O’er all the fragrant flowers that be I have the prefrence aye,
     For that I come but once a year, and but a little stay. 
And high is my repute, for that I wounded aforetime My
     lord,[FN#215] whom God made best of all the treaders of the
     clay.

So Es Shisban drank off the cup in his turn and said, ’Well done, O desire of hearts!’ And he bestowed on her that which was upon him, to wit, a dress of cloth-of-pearl, fringed with great pearls and rubies and broidered with precious stones, and a tray wherein were fifty thousand dinars.  Then Meimoun the Sworder took the cup and fell to gazing intently upon Tuhfeh.  Now there was in his hand a pomegranate-flower and he said to her, ’Sing upon this pomegranate-flower, O queen of men and Jinn; for indeed thou hast dominion over all hearts.’  Quoth she, ‘Hearkening and obedience;’ and she improvised and sang the following verses: 

The zephyr’s sweetness on the coppice blew, And as with falling
     fire ’twas clad anew;
And to the birds’ descant in the foredawns, From out the boughs
     it flowered forth and grew,
Till in a robe of sandal green ’twas clad And veil that blended
     rose and flame[FN#216] in hue.

Meinsoun drank off his cup and said to her, ’Well done, O perfect of attributes!’ Then he signed to her and was absent awhile, after which he returned and with him a tray of jewels worth an hundred thousand dinars, [which he gave to Tuhfeh].  So Kemeriyeh arose and bade her slave-girl open the closet behind her, wherein she laid all that wealth.  Then she delivered the key to Tuhfeh, saying, ’All that cometh to thee of riches, lay thou in this closet that is by thy side, and after the festival, it shall be carried to thy palace on the heads of the Jinn.’  Tuhfeh kissed her hand, and another king, by name Munir, took the cup and filling it, said to her, ’O fair one, sing to me over my cup upon the jasmine.’  ‘Hearkening and obedience,’ answered she and improvised the following verses: 

It is as the jasmine, when it I espy, As it glitters and gleams
     midst its boughs, were a sky
Of beryl, all glowing with beauty, wherein Thick stars of pure
     silver shine forth to the eye.

Munir drank off his cup and ordered her eight hundred thousand dinars, whereat Kemeriyeh rejoiced and rising to her feet, kissed Tuhfeh on her face and said to her, ’May the world not be bereaved of thee, O thou who lordest it over the hearts of Jinn and mortals!’ Then she returned to her place and the Sheikh Iblis arose and danced, till all present were confounded; after which he said to Tuhfeh, ’Indeed, thou embellishest my festival, O thou who hast commandment over men and Jinn and rejoicest their hearts with thy loveliness and the excellence of thy faithfulness to thy lord.  All that thy hands possess shall be borne to thee [in thy palace and placed] at thy service; but now the dawn is near at hand; so do thou rise and rest thee, as of thy wont’ Tuhfeh turned and found with her none of the Jinn; so she laid her head on the ground and slept till she had gotten her rest; after which she arose and betaking herself to the pool, made the ablution and prayed.  Then she sat beside the pool awhile and pondered the affair of her lord Er Reshid and that which had betided him after her and wept sore.