Chapter V: Part 5

When Prince Ahmed saw the pavilion, which the fairy called the largest in her treasury, he fancied she was joking, and his surprise appeared in his face. Pari Banou burst out laughing. 'What! Prince,' cried she, 'do you think I jest with you? You will see presently that I am in earnest. Nourgihan' said she to her treasurer, taking the tent out of Prince Ahmed's hands, 'go and set it up, that the prince may judge whether the sultan his father will think it large enough.'

The treasurer immediately went out from the palace, and carried it to such a distance that when she had set it up one end reached to the palace. The prince, so far from thinking it small, found it large enough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his father; and then said to Pari Banou, 'I ask my princess a thousand pardons for my incredulity: after what I have seen, I believe there is nothing impossible to you.'

'You see,' said the fairy, 'that the pavilion is larger than your father may have occasion for; but you are to observe that it becomes larger or smaller, according to the army it is to cover, without being touched.'

The treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first size, and brought it and put it into the prince's hands. He took it, and next day mounted his horse and went with the usual attendants to the sultan his father.

The sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he asked for was beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince's diligence. He took the tent and admired its smallness. But when he had set it up in the great plain, and found it large enough to shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field, his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself. As he thought this might be troublesome in use, Prince Ahmed told him that its size would always be proportionate to his army.

To outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligation to the prince his son for so noble a present, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy Pari Banou; and to show what a value he set on it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury. But within himself he became more jealous than ever; considering that by the fairy's assistance the prince his son might perform things that were infinitely above his own power, notwithstanding his greatness and riches; and, therefore, more intent upon his ruin, he went to consult the magician again, who advised him to request the prince to bring him some of the water of the fountain of lions.

In the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all his court, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he said to him: 'Son, I have already expressed how much I am obliged to you for the present of the tent you have procured me, which I look upon as the most valuable thing in my treasury; but you must do one thing more for me. I am informed that the fairy your wife makes use of a certain water, called the water of the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of fevers, even the most dangerous; and as I am perfectly sure that my health is dear to you, I do not doubt that you will ask her for a bottle of that water for me, and bring it me as a sovereign remedy, which I may make use of when I have occasion. Do me this service, and complete the duty of a good son towards a tender father.'

Prince Ahmed, who had believed that the sultan his father would have been satisfied with so singular and useful a tent as that which he had brought, and that he would not have imposed any new task upon him which might hazard the fairy's displeasure; was thunderstruck at this new request, notwithstanding the assurance she had given him of granting him whatever lay in her power. After a long silence, he said, 'I beg of your majesty to be assured that there is nothing I would not undertake to prolong your life, but I wish it might not be by means of my wife. For this reason I dare not promise to bring the water. All I can do is to assure you I will ask her; but it will be with as great reluctance as when I asked for the tent.'

The next morning Prince Ahmed returned to the fairy Pari Banou, and related to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at the sultan his father's court, from the giving of the tent, which he told her he received with the utmost gratitude, to the new request he had charged him to make, and when he had done, he added: 'but, my princess, I only tell you this as a plain account of what passed between me and my father. I leave you to your own discretion to gratify or reject this new desire. It shall be as you please.'

'No, no,' replied the fairy Pari Banou, 'whatever advice the magician can give him (for I see that he hearkens to her), he shall find no fault with you or me. There is a great deal of wickedness in this demand, as you will understand by what I am going to tell you. The fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great castle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of which sleep while the other two are awake alternately. But let not that frighten you. I will give you means to pass by them without any danger.'

The fairy Pari Banou was at that time hard at work with her needle; and as she had by her several balls of thread, she took up one, and presenting it to Prince Ahmed, said, 'First take this ball of thread; I will tell you presently the use of it. In the second place, you must have two horses; one you will ride yourself, and the other you will lead, which must be loaded with a sheep cut into four quarters, and killed to-day. In the third place, you must be provided with a bottle, which I will give you, to bring the water in. Set out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the iron gate, throw before you the ball of thread, which will roll till it comes to the gates of the castle. When it stops, as the gates will be open, you will see the four lions. The two that are awake will, by their roaring, wake the other two. Be not frightened, but throw each of them a quarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse, and ride to the fountain. Fill your bottle without alighting, and then return with the same speed. The lions will be so busy eating that they will let you pass.'

Prince Ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed by the fairy, and followed her directions carefully. When he arrived at the gates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the four lions, and passing through the midst of them with haste, got to the fountain, filled his bottle, and returned as safe and sound as he went. When he was a little distance from the castle gates, he turned round; and perceiving two of the lions coming after him, he drew his sabre, and prepared for defence. But as he went forward, he saw one of them turned off the road, and showed by his head and tail that he did not come to do him any harm, but only to go before him, and that the other stayed behind to follow. He therefore put his sword again into its scabbard. Guarded in this manner he arrived at the capital of the Indies; but the lions never left him till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan's palace; after which they returned the way they came, though not without frightening all that saw them, who fled or hid themselves, though they walked gently, and showed no signs of fierceness.

