So I ate of the fritters and a piece of meat，then went on to the almond cakes and ate what I could；after which I fell upon the sweetmeats，whereof I swallowed a spoonful or two or three or four，ending with part of a chicken and a mouthful of something beside.Upon this my stomach became full and my joints loose and I waxed too drowsy to keep awake；so I laid my head on a cushion，after having washed my hands，and sleep over came me；I knew not what happened to me after this，and I awoke not till the sun's heat scorched me，for that I had never once tasted sleep for days past.When I awoke I found on my stomach a piece of salt and a bit of charcoal；so I stood up and shook my clothes and turned to look right and left，but could see no one；and discovered that I had been sleeping on the marble pavement without bedding beneath me.I was perplexed thereat and afflicted with great affliction；the tears ran down my cheeks and I mourned for myself.Then I returned home，and when I entered，I found my cousin beating her hand on her bosom and weeping tears like rain shedding clouds；and she versified with these couplets，'Blows from my lover's land a Zephyr cooly sweet，And with its every breath makes olden love new glow：
O Zephyr of the morning hour，come show to us Each lover hath his lot，his share of joy and woe：
Could I but win one dearest wish，we had embraced With what embrace and clip of breast fond lovers know.
Allah forbids，while bides unseen my cousin's face，All joys the World can give or hand of Time bestow.
Would Heaven I knew his heart were like this heart of me，Melted by passion-flame and charged with longing owe.'
When she saw me，she rose in haste and wiped away her tears and addressed me with her soft speech，saying，'O son of my uncle，verily Allah hath been gracious to thee in thy love，for that she whom thou lovest loveth thee，whilst I pass my time in weeping and bewailing my severance from thee who blamest me and chidest me；but may Allah not punish thee for my sake！'Thereupon she smiled in my face a smile of reproach and caressed me；then taking off my walking clothes，she spread them out and said，'By Allah，this is not the scent of one who hath enjoyed his lover！
So tell me what hath befallen thee，O my cousin.'I told her all that had passed，and she smiled again a smile of reproach and said，'Verily，my heart is full of pain；but may he not live who would hurt thy heart！Indeed，this woman maketh herself inordinately dear and difficult to thee，and by Allah，O son of my uncle，I fear for thee from her.[503]Know，O my cousin，that the meaning of the salt is thou west drowned in sleep like insipid food，disgustful to the taste；and it is as though she said to thee；'It behoveth thou be salted lest the stomach eject thee；for thou professes to be of the lovers noble and true；but sleep is unlawful and to a lover undue；therefore is thy love but a lie.'However，it is her love for thee that lieth；for she saw thee asleep yet aroused thee not and were her love for thee true，she had indeed awoken thee.As for the charcoal，it means 'Allah blacken thy face'[504] for thou makest a lying presence of love，whereas thou art naught but a child and hast no object in life other than eating and drinking and sleeping！such is the interpretation of her signs，and may Allah Almighty deliver thee from her！'When I heard my cousin's words，I beat my hand upon my breast and cried out，'By Allah，this is the very truth，for I slept and lovers sleep not！Indeed I have sinned against myself，for what could have wrought me more hurt than eating and sleeping？Now what shall I do？'Then I wept sore and said to the daughter of my uncle，'Tell me how to act and have pity on me，so may Allah have pity on thee：else I shall die.'As my cousin loved me with very great love，--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Seventeenth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the young merchant continued his tale to Taj al-Muluk：'Thereupon quoth I to the daughter of my uncle，'Tell me what to do and have pity on me，so may Allah have pity on thee！'As the daughter of my uncle loved me with great love，she replied，'On my head and eyes！
But，O my cousin，I repeat what I have told thee oftentimes，if I could go in and out at will，I would at once bring you two together and cover you both with my skirt：nor would I do this but hoping to win thy favour.Inshallah，I will do my utmost endeavour to unite you；but hear my words and do my bidding.Go thou to the very same place and sit down where thou sattest before and at supper tide look thou eat not，for eating induceth sleep；and have a care-thou slumber not，for she will not come to thee till a fourth part of the night be passed.And the Almighty avert her mischief from thee！'Now when I heard these words I
rejoiced and besought Allah to hasten the night；and，as soon as it was dark，I was minded to go，and my cousin said to me，'When thou shalt have met her，repeat to her the couplet I taught thee before，at the time of thy leave taking.'Replied I，'On my head and eyes！'and went out and repaired to the garden，where I found all made ready in the same state as on the previous night，with every requisite of meat and drink，dried fruits，sweet scented flowers and so forth.