with “Hearing and obeying.” Now the king had a son, a nice child, called the Emir Mohammed, who was winsome of youth and sweet of speech: he had read books and had perused histories and he loved above all things in the world the telling and hearing of verses and tales and anecdotes. He was dear to his father King Jamhur, for that he owned no other son than he on life, and indeed he had reared him in the lap of love and he was gifted with exceeding beauty and loveliness, brilliancy and perfect grace: he had also learnt to play upon the lute and upon all manner instruments and he was used to converse and company with friends and brethren. Now it was his wont, when the king arose seeking his sleeping-chamber, to sit in his place and require me to entertain him with tales and verses and pleasant anecdotes; and on this wise I abode with them both a great while in all joyance and delight, and the Prince still loved me with mighty great love and treated me with the utmost tenderness. It fortuned one day that the king’s son came to me, after his sire had withdrawn, and cried, “O Ibn Nafi’!” “At thy service, O my lord;” “I would have thee tell me a wondrous story and a marvellous matter, which thou hast never related either to me or to my father Jamhur.” “O my lord, what story is this that thou desirest of me and of what kind shall it be of the kinds?” “It mattereth little, so it be a goodly story, whether it befel of olden tide or in these times.” “O my lord, I know by rote many stories of various kinds; so which of the kinds preferrest thou, and wilt thou have a story of mankind or of Jinn-kind?” “’Tis well! An thou have espied aught with thine eyes and heard it with thine ears, tell it me.” Then he bethought himself and said to me, “I conjure thee by my life, tell me a tale of the tales of the Jinn and that which thou hast heard of them and seen of them!” I replied, “O my son, indeed thou conjurest me by a mighty conjuration; so lend an ear to the goodliest of stories, ay, and the strangest of them and the pleasantest and rarest.” Quoth the Prince, “Say on, for I am attentive to thy speech;” and quoth I, “Hear then, O my son, _THE TALE OF THE DAMSEL TOHFAT AL-KULUB AND THE CALIPH HARUN AL-RASHID_.”