صفحة 456 من 1116

I have here a ship laden with merchandise; and in very truth

Destiny drove me to this city that I might come to the knowledge

of these matters, for it was fated that we should meet." And I

ceased not to persuade him and speak him fair and use every art

till he consented.-And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and

ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Eighteenth Night,

She continued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the

lady ceased not persuading with soft speech the youth to depart

with her till he consented and said "Yes." She slept that night

lying at his feet and hardly knowing where she was for excess of

joy. As soon as the next morning dawned (she pursued, addressing

the Caliph), I arose and we entered the treasuries and took

thence whatever was light in weight and great in worth; then we

went down side by side from the castle to the city, where we were

met by the Captain and my sisters and slaves who had been seeking

for me. When they saw me they rejoiced and asked what had stayed

me, and I told them all I had seen and related to them the story

of the young Prince and the transformation wherewith the citizens

had been justly visited.