down and Alaeddin said to her, “O my lady, before all things ’tis my desire to ask thee a question. ’Twas my wont to place an old copper lamp in such a part of my pavilion, what became of that same?” When the Princess heard these words she sighed and cried, “O my dearling, ’twas that very Lamp which garred us fall into this calamity!” Alaeddin asked her, “How befel the affair?” and she answered by recounting to him all that passed, first and last, especially how they had given in exchange an old lamp for a new lamp, adding, “And next day we hardly saw one another at dawn before we found ourselves in this land, and he who deceived us and took the lamp by way of barter informed me that he had done the deed by might of his magic and by means of the Lamp; that he is a Moorman from Africa, and that we are now in his native country.”——And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say. Now when it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-first Night, Quoth Dunyazad, “O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy, do tell us some of thy pleasant tales,” whereupon Shahrazad replied, “With love and good will.”——It hath reached me, O King of the Age, that when the Lady Badr al-Budur ceased speaking, Alaeddin resumed, “Tell me the intent of this Accursed in thy respect, also what he sayeth to thee and what be his will of thee?” She replied, “Every day he cometh to visit me once and no more: he would woo me to his love and he sueth that I take him to spouse in lieu of thee and that I forget thee and be consoled for the loss of thee. And he telleth me that the Sultan my sire hath cut off my husband’s head, adding that thou, the son of pauper parents, wast by him enriched. And he sootheth me with talk, but he never seeth aught from me save weeping and wailing; nor hath he heard from me one sugar-sweet word.”[204] Quoth Alaeddin, “Tell me where he hath placed the Lamp an thou know anything thereof;” and quoth she, “He beareth it about on his body alway, nor is it possible that he leave it for a single hour; moreover once when he related what I have now recounted to thee, he brought it out of his breast-pocket and allowed me to look upon it.” When Alaeddin heard these words, he joyed with exceeding joy and said, “O my lady, do thou lend ear to me. ’Tis my design to go from thee forthright and to return only after doffing this my dress; so wonder not when thou see me changed, but direct one of thy women to stand by the private postern alway and, whenever she espy me coming, at once to open. And now I will devise a device whereby to slay this damned loon.” Herewith he arose and, issuing from the pavilion-door, walked till he met on the way a Fellah to whom he said, “O man, take my attire and give me thy garments.” But the peasant refused, so Alaeddin stripped him of his dress perforce[205] and donned it, leaving to the man his own rich gear by way of gift. Then he followed the highway leading to the