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 the Wazir governed for a while of time with all justice of rule so that the caravans spread abroad the name and fame of him throughout every city and all the countries. Presently there befel him an affair between two women which were sister-wives to one man.[FN#278] Now these had conceived by him in the same month and when the time of their pregnancy had passed, the twain were delivered in the same place at the same hour and the midwife was one and the same. One brought forth a babe but it was a daughter which incontinently died and the other a man-child who lived. The women quarrelled and fought about the boy-babe and both of them said, "This is my child;" and there befel between them exceeding contention and excessive hostility. So they carried their cause before the divines and the Olema and the head men of the place, yet did none of them know how to decide between the twain and not a few of the folk said, "Let each woman take the child to her for a month," whilst others declared that they might keep it between them at all times, whilst of the women one said, "'Tis well: this be my boy!" and the other declared, "'Tis well, this be my son!" nor could any point out to which of the women the boy belonged. So the town's people were gathered together and said, "None can determine this dispute except the Just Wazir;" and they agreed upon this, so that the husband of the two women and sundry of his associates arose and took the twain of them and travelled with them to hear the Minister's judgment. Also the Olema and the great men of the place declared "By Allah, we also needs must travel with the party and produce the two women and be present at the Just Wazir's judgment." So they all assembled and followed after the two adversaries, nor did they cease travelling until they entered the city where the Minister abode. There they delayed for rest during one day and on the second they all joined one another and went in to the Wazir and recounted to him the case of the two women. Hearing this he bowed his brow groundwards and presently raising it he cried, "Bring me two eggs and void them of their contents and see that the shells be clean empty." Then he commanded that each of the women drain somewhat of milk from her nipple into the egg-shell till she had filled it. They did accordingly and set before him the egg-shells brimful when he said, "Bring me a pair of scales."[FN#279] After this he placed both eggs in the balance-pan and raising it aloft from its rounded stead perceived that one was weighty and the other was light. Quoth he, "The milk of the woman in this egg is the