The Eight Hundred and Tenth 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 Prince went forth from his father with a train of five attendants and made for the wilderness, and he conjoined the journeys of night and day; withal he knew not whither he was going, and he chanced travel over the same wilds and wolds and dales and stony leas. But as regards the Merchant and his daughter, he went in to her one day of the days and found her weeping and wailing, so he said to her, "What causeth thee to shed tears, O my child?" and said she, "How shall I not weep? indeed I must wail over my lot, and over the promise wherewith Allah promised me." Hereupon he exclaimed, "O my daughter, be silent and Inshallah—God willing— I will equip me for travel and will fare to the son of the King; and look to it, for haply Allah Almighty our Lord may direct me to a somewhat shall conduct me to the Prince's city." So saying he bade his handmaidens and eunuchs make ready forthright a viaticum sufficing for a full-told year himself and his following of pages and eunuchs, and they did his bidding. After a few days they prepared all he had required and he purposed to set out; then, he loaded his loads and, farewelling his wife and daughter, went forth seeking the city of the King's son. He ceased not travelling for a space of three months, when he found a meadow wide of sides on the margin of a sweet-water lake, so he said to his slaves, "Alight we here in this very place that we may take our rest." Accordingly, they dismounted and pitched a tent and furnisht it for him, and he passed that night by the water-side, and all enjoyed their repose. But as soon as morn 'gan show and shone with sheeny glow, and the sun arose o'er the lands lying low, the Khwajah designed to order a march for his slaves when suddenly espying a dust-cloud towering in rear of them, they waited to see what it might be, and after some two hours of the day it cleared off and disclosed beneath it six riders and with them a bât-beast carrying a load of provisions. These drew near the meadow where the Khwajah sat looking at them, and fear hereat entered into his heart, and trembling fell upon his limbs[551] until he was assured that they were but six men. So his mind was calmed. But when the party drew near him he fixed his glance and made certain that the men were headed by the King's son whom he had met on his first journey, and he marvelled indeed at the youth making for the same place, and he strove to guess the cause of his coming with only five followers and no more. Then he arose and accosted him and salam'd and sat down in converse with him, being assured the while that it was the same who had had doings with his daughter, and that the child which she had borne in the tent and which they abandoned was the son of this Prince, while the youth knew not that the Khwajah was father to the damsel with whom he had tarried in the cavern. So they fell to communing together for a while until the Prince asked the Trader, "What is the cause of thy coming hither?" and answered the other, "I have come seeking thee and thy country, for I have a want which thou must fulfil me;" presently adding, "And thou, whither art thou intending?" Quoth the King's son, "I am making for the cavern wherein the handmaidens showed me much honour, for indeed I gave my word that I would return to them after I had revisited my country and had met my folk and my friends; and here I am coming back to keep what plight and promise were between us." Hereupon the Merchant arose, and taking the Prince, retired with him to a place of privacy where none could wot of them twain save Allah Almighty. "Would Heaven I knew what may be in the thoughts of this Khwájah!" said the Prince in his mind; but when both had seated themselves at ease, the Merchant addressed the King's son in these words, "O my son, all things are foredoomed in the World of Secrets, and from fated lot is no flight. Now the end and aim whereto thou designest in the cavern, verily they[552] left it for their own land." When the King's son heard these words informing him that his beloved had quitted her abode, he cried out with a loud outcry for stress of what had betided him, and fell a-swoon by cause that love of the damsel had mastered his heart and his vitals hung to her. After a while he recovered and asked the Khwajah, "Say me, be these words of thine soothfast or false?" "Soothfast indeed," answered the father, "but, O my child, be of good cheer and eyes clear, for that thy wish is won"—And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and how 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