When it was the Two Hundred and Thirtyfirst Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Amjad took the woman's hint and understood that she wished to go with him whither he was going；he felt himself bounder to find a place wherein to receive her，but was ashamed to carry her to the house of his host，the tailor. So he walked on and she walked after him，and the two ceased not walking from street to street and place to place，till she was tired and said to him，'O my lord，where is thy house？'Answered he，'Before us a little way.'Then he turned aside into a handsome bystreet，followed by the young woman，and walked on till he came to the end，when he found it was no thoroughfare and exclaimed，'There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！'Then raising his eyes，he saw，at the upper end of the lane a great doer with two stone benches；but it was locked. So Amjad sat down on one of the benches and she on the other；and she said to him，'O my lord，wherefore waitest thou？'He bowed his head awhile to the ground then raised it and answered，'I am awaiting my Mameluke who hath the key；for I bade him make me ready meat and drink and flowers，to deck the wineservice against my return from the bath.'But he said to himself，'Haply the time will be tedious to her and she will go about her business，leaving me here，when I will wend my own way.'However，as soon as she was weary of long waiting，she said，'O my lord，thy Mameluke delayeth；and here are we sitting in the street；'and she arose and took a stone and went up to the lock. Said Amjad，'Be not in haste，but have patience till the servant come.'However，she hearkened not to him，but smote the wooden bolt with the stone and broke it in half，whereupon the door opened. Quoth he，'What possessed thee to do this deed？'Quoth she，'Pooh，pooh，my lord！ what matter it？ Is not the house thy house and thy place？'He said，'There was no need to break the bolt.'Then the damsel entered，to the confusion of Amjad，who knew not what to do for fear of the people of the house；but she said to him，'Why dost thou not enter，O light of mine eyes and core of my heart？'Replied he，'I hear and obey；but my servant tarrieth long and I know not if he have done aught of what I bade him and specially enjoined upon him，or not.'Hereupon he entered，sore in fear of the people of the house，and found himself in a handsome saloon with four dais'd recesses，each facing other，and containing closets and raised seats，all bespread with stuffs of silk and brocade；and in the midst was a jetting fountain of costly fashion，on whose margin rested a covered tray of meats，with a leather tablecloth hanging up and gemencrusted dishes，full of fruits and sweet scented flowers. Hard by stood drinking vessels and a candlestick with a single waxcandle therein；and the place was full of precious stuffs and was ranged with chests and stools，and on each seat lay a parcel of clothes upon which was a purse full of monies，gold and silver. The floor was paved with marble and the house bore witness in every part to its owner's fortune. When Amjad saw all this，he was confounded at his case and said to himself，'I am a lost man！ Verily we are Allah's and to Allah we are returning！'As for the damsel，when she sighted the place she rejoiced indeed with a joy nothing could exceed，and said to him，'By Allah，O my lord，thy servant hath not failed of his duty；
for see，he hath swept the place and cooked the meat and set on the fruit；and indeed I come at the best of times.'But he paid no heed to her，his heart being taken up with fear of the house folk；and she said，'Fie，O my lord，O my heart！ What aileth thee to stand thus？'Then she sighed and，giving him a buss which sounded like the cracking of a walnut，said，'O my lord，an thou have made an appointment with other than with me，I will gird my middle and serve her and thee. Amjad laughed from a heart full of rage and wrath and came forwards and sat down，panting and saying to himself，'Alack，mine ill death and doom when the owner of the place shall return！'Then she seated herself by him and fell to toying and laughing，whilst Amjad sat careful and frowning，thinking a thousand thoughts and communing with himself，'Assuredly the master of the house cannot but come，and then what shall I say to him？ he needs must kill me and my life will be lost thus foolishly.'Presently she rose and，tucking up her sleeves，took a tray of food on which she laid the cloth and then set it before Amjad and began to eat，saying，'Eat，O my lord.'
So he came forward and ate；but the food was not pleasant to him；on the contrary he ceased not to look towards the door，till the damsel had eaten her fill，when she took away the tray of the meats and，setting on the dessert，fell to eating of the dried fruits. Then she brought the wine service and opening the jar，filled a cup and handed it to Amjad，who took it from her hand saying to him self，' Ah，ah！ and well away，when the master of the house cometh and seeth me！'；and he kept his eyes fixed on the threshold，even with cup in hand. While he was in this case，lo！ in came the master of the house，who was a white slave，one of the chief men of the city，being Master of the Horse[388]
to the King. He had fitted up this saloon for his pleasures，that he might make merry therein and be private with whom he would，and he had that day bidden a youth whom he loved and had made this entertainment for him. Now the name of this slave was Bahadur，[389] and he was open of hand，generous，munificent and fain of almsgiving and charitable works.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