A great many officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and conducted him to the apartments of the sultan, who was at that time conversing with his favourites. He approached the throne, laid the bottle at the sultan's feet, kissed the rich carpet which covered the footstool, and rising, said, 'I have brought you, sir, the health-giving water which your majesty so much desired to keep in your treasury; but at the same time wish you such health that you may never have occasion to make use of it.'

After the prince had finished speaking, the sultan placed him on his right hand, and then said, 'Son, I am very much obliged to you for this valuable present; also for the great danger you have exposed yourself to upon my account, which I have been informed of by the magician who knows the fountain of lions; but do me the pleasure,' continued he, 'to tell me by what incredible power you have been preserved.'

'Sir,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'I have no share in the compliment your majesty is pleased to make me; all the honour is due to the fairy my wife; I merely followed her good advice.' The sultan showed outwardly all the demonstrations of joy, but secretly became more and more jealous, retired into an inner apartment, and sent for the magician.

After conferring with her, the sultan next day said to the prince, in the midst of all his courtiers, 'Son, I have one thing more to ask of you; after which, I shall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor your influence with your wife. This request is, to bring me a man not above a foot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feet long, who carries upon his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundredweight which he uses as a quarterstaff, and who can speak.'

Prince Ahmed, who did not believe that there was such a man in the world as his father described, would gladly have excused himself; but the sultan persisted in his demand, and told him that the fairy could do more incredible things.

Next day the prince returned to the subterranean kingdom of Pari Banou, to whom he told his father's new demand, which, he said, he looked upon as more impossible than the first two; 'for,' added he, 'I cannot imagine that there is or can be such a man in the world: either he has a mind to try whether I am silly enough to go and seek him; or if there is such a man, he seeks my ruin. How can he suppose that I should get hold of a man so small, armed as he describes? What arms could I make use of to reduce him to submission?'

'Do not affright yourself, prince,' replied the fairy; 'you ran a risk in fetching the water of the fountain of lions for your father; but there is no danger in finding this man. It is my brother, Schaibar, who is so far from being like me, though we both had the same father, that he is of so violent a nature that nothing can prevent his giving gory marks of his resentment for a slight offence; yet, on the other hand, he is so good as to oblige any one in whatever they desire. He is made exactly as the sultan your father has described him; and he has no other arms than a bar of iron five hundred pounds in weight, without which he never stirs, and which makes him respected. I will send for him, and you shall judge of the truth of what I tell you; and prepare not to be frightened when you see him.'

'What! my queen,' replied Prince Ahmed, 'do you say Schaibar is your brother? Let him be ever so ugly or deformed, I shall love and honour him, and consider him as my nearest relation.'

The fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be set with a fire in it under the porch of her palace, with a box of the same metal. Taking some incense out of this, and throwing it into the fire, there arose a thick cloud of smoke.

Some moments after, the fairy said to Prince Ahmed, 'Prince, here comes my brother; do you see him?'

The prince immediately perceived Schaibar, who was but a foot and a half high, coming gravely with his heavy bar on his shoulder; his beard, thirty feet long, supported itself before him, and a pair of thick moustaches were tucked up to his ears, almost covering his face: his eyes were very small, like a pig's, and sunk deep in his head, which was of an enormous size, and on which he wore a pointed cap: besides all this, he had a hump behind and before.

If Prince Ahmed had not known that Schaibar was Pari Banou's brother, he would not have been able to look at him without fear; but knowing beforehand who he was, he waited for him with the fairy, and received him without the least concern.

Schaibar, as he came forward, looked at the prince with an eye that might have chilled his soul in his body, and asked Pari Banou who that man was.

To which she replied: 'He is my husband, brother; his name is Ahmed; he is son to the Sultan of the Indies. The reason why I did not invite you to my wedding was that I was unwilling to divert you from the expedition you were engaged in, and from which I heard with pleasure that you returned victorious; on his account I have taken the liberty now to send for you.'

At these words, Schaibar, looking at Prince Ahmed with a favourable eye, which however diminished neither his fierceness nor his savage look, said, 'Is there anything, sister, in which I can serve him? he has only to speak. It is enough for me that he is your husband.'

'The sultan his father,' replied Pari Banou, 'has a curiosity to see you, and I desire he may be your guide to the Sultan's court.'

'He need but lead the way; I will follow him,' replied Schaibar.

