When it was the Forty-second Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Caliph ceased not to frequent the tomb for the period of a whole month，at the end of which time it so happened one day that he entered the Serraglio，after dismissing the Emirs and Wazirs，and lay down and slept awhile；and there sat at his head a slave girl fanning him，and at his feet a second rubbing and shampooing them. Presently he awoke and，opening his eyes，shut them again and heard the handmaid at his head saying to her who was at his feet，'A nice business this，O Khayzaran！'and the other answered her 'Well，O Kazib al-Ban？'[119] 'Verily'said the first，'our lord knoweth naught of what hath happened and sitteth waking and watching by a tomb wherein is only a log of wood carved by the carpenter's art.''And Kut al-Kulub，'quoth the other，'what hath befallen her？'She replied，'Know that the Lady Zubaydah sent a pellet of Bhang by one of the slave women who was bribed to drug her；and when sleep overpowered her she let put her in a chest，and ordered Sawab and Kafur and Bukhayt to throw her amongst the tombs.''What dost thou say，O Kazib al-Ban；'asked Khayzaran，'is not the lady Kut al-Kulub dead？''Nay，by Allah！'she answered 'and long may her youth be saved from death！ but I have heard the Lady Zubaydah say that she is in the house of a young merchant named Ghanim bin Ayyub of Damascus，highs the Distraught，the Thrall o'Love；and she hath been with him these four months，whilst our lord is weeping and watching by night at a tomb wherein is no corpse.'They kept on talking this sort of talk，and the Caliph gave ear to their words；and，by the time they had ceased speaking，he knew right well that the tomb was a feint and a fraud，and that Kut al-Kulub had been in Ghanim's house for four months. Whereupon he was angered with exceeding anger and rising up，he summoned the Emirs of his state；and his Wazir Ja'afar the Barmaki came also and kissed the ground between his hands. The Caliph said to him in fury，'Go down，O Ja'afar，with a party of armed men and ask for the house of Ghanim son of Ayyub：fall upon it and spoil it and bring him to me with my slave girl，Kut al-Kulub，for there is no help but that I punish him！''To hear is to obey，'said Ja'afar；and setting out with the Governor and the guards and a world of people，repaired to Ghanim's house. Now about that time the youth happened to have brought back a pot of dressed meat and was about to put forth his hand to eat of it，he and Kut al-Kulub，when the lady，happening to look out saw calamity surrounding the house on every side；for the Wazir and the Governor，the night guard and the Mamelukes with swords drawn had girt it as the white of the eye girdeth the black. At this she knew that tidings of her had reached the Caliph，her lord；and she made sure of ruin，and her colour paled and her fair features changed and her favour faded. Then she turned to Ghanim and said to him，'O my love！ fly for thy life！'
'What shall I do，'asked he，'and whither shall I go，seeing that my money and means of maintenance are all in this house？'；and she answered，'Delay not lest thou be slain and lose life as well as wealth.''O my loved one and light of mine eyes！'he cried，'how shall I do to get away when they have surrounded the house？'
Quoth she，'Fear not；'and，stripping off his fine clothes，dressed him in ragged old garments，after which she took the pot and，putting in it bits of broken bread and a saucer of meat，[120] placed the whole in a basket and setting it upon his head said，'Go out in this guise and fear not for me who wotteth right well what thing is in my hand for the Caliph.'[121] So he went out amongst them，bearing the basket with its contents，and the Protector vouchsafed him His protection and he escaped the snares and perils that beset him，by the blessing of his good conscience and pure conduct.
Meanwhile Ja'afar dismounted and entering the house，saw Kut al-Kulub who had dressed and decked herself in splendid raiments and ornaments and filled a chest with gold and jewellery and precious stones and rarities and what else was light to bear and of value rare. When she saw Ja'afar come in，she rose and，kissing the ground before him，said，'O my lord，the Reed hath written of old the rede which Allah decreed！''[122] 'By Allah，O my lady，'answered Ja'afar，'he gave me an order to seize Ghanim son of Ayyub；'and she rejoined，'O my lord，he made ready his goods and set out therewith for Damascus and I know nothing more of him；but I desire thee take charge of this chest and deliver it to me in the Harim of the Prince of the Faithful.'
'Hearing and obedience，'said Ja'afar，and bade his men bear it away to the head quarters of the Caliphate together with Kut al-Kulub，commanding them to entreat her with honour as one in high esteem. They did his bidding after they had wrecked and plundered Ghanim's house. Then Ja'afar went in to the Caliph and told him all that had happened，and he ordered Kut al-Kulub to be lodged in a dark chamber and appointed an old women to serve her，feeling convinced that Ghanim had debauched her and slept with her. Then he wrote a mandate to the Emir Mohammed bin Sulayman al-Zayni，his viceroy in Damascus，to this effect：'The instant thou shalt receive this our letter，seize upon Ghanim bin Ayyub and send him to us.'When the missive came to the viceroy，he kissed it and laid it on his head；then he let proclaim in the bazars，'Whoso is desirous to plunder，away with him to the house of Ghanim son of Ayyub.'[123] So they flocked thither，when they found that Ghanim's mother and sister had built him a tomb[124] in the midst of the house and sat by it weeping for him；whereupon they seized the two without telling them the cause and，after spoiling the house，carried them before the viceroy.