The Seven Hundred and Ninety-ninth 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's son farewelled the Merchant's daughter and fared forth from her in early morning, seeking his folk and his natal land, and he drove amiddlemost the wilds and the wolds. On this wise it was with him; but as regards the merchant, the father of the damsel, he and the Darwaysh after consigning her to the cavern returned to his town and there spent six months in business as was his wont; but on the seventh he called to mind his child and was desolated by her absence because he had none other. So quoth he to her mother, "I have an intent to visit the girl and look upon her and see what may be her condition, for my heart is in sore doubt on her account and I cannot but fancy that some unforeseen casualty hath brought calamity or that some wayfarer may have visited her; and my thoughts are occupied with her, so 'tis my will to fare forth and see her." "Such act were advisable," quoth the wife; and so saying she fell to making him somewhat of provaunt amounting to some ten camel-loads.[526] Presently he led forth with him a few of his negro slaves and set out to see his daughter on the Jabal al-Saháb. So he dove into the depths of the desert and cut across the dales and the hills and conjoined the journeyings of night with day for a space of three months, and about sunset-tide on the first of the fourth behold, a rider appeared to him coming from the breast of the waste, nor had he with him anyone. When the stranger drew near, the Khwajah saluted him and his salam was returned by the horseman who happened to be the Prince returning from the Merchant's daughter. Quoth the Khwajah, "O Youth, dismount with us in this place and let us twain, I and thou, night together and solace ourselves with converse;[527] then, when it shall be morning, each of us shall depart seeking his own stead." Quoth the Prince, "No harm in that," and so saying he sprang from the back of his steed and unbridled him and suffered him to browse upon the grasses and greenery together with the Khwajah's cattle. Hereat the two sat down together in talk while the slaves slaughtered a lamb and flayed it, then, having lighted a fire, they set the meat thereupon in a chauldron and when it was cooked they fished it out with a flesh-hook and scored it[528] and placed it in a mighty platter which they served up to their lord and the King's son. Both ate of it after the measure of their sufficiency and the remnants were borne off by the slaves for their suppers. And when the time for night-prayers came, the two having made the Wuzú ablution performed the orisons obligatory upon them, and anon sat down for evening converse, overtalking the tidings of the world and its affairs, until quoth the Merchant to the Prince, "O Youth, whence comest thou and whither art thou wending?" Quoth the other, "Walláhi, O Khwajah, I have a wondrous tale, nay a marvel of marvels which, were it graved with needle-gravers upon the eye-corners were a warning to whoso would be warned. And this it is, I am the King's son of Al-Irak and my sire's prop and stay in the House of the World, and he reared me with the fairest of rearing; but when I had grown to man's estate and had learnt the mysteries of venerie I longed one chance day of the days to ride forth hunting and birding. So I went for a horse (as was my wont) to the stables, where I found yon stallion which is with me chained to four posts; whereupon of my ignorance, unknowing that none could approach him save myself nor any avail to mount him, I went up to him and girthed him, and he neither started nor moved at my gentling of him, for this was existing in the purpose of Almighty Allah. Then I mounted him and sought my suite without informing my sire and rode forth the city with all my many, when suddenly the horse snorted with his nostrils and neighed through his throttle and buckjumped in air and bolted for the wilderness swift as bird in firmament-plain, nor wist I whither he was intending.[529] He ceased not running away with me the whole day till eventide when we reached a lake in a grassy mead." (Now when the Khwajah heard the words of the Prince his heart was heartened and presently the other pursued), "So I took seat and ate somewhat of my vivers, my horse also feeding upon his fodder, and we nighted in that spot and next morning I set out and stinted not riding for a march of four months. But on the first of the fifth I neared a towering mountain whose length and whose breadth had no bounds, and on its flanks I found leasows manifold with trees and fruits and streams besprent and birds hymning the One, the Omnipotent. So I was gladdened by the sight and dismounted and unbridled my steed whom I allowed to browse the while I ate of the fruits, and presently I fell to roaming about from site to site. And when some time had passed I came to the mouth of a cavern whence after a short delay on my part fared forth slave-girls under the escort of a negro chattel. When they beheld me they rejoiced in me, then going in they disappeared for an hour and anon returned bringing a young lady as she was the moon of the fourteenth night, who salam'd to me, and invited me to become her guest and led me into the cave—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 to you on the coming night, an the Sovran suffer me to survive." Now when it was the next night and that was