The Seven Hundred and Fourteenth 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 young Prince ceased not wayfaring until the twain drew near to the capital of China[315] where, by the fiat of Fate and the sealed decree of Destiny, on entering the walls he found that his father had fared to the mercy of Allah Almighty, and that the city, being Kingless, had become like unto a flock of sheep lacking shepherd. Moreover he was certified that the Lords of his father's land and the Grandees of the realm and all the lieges were in the uttermost confusion. He went up to the palace and forgathered with his mother, and seeing that she had not been healed of her sickness, he brought her out the Water of Life and gave her to drink some little thereof whereby health returned to her and she rose from her couch and took seat and salam'd to him and asked concerning his brethren. However he concealed his secret thereanent fearing lest it induce in her weakly state a fresh attack and discovered to her naught but said, "Verily, we parted at such a place in order to seek the Water of Life." Then she looked upon his companion the Jewess (and she cast in the mould of loveliness) and she questioned him concerning the woman and he recounted to her the whole affair, first and last, still concealing for the reason aforesaid, the fate of his brothers. Now on the second day the bruit went abroad throughout the city that the King's son had returned; so the Wazirs and Emirs and the Lords of the land and all who had their share in governance forgathered with him and they set him as King and Sultan in the stead of his sire. He took seat on the throne of his Kingship and bade and forbade and raised and deposed and so tarried for a while of time, until one day of the days when he determined to enjoy the hunt and chase and divert himself in pleasurable case.[316] So he and his host rode forth the city when his glance fell upon a Badawi girl who was standing with the Shaykh her father considering his retinue; and the age of the maiden might have mastered thirteen years. But as soon as the King looked upon the girl love of her upon his heart alighted, and he was thereby engrossed, for she was perfect in beauty and comeliness. Hereupon he returned to his palace and sending for her father asked her of him in marriage; the Shaykh, however, answered saying, "O our lord the Sultan, I will not give up my daughter save to one who hath a handicraft of his own,[317] for verily trade is a defence against poverty and folk say, 'Handicraft an it enrich not still it veileth.'"[318] Hereupon the King took thought in himself and said to the Shaykh, "O Man, I am Sovran and Sultan and with me is abundant good;" but the other replied, "O King of the Age, in King-craft there is no trust." However, of his exceeding love to the girl the Sultan presently summoned the Shaykh of the Mat-makers and learnt from him the craft of plaiting and he wove these articles of various colours both plain and striped.[319] After this he sent for the father of the damsel and recounted to him what he had done and the Shaykh said to him "O King of the Age, my daughter is in poor case and you are King and haply from some matter may befal a serious matter; moreover the lieges may say, 'Our King hath wived with a Badawi girl.'" "O Shaykh," replied the King, "all men are the sons of Adam and Eve." Hereupon the Badawi granted to him his daughter and got ready her requisites in the shortest possible time and when the marriage-tie was tied the King went in unto her and found her like unto a pearl.[320] So he rejoiced in her and felt his heart at rest and after tarrying with her a full-told year, one chance day of the days he determined to go forth in disguise and to wander about town and solace himself with its spectacles alone and unattended. So he went into the vestiary where the garments were kept and doffing his dress donned a garb which converted him into a Darwaysh. After this he fared forth in early morning to stroll around the streets and enjoy the sights of the highways and markets, yet he knew not what was hidden from him in the World of the Future. Now when it was noon-tide he entered a street which set off from the Bazar and yet was no thoroughfare,[321] and this he followed up until he reached the head and end, where stood a cook[322] making Kabábs. So he said to himself, "Enter yon shop and dine therein." He did so and was met by sundry shopmen who seeing him in Darwaysh's garb welcomed him and greeted him and led him within, when he said to them, "I want a dinner." "Upon the head and the eyes be it," they replied, and conducting him into a room within the shop showed him another till he came to the place intended, when they said to him, "Enter herein, O my lord." So he pushed open the door and finding in the closet a matting and a prayer-rug[323] spread thereupon he said to himself, "By Allah, this is indeed a secret spot, well concealed from the eyes of folk." Then he went up to the prayer-rug and would have sat down upon it after pulling off his papooshes, but hardly had he settled himself in his seat when he fell through the floor for a depth of ten fathoms. And while falling he cried out, "Save me, O God the Saviour;" for now he knew that the people of that place only pretended to make Kababs and they had digged a pit within their premises. Also he was certified that each and every who came in asking for dinner were led to that place where they found the prayer-rug bespread and supposed that it was set therein for the use of the diners. But when the Sultan fell from his seat into the souterrain, he was followed by the thieves who designed to murther him and to carry off his clothes, even as they had done to many others.—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