner of these olives？O King of the age，'answered he，we left him in the land of the Magians and he is a gardener there.'Except thou bring him to me，'said she，thou knowest not the harm that awaits thee and thy ship.'Then she bade seal up the merchants
storehouses and said to them，The owner of these olives is my debtor；and an ye bring him not to me，I will without fail put you all to death and confiscate your goods.'So they all went to the captain and promised him the hire of the ship，if he would go and return a second time，saying，Deliver us from this masterful tyrant.'Accordingly，the captain set sail and God decreed him a prosperous voyage，till he came to the city of the Magians，and landing by night，went up to the garden.Now the night was long upon Kemerezzeman，and he sat，bethinking him of his beloved and weeping over what had befallen him and repeating the following verses：
Full many a night Ive passed，whose stars their course did stay，A night that seemed of those that will not pass away，That was，as twere，for length the Resurrection-morn，To him that watched therein and waited for the day！
At this moment，the captain knocked at the garden-gate，and Kemerezzeman opened and went out to him，whereupon the sailors seized him and carrying him on board the ship，weighed anchor forthright.They sailed on without ceasing days and nights，whilst Kemerezzeman knew not why they dealt thus with him；but when he questioned them，they replied，Thou hast offended against the lord of the Ebony Islands，the son-in-law of King Armanous，and hast stolen his good，unhappy wretch that thou art！'By Allah，'said he，I know not the country nor was I ever there in all my life！'However，they fared on with him，till they made the Ebony Islands and landing，carried him up to the princess Budour，who knew him at sight and said，Leave him with the eunuchs，that they may take him to the bath.'Then she relieved the merchant of the embargo and gave the captain a dress of honour and ten thousand dinars；after which，she went in that night to the princess Heyat en Nufous and told her what had passed，saying，Keep thou my counsel，till I accomplish my purpose and do a thing that shall be recorded and told to kings and commoners after us.'Meanwhile，they carried Kemerezzeman to the bath and clad him in a royal habit，so that，when he came forth，he resembled a willow-wand or a star whose aspect put to shame both sun and moon，and his life returned to him.Then he went in to the princess Budour，who，when she saw him，schooled her heart to patience，till she should have accomplished her purpose，and bestowed on him slaves and servants，black and white，and camels and mules.Moreover，she gave him a treasury of money and advanced him from dignity to dignity，till she made him treasurer and committed to his charge all the treasures of the state；nor did she leave day by day to increase his allowances and afford him fresh marks of her favour.As for Kemerezzeman，he was at a loss for the reason of all the honour and favour she showed him and gave gifts and largesse out of the abundance of the wealth he owed to her munificence，devoting himself in particular to the service of King Armanous，so that he and all the Amirs and people，great and small，loved him and were wont to swear by his life.Nevertheless，he ceased not to marvel at the favour shown him by Budour and said in himself，By Allah，there must be a reason for this affection！Peradventure，this king favours me thus excessively with some ill purpose and needs must I therefore crave leave of him to depart his realm.'So he went in to Budour and said to her，O King，thou hast overwhelmed me with favours，but it will fulfil the measure of thy bounties if thou wilt take from me all thou hast given and let me depart.'
She smiled and said，What makes thee seek to depart and plunge into new perils，whenas thou art in the enjoyment of the greatest favour and prosperity？O King，'answered Kemerezzeman，this favour，if there be no reason for it，is indeed a wonder of wonders，more by token that thou hast advanced me to dignities such as befit graybeards，albeit I am but a child.'The reason is，'answered she，that I love thee for thine exceeding grace and thy surpassing beauty；and so thou wilt but grant me my desire of thee，I will advance thee yet further in honour and favour and largesse and make thee Vizier，for all thy tender age，even as the folk made me Sultan and I no older than thou；so that nowadays there is nothing strange in the headship of children，and gifted of God was he who said：