our mother, when we entered the city?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 The Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night, 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 youngest sister continued her tale:?So when we three maidens and our mother entered the city about sunset I the youngest said to them, "We be three Princesses and a Queen-mother: so we cannot show ourselves in this our condition and needs must we lodge us in a Khan: also 'tis my rede that we should do best by donning boys' dress." All agreeing hereto we did accordingly and, entering a Caravanserai, hired us a retired chamber in one of the wings. Now every day we three fared forth to service and at eventide we forgathered and took what sufficed us of sustenance; but our semblance had changed with the travails of travel and all who looked at us would say, These be lads. In this plight we passed the space of a year full-told till, one day of the days, we three fared forth to our chares, as was our wont, and behold, a young man met us upon the way and turning to me asked, "O lad, wilt thou serve in my house?" Quoth I, "O my uncle,[FN#159] I must ask advice," and quoth he, "O my lad, crave counsel of thy mother and come and serve in our home." He then looked at my sisters and enquired, "Be these thy comrades, O lad?" and I replied "No, they are my brothers." So we three went to our mother in the Khan and said to her, "This young man wisheth to hire the youngest of us for service," and said she, "No harm in that." Thereupon the youth arose and taking me by the hand guided me to his home and led me in to his mother and his wife, and when the ancient dame saw me, her heart was opened to me. Presently quoth the young man to his parent, "I have brought the lad to serve in our house and he hath two brothers and his mother dwelling with them." Quoth she, "May it be fortunate to thee, O my son."[FN#160] So I tarried there serving them till sunset and when the evening-meal was eaten, they gave me a dish of meat and three large bannocks of clean bread. These I took and carried to my mother whom I found sitting with my sisters and I set before them the meat and bread; but when my parent saw this she wept with sore weeping and cried, "Time hath overlooked us; erst we gave food to the folk and now the folk send us food." And cried