The Three Hundred and Eighty-fourth 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 when the lion advanced to spring upon the Princess who was habited as a Mameluke, and rushed to rend her in pieces, she, seeing her imminent peril, sprang up in haste and bared her blade and met him brand in hand saying, "Or he will slay me or I slay him." But as she was hearty of heart she advanced till the two met and fell to fight and struck each at other, but the lion waxed furious and gnashed his tusks, now retreating and now circuiting around her and then returning to front his foe purposing to claw her, when she heartened her heart and without giving ground she swayed her sabre with all the force of her forearm and struck the beast between the eyes and the blade came out gleaming between his thighs and he sank on earth life-forlore and weltering in his gore. Presently she wiped her scymitar and returned it to its sheath; then, drawing a whittle she came up to the carcass intending to skin it for her own use, when behold, there towered from afar two dust-clouds, one from the right and the other from the left, whereat she withdrew from flaying the lion's fell and applied herself to looking out. Now by the decree of the Decreer the first dust-cloud approaching her was that raised by the host of her father and his sons-in-law who, when they drew near all stood to gaze upon her and consider her, saying in wonderment one to other, "How can this white slave (and he a mere lad) have slain this lion single-handed? Walláhi, had that beast charged down upon us he had scattered us far and wide, and haply he had torn one of us to pieces. By Allah, this matter is marvellous!" But the Mameluke looked mainly at the old King whom he knew to be his sire for his heart went forth to him. Meanwhile the second dust-cloud approached until those beneath it met the others who had foregone them, and behold, under it was the husband of the disguised Princess and his many. Now the cause of this King marching forth and coming thither was this. When he entered the Palace intending for the Harem, he found not his Queen, and he fared forth to seek her and presently by the decree of the Decreer the two hosts met at the place where the lion had been killed. The Sultan gazed upon the Mameluke and marveiled at his slaying the monster and said to himself, "Now were this white slave mine I would share with him my good and stablish him in my kingdom." Herewith the Mameluke came forward and flayed the lion of his fell and gutted him; then, lighting a fire he roasted somewhat of his flesh until it was sufficiently cooked all gazing upon him the while and marvelling at the heartiness of his heart. And when the meat was ready, he carved it and setting it upon a Sufrah[201] of leather said to all present, "Bismillah, eat, in the name of Allah, what Fate hath given to you!" Thereupon all came forward and fell to eating of the lion's flesh except the Princess's husband who was not pleased to join them and said, "By Allah, I will not eat of this food until I learn the case of this youth."[202] Now the Princess had recognised her spouse from the moment of his coming, but she was concealed from him by her Mameluke's clothing; and he disappeared time after time then returned to gaze upon the white slave, eyeing now his eyes now his sides and now the turn of his neck and saying privily in his mind, "Laud to the Lord who created and fashioned him! By Allah this Mameluke is the counterpart of my wife in eyes and nose, and all his form and features are made likest-like unto hers. So extolled be He who hath none similar and no equal!" He was drowned in this thought but all the rest ate till they had eaten enough; then they sat down to pass the rest of their day and their night in that stead. When it was dawn each and every craved leave to depart upon his own business; but the Princess's husband asked permission to wander in quest of her while the old King, the father of the damsels, determined to go forth with his two sons-in-law and find the third and last of his lost daughters. Then the Mameluke said to them, "O my lords, sit we down, I and you, for the rest of the day in this place and to-morrow I will travel with you." Now the Princess for the length of her wanderings (which began too when she was a little one) had forgotten the semblance of her sire; but when she looked upon the old King her heart yearned unto him and she fell to talking with him, while he on his part whenever he gazed at her felt a like longing and sought speech of her. So the first who consented to the Mameluke's proposal was the sire whose desire was naught save to sit beside her; then the rest also agreed to pass the day reposing in that place, for that it was a pleasant mead and a spacious, garnished with green grass and bright with bourgeon and blossom. So they took seat there till sundown when each brought out what victual he had and all ate their full and then fell to conversing; and presently said the Princess, "O my lords, let each of you tell us a tale which he deemeth strange." Her father broke in saying, "Verily this rede be right and the first to recount will be I, for indeed mine is a rare adventure." Then he began his history telling them that he was born a King and that such-and-such things had befallen him and so forth until the end of his tale; and the Princess hearing his words was certified that he was her sire. So presently she said, "And I too have a strange history."?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 Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was