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Asked the Caliph, "O Abu Isa, what aileth thee to change thus?"; and he answered, "O Commander of the Faithful, it is because of a twitch that seizeth me betimes." Quoth the Caliph, "Hast thou known yonder damsel before to day?" Quoth he, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, can the moon be concealed?"
Now it came to pass one day, as I sat in my shop, with the ape sitting at my side on the same carpet, behold, he began to turn right and left, and I said to myself, 'What aileth the beast? Then Allah made the ape speak with a ready tongue, and he said to me, 'O Abu Mohammed! Now when I heard him speak, I was sore afraid; but he said to me, 'Fear not; I will tell thee my case.
He was risen from meat and went through the hall from one end to the other, and looked and saw the Queen that was seated at a window. The King went to sit beside her, and looked at her in the face and saw that the tears were falling from her eyes. "Lady," saith the King, "What aileth you, and wherefore do you weep?"
Four days after the Prince's birth came another event, which to one at least in Bury Castle, was enough to account for any portentous eclipse. The Countess found Beatrice drowned in tears. "Beatrice! my dear maiden, what aileth thee? I have scarcely ever seen thee shed tears before." The girl answered by a passionate gesture.
They ask him what aileth him, and he saith that he hath found the most treacherous chamber ever he found yet, for he felt there, what with heads and what with hands, more than two hundred men dead, and saith that never yet felt he so sore afeared.
Then the cry came again: 'Fetch me a priest, for I die! and the King ran at great speed into the hall, while the Queen and the Chamberlain followed him with torches and candles. 'What aileth you? asked the King of his squire, and the squire told him of all that he had dreamed.
"Why," replied he, "what seest thou in me?" "I see," said he, "that thou hast lost thy aspect and thy hue; what, therefore, aileth thee?" "My lord brother," he answered, "that which aileth me, it will not profit me that I should own to any." "What may it be, my soul?" said he.
Has he concealed any of thy righteousness? or has he secretly informed against thee, that thou art an hypocrite and superstitious? I dare say, the poor wretch has neither meddled nor made with thee in these matters. But what aileth thee, Pharisee? Doth the poor Publican stand to vex thee? Doth he touch thee with his dirty garments? or doth he annoy thee with his stinking breath?
Such was the case of the two hostile Kings; but as regards King Janshah, he abode two months shut up in his palace, without seeing his father or allowing one of the damsels in his service to come in to him; at the end of which time he grew troubled and restless and said to his attendants, 'What aileth my father that he cometh not to visit me? They told him that he had gone forth to do battle with King Kafid, whereupon quoth Janshah, 'Bring me my steed, that I may go to my sire. They replied, 'We hear and obey, and brought his horse; but he said in himself, 'I am taken up with the thought of myself and my love and I deem well to mount and ride for the city of the Jews, where haply Allah shall grant me the boon to meet the merchant who hired me for the ruby business and may be he will deal with me as he dealt before, for none knoweth whence good cometh. So he took with him a thousand horse and set out, the folk saying, 'At last Janshah hath fared forth to join his father in the field, and to fight by his side; and they stinted not pushing on till dusk, when they halted for the night in a vast meadow.
No living being met her eye; and, ashamed of her cowardice, she resumed her seat. The tremulous cry of her little grey squirrel, a pet which she had tamed and taught to run to her and nestle in her bosom, attracted her attention. "What aileth thee, wee dearie?" she said, tenderly, as the timid little creature crept, trembling, to her breast. "Thy mistress has scared thee by her own foolish fears.
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