Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that Prince Yusuf said to the Princess Al-Hayfa, “Indeed my pages saw me passing into the Palace and have given him[FN#225] tidings to that effect.”  And she responded to him with fairest response and tenderness of terms and gem-like verse.  Then she took her ink-case and paper and a brazen pen and would have written but he forbade her, saying by way of deprecation “This be not the right rede!  An thou return a reply my slaves will take it and will bear it to my native country and will inform the folk of all our adventure:  ’tis better far that I fare to them myself and greet them and going with them to my own country satisfy my sire, after which I will return to thee in hottest haste.  And do not thou on this wise, for we fear lest our affair be made public and this our case be reported to thy royal father, and it prove hard to him by reason that all such talk in the case of the Kings is to them mighty grievous.  Moreover, when he shall be acquainted with the truth he will either transport thee to his presence or he shall place over this Palace guards who may forbid thee from me and forbid me from thee, and this shall be a cause of our separation each from other.”  But Al-Hayfa shrieked aloud when she heard these words and wept and wailing said, “O my lord, prithee take me with thee, me and my handmaids and all that be in this my Palace.”  Said he, “I will not delay from thee save for the space of my wayfare an I live and Allah Almighty preserve me.”  Hereat she wept with loud weeping and groaned, and love-longing surged up in her and she fell to repeating the following couplets,

“Rain, O mine eyeballs, gouts of blood beshed * From clouds of
     eyelids e’en as grass turns red. 
O mighty bane that beatest on my bones * And oh heart-core, that
     melts with fire long-fed! 
My soul’s own dearling speedeth on his march * Who can be patient
     when his true love sped? 
Deal kindly with my heart, have ruth, return * Soon to my Castle
     nor be long misled.”

And when Al-Hayfa had ended her verse, Yusuf wept with sore weeping and cried, “By Allah, I had intended to return to thee after I had fared to them and had settled the matter in hand.  But suffer me dismiss those who have come for me and seek reunion with thee, Inshallah—­an it be the will of Allah Almighty.”  Then he farewelled her and doffed what he had of dress, and when Al-Hayfa asked him, “Wherefore take off these clothes?” he answered,[FN#226] “I will not inform anyone of our news, and indeed this dress mostly befitteth womenkind.”  Then he went forth from her with a grief-bound heart and she wept and cried, “Help!