Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 4 (of 6)
General
Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand and One Nights — Volume 4 (of 6)
Fairy tales; Tales -- Arab countries
next night and that was
The Three Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
Dunyázád 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 deed fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the three
Princes fared seeking a Sultan of the sultans who had been under
the hands of their sire, in order that they might take him to
arbitrator. And they stinted not faring till the middle way, when
behold, they came upon a mead abounding in herbage and in
rain-water lying sheeted.[FN#6] So they sat them down to rest and
to eat of their victual, when one of the brothers, casting his
eye upon the herbage, cried, "Verily a camel hath lately passed
this way laden half with Halwá-sweetmeats and half with
Hámiz-pickles."[FN#7] "True," cried the second, "and he was blind
of an eye." Exclaimed the third, "'Tis sooth; and indeed he hath
lost his tail." Hardly, however, had they ended their words when
lo! the owner of the camel came upon them (for he had overheard
their speech and had said to himself, "By Allah, these three
fellows have driven off my property, inasmuch as they have
described the burthen and eke the beast as tail-less and
one-eyed"), and cried out, "Ye three have carried away my
camel!"[FN#8] "By Allah we have not seen him," quoth the Princes,
"much less have we touched him;" but quoth the man, "By the
Almighty, who can have taken him except you? and if you will not
deliver him to me, off with us, I and you three, to the Sultan."
They replied, "By all manner of means; let us wend to the
Sovran." So the four hied forth, the three Princes and the
Cameleer, and ceased not faring till they reached the capital of
the King. There they took seat without the wall to rest for an
hour's time and presently they arose and pushed into the city and
came to the royal Palace. Then they craved leave of the
Chamberlains, and one of the Eunuchs caused them enter and
signified to the sovereign that the three sons of Such-and-such a
Sultan had made act of presence. So he bade them be set before
him and the four went in and saluted him, and prayed for him and
he returned their salams. He then asked them, "What is it hath
brought you hither and what may ye want in the way of enquiry?"
Now the first to speak was the Cameleer and he said, "O my lord
the Sultan; verily these three men have carried off my camel by
proof of their own speech."?And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of
day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say. Then
quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O
sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where
is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming
night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the
next night and that was
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