The Four Hundred and Twenty-seventh 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 sons of the Sultan made them ready for the march whereby they might bring back the bird to whom the necklace belonged. So they took them a sufficiency of provision and, farewelling their father, set out for the city wherein they judged the bird might be. Such was their case; but as regards their unhappy brother, when he heard the news of their going he took with him a bittock of bread and having bidden adieu to his mother mounted his lame garron and followed upon the traces of his brethren for three days. Presently he found himself in the midst of the wild and the wold, and he ceased not faring therethrough till he came to a city whose folk were all weeping and wailing and crying and keening. So he accosted an aged man and said to him, "The Peace be upon thee!" and when the other returned his salam and welcomed him he asked saying, "O my uncle, tell me what causeth these groans and this grief?" The other replied, "O my son, verily our city is domineered over by a monstrous Lion who every year cometh about this time and he hath already done on such wise for forty and three years. Now he expecteth every twelvemonth as he appeareth to be provided with a damsel arrayed and adorned in all her finery, and if he chance to come as is his wont and find her not he would assault the city and destroy it. So before the season of his visit they cast lots upon the maidens of the place and whomso these befal, her they decorate and lead forth to a place without the walls that the monster may take her. And this year the sort hath fallen upon the King's daughter."[307] When the youth heard these words he held his peace and, having taken seat by the old man for an hour or so, he arose and went forth to the place where the Lion was wont to appear and he took his station there, when behold, the daughter of the King came to him and right heavy was she of heart. But as she found the youth sitting there, she salam'd to him and made friendship with him and asked, "What brought thee to this stead?" Answered he, "That which brought thee brought me also." Whereto quoth she, "Verily at this hour the Lion shall come to seize me, but as soon as he shall see me he will devour thee before me, and thus both of us shall lose our lives; so rise up and depart and save thyself, otherwise thou wilt become mere wasted matter in the belly of the beast." "By Allah, O my lady," quoth he, "I am thy sacrifice at such a moment as this!" And as they were speaking, suddenly the world was turned topsy-turvy,[308] and dust-clouds and sand-devils[309] flew around and whirlwinds began to play about them, and lo and behold! the monster made his appearance; and as he approached he was lashing his flanks with his tail like the sound of a kettle-drum. Now when the Princess espied him, the tears poured down her cheeks, whereat the youth sprang to his feet in haste, and unsheathing his sword, went forth to meet the foe, who at the sight of him gnashed his tusks at him. But the King's son met him bravely, springing nimbly from right to left, whereat the Lion raged furiously, and with the design to tear him limb from limb, made a rush at the youth, who smote him with all the force of his forearm and planted between his eyes a sway of scymitar so sore that the blade came out flashing between his thighs, and he fell to the ground slain and bleeding amain. When the Princess saw this derring-do of her defender, she rejoiced greatly and fell to wiping with her kerchief the sweat from his brow; and the youth said to her, "Arise and do thou fare to thy family." "O my lord, and O light of mine eyes!" said she, "we twain together will wend together as though we were one flesh;" but he rejoined, "This is on no wise possible." Then he arose from beside her and ceased not faring until he had entered the city, where he rested himself beside a shop. She also sprang up, and faring homewards, went in to her father and mother, showing signs of sore sorrow. When they saw her, their hearts fluttered with fear lest the monster should attack the town and destroy it, whereupon she said to them, "By Allah, the Lion hath been slain and lieth there dead." They asked her saying, "What was it killed him?" and she answered, "A handsome youth fair of favour," but they hardly believed her words and both went to visit the place, where they found the monster stone-dead. The folk of the city, one and all, presently heard this fair news, and their joy grew great, when the Sultan said to his daughter, "Thou! knowest thou the man who slew him?" to which she answered, "I know him." But as all tidings of the youth were cut off, the King let proclaim about the city.?And Shahrazad was surprised by 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 King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was