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 Alaeddin’s mother could not of her terror return a reply to the Márid; nay she fell to the ground oppressed by her affright.[112] Now her son was standing afar off and he had already seen the Jinní of the Ring which he had rubbed within the Treasury; so when he heard the Slave speaking to his parent, he hastened forwards and snatching the Lamp from her hand, said, “O Slave of the Lamp, I am anhungered and ’tis my desire that thou fetch me somewhat to eat and let it be something toothsome beyond our means.” The Jinni disappeared for an eye-twinkle and returned with a mighty fine tray and precious of price, for that ’twas all in virginal silver and upon it stood twelve golden platters of meats manifold, and dainties delicate, with bread snowier than snow; also two silvern cups and as many black jacks[113] full of wine clear-strained and long-stored. And after setting all these before Alaeddin, he evanished from vision. Thereupon the lad went and sprinkled rose water upon his mother’s face and caused her snuff up perfumes pure and pungent and said to her when she revived, “Rise, O mother mine, and let us eat of these meats wherewith Almighty Allah hath eased our poverty.” But when she saw that mighty fine silvern tray she fell to marvelling at the matter and quoth she, “O my son, who be this generous, this beneficent one who hath abated our hunger-pains and our penury? We are indeed under obligation to him and, meseemeth, ’tis the Sultan who, hearing of our mean condition and our misery, hath sent us this food-tray.” Quoth he, “O my mother, this be no time for questioning: arouse thee and let us eat for we are both a-famished.” Accordingly, they sat down to the tray and fell to feeding when Alaeddin’s mother tasted meats whose like in all her time she had never touched; so they devoured them with sharpened appetites and all the capacity engendered by stress of hunger; and, secondly, the food was such that marked the tables of the Kings. But neither of them knew whether the tray was or was not valuable, for never in their born days had they looked upon aught like it. As soon as they had finished the meal (withal leaving victual enough for supper and eke for the next day), they arose and washed their hands and sat at chat, when the mother turned to her son and said, “Tell me, O my child, what befel thee from the Slave, the Jinní, now that Alhamdolillah—laud to the Lord!—we have eaten our full of the good things wherewith He hath favoured us and thou hast no pretext for saying to me, ‘I am anhungered.’” So Alaeddin related to her all that took place between him and the Slave what while she had sunk upon the ground aswoon for sore terror; and at this she, being seized with mighty great surprise, said,