The Nine Hundred and Twelfth 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 King thus continued his relation to the Kazi:—I began selling off my landed estates and fiefs and letting out my settlements of bequeathal[611] until naught of all that remained by me; so I fell to vending the house-gear and goods and carpets and pots and pans until I owned nothing whatever, and my case waxed straitened and the affair was grievous to me. Then I quoth to myself, "Allah's earth for Allah's folk!" and, albeit I had a wife and two male children, I left them and went forth under cover of the night a wanderer about the world and unknowing where I should bring myself to anchor. But suddenly O my lord the Kazi, I was confronted by a man whose aspect bred awe, showing signs of saintliness and garbed wholly in spotless white; so I accosted him and kissed his hand, and he on seeing me said, "O my son, there is no harm to thee!" presently adding,
"Do thou be heedless of thy cark and care * And unto Fate commit
thy whole affair;
The Lord shall widen what to thee is strait; * The Lord shall all
for breadth of space prepare:
The Lord shall gladly end thy grievous toils; * The Lord shall
work His will, so jar forbear."
After these words he took my hand and walked with me athwart those wilds and wolds till such time as we made a city and entered its gates. Here, however, we found no signs of creature-kind nor any mark of Son of Adam, and when I sighted this my condition changed and fear and affright entered my heart. But presently the man turned to me and said, "Dread not nor be startled, for that this city shall (Inshallah!) be thy portion, and herein thou shalt become Sovran and Sultan." Quoth I to myself, "Walláhi, verily this man be Jinn-mad lacking wit and understanding! How shall become King and Kaysar in such place which is all ruins?" Then he turned to me yet another time, saying, "Trust in Allah and gainsay Him not; for verily shall come to thee joy out of that wherein thou wast of straitness and annoy."—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 how enjoyable and delectable!" Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate an the Sovran suffer me to survive?" Now when it was the next night and that was,