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reason is,’ answered she, ‘that I love thee for thine exceeding grace and thy surpassing beauty; and so thou wilt but grant me my desire of thee, I will advance thee yet further in honour and favour and largesse and make thee Vizier, for all thy tender age, even as the folk made me Sultan and I no older than thou; so that nowadays there is nothing strange in the headship of children, and gifted of God was he who said:
Our time is, meseems, of the lineage of Lot; It craves the advancement of younglings, God wot.’
When Kemerezzeman heard this, he was confounded and his cheeks flushed till they seemed on fire; and he said, ‘I reck not of favours that involve the commission of sin; I will live poor in wealth but rich in virtue and honour.’ Quoth she, ‘I am not the dupe of thy scruples, arising from prudery and coquetry: and God bless him who says:
I mentioned to him the pact of fruition, and he, “How long with vexatious discourse wilt thou set upon me?”
I showed him a dinar and straightway he sang out and said, “O whither shall one from Fate irresistible flee!”
‘O King,’ replied Kemerezzeman, ‘I have not the wont of these doings, nor have I strength, who am but of tender years, to bear these heavy burdens, for which elder than I have proved unable.’ She smiled and rejoined, ‘Indeed, it is wonderful how error springs from the disorder of the wit. Since thou art but a boy, why standest thou in fear of sin or the doing of forbidden things, seeing that thou art not yet come to years of discretion and the offences of a child incur neither punishment nor reproof? Verily, thou committest thyself to an argument advanced but for the sake of contention, and it behoves thee to bow to the ordinance of fruition, which has been given against thee. Wherefore, henceforward, give over denial and coyness, for
