The Nine Hundred and Thirteenth 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 quoth the man to the youth[612], "Trust in Allah, for verily joy shall assuredly come to thee from the Almighty." "What joy?" quoth the Khwajah's son, "and indeed this city is a ruinous heap nor is there indweller or habitant or any to attest God's Unity." But the man ceased not going about the highways of the deserted town with his companion till such time as he reached the Palace of the Sultanate, and the twain entering therein found it with its vases and its tapestry like a bride tricked out[613]. But the Spider had tented therein, so both the wights fell to shaking and sweeping for three days' space till they had cleaned away all the webbing and dust of years; after which the elder man took the younger and entered a closet. Herein he came upon a trap-door which the two uplifted, when behold, they found a staircase leading below; so they descended and walked till they ended at a place with four open halls, one and all fulfilled with gold, and amiddlemost thereof rose a jetting fount twenty ells long by fifteen broad, and the whole basin was heaped up with glittering gems and precious ores. When the merchant's son saw this sight, he was wildered on his wits and perplext in his thoughts, but the man said to him, "O my son, all this hath become thine own good." After this the two replaced the trap-door as it was and quitted that place; then the man took him and led him to another stead concealed from the ken of man wherein he found arms and armour and costly raiment; and the two stinted not wandering about the palace until they reached the royal Throne-room. Now when the Khwajah's son looked upon it he waxed distraught and fell a-fainting to the floor for awhile[614] and presently when he revived he asked his companion, "O my lord, what be this?" Answered he, "This be the throne of the Sultanate wherewith the Almighty hath gifted thee;" and quoth the other, "By Allah, O my lord, I believe that there is not in me or strength or long-suffering to take seat upon yonder throne." All this the King (who erst was a merchant's son) recounted to the Judge and presently resumed:[615]—Then the man, O my lord, said to me, "O my son, to all who shall come hither and seek thee be sure thou distribute gifts and do alms-deeds; so the folk, hearing of thy largesse, shall flock to thee and gather about thee and as often as one shall visit thee, exceed in honour and presents from the treasure-store thou hast sighted and whose site thou weetest." And so speaking, O our lord the Kazi, he vanished from my view and I wist not an he had upflown to the firmament or had dived into the depths of the earth, but one thing I knew; to wit, that I was alone.—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 is thy story, 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 King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was