"What! Is it not true that you became in turn an eagle, an elephant, an ass, a doctor, and a magpie, to protect me from ill?"
"It is all a dream, sir. Our ideas are no more under our control when sleeping than when awake. The Almighty sent that string of ideas through your head, as it would seem, to give you some lesson which you may lay to heart."
"You are making game of me," said Rustem. "How long have I been sleeping?"
"Sir, you have only slept one hour."
"Well, I cannot understand it," said Rustem.
But perhaps he took the lesson to heart, and learnt to doubt whether all he wished for was right and good for him.
[Transcriber's Notes:]
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The original text contains some inconsistencies of hyphenation (e.g. "tea urn" vs. "tea-urn"); these have been retained.