'Brother,' replied Pari Banou, 'it is too late to go to-day, therefore stay till to-morrow morning; and in the meantime, as it is desirable that you should know all that has passed between the Sultan of the Indies and Prince Ahmed since our marriage, I will tell you this evening.'

Next morning, after Schaibar had been informed of all that was proper for him to know, he set out with Prince Ahmed, who was to present him to the sultan. When they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people no sooner saw Schaibar than they ran and hid themselves in their shops and houses, and shut their doors; while others took to their heels, and communicated their fear to all they met, who did not wait to look behind them, but ran too; insomuch that Schaibar and Prince Ahmed, as they went along, found all the streets and squares deserted, till they came to the palace, where the porters, instead of preventing Schaibar from entering, also ran away; so that the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the council-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne giving audience. Here likewise the officers, at the approach of Schaibar, abandoned their posts.

Schaibar, carrying his head erect, went fiercely up to the throne, without waiting to be introduced by Prince Ahmed, and accosted the Sultan of the Indies in these words:

'You have asked for me, see, here I am: what do you want with me?'

The sultan, instead of answering, clapt his hands before his eyes, and turned away his head, to avoid the sight of so terrible an object. Schaibar was so much provoked at this uncivil and rude reception, after the Sultan had given him the trouble to come so far, that he instantly lifted up his iron bar, and saying, 'Speak then,' let it fall on his head, and killed him before Prince Ahmed could intercede in his behalf. All that he could do was to prevent his killing the grand vizier, who sat not far from him on his right hand, representing to him that he had always given the sultan his father good advice.

'These are they then,' said Schaibar, 'who gave him bad advice;' and as he pronounced these words, he killed all the other viziers on the right and left, flatterers and favourites of the sultan, who were Prince Ahmed's enemies. Every time he struck, he killed some one or other, and none escaped but they who, not rendered motionless by fear, saved themselves by flight.

When this terrible execution was over, Schaibar came out of the council-hall into the midst of the court-yard with the iron bar on his shoulder, and looking at the grand vizier, who owed his life to Prince Ahmed, he said, 'I know there is a certain sorceress, who is a greater enemy of the prince my brother-in-law than all those base favourites I have chastised; let her be brought to me at once.' The grand vizier immediately sent for her, and as soon as she was brought, Schaibar said, knocking her down with his iron bar, 'Take the reward of thy pernicious counsel, and learn to feign illness again:' and left her dead on the spot.

After this he said, 'This is not enough; I will treat the whole city in the same manner, if they do not immediately acknowledge Prince Ahmed my brother-in-law for their sultan, and Sultan of the Indies.' Then all that were present made the air ring with the repeated acclamations of 'Long life to Sultan Ahmed'; and immediately afterwards he was proclaimed throughout the whole town Schaibar made him be clothed in the royal vestments, installed him on the throne, and after he had made all do homage and fidelity to him, went and fetched his sister Pari Banou, whom he brought with great pomp, and made her acknowledged Sultaness of the Indies.

As for Prince Ali and Princess Nouronnihar, as they had no hand in the conspiracy against Prince Ahmed, nor knew of any such conspiracy, Prince Ahmed assigned them a considerable province, with its capital, where they spent the rest of their lives. Afterwards he sent an officer to Prince Houssain to acquaint him with the change, and to make him an offer of whichever province he liked best; but that prince thought himself so happy in his solitude that he bade the officer return the Sultan his brother thanks for his kindness, assuring him of his submission; and saying that the only favour he desired was leave to live retired in the place he had made choice of for his retreat.

PRINCE CAMARALZAMAN AND THE PRINCESS OF CHINA.

About twenty days' sail from the coast of Persia, in the Islands of the Children of Khaledan, there lived a king who had an only son, Prince Camaralzaman. He was brought up with all imaginable care; and when he came to a proper age, his father appointed him an experienced governor and able tutors. As he grew up he learned all the knowledge which a prince ought to possess, and acquitted himself so well that he charmed all that saw him, and particularly the sultan his father.

When the prince had attained the age of fifteen years, the sultan, who loved him tenderly, and gave him every day new marks of his affection, had thoughts of giving him a still greater one, by resigning to him his throne, and he acquainted his grand vizier with his intentions. 'I fear,' said he, 'lest my son should lose in the inactivity of youth those advantages which nature and education have given him; therefore, since I am advanced in age, and ought to think of retirement, I have thoughts of resigning the government to him, and passing the remainder of my days in the satisfaction of seeing him reign. I have undergone the fatigue of a crown a long while, and think it is now proper for me to retire.'

The grand vizier did not wholly dissuade the sultan from such a proceeding, but sought to modify his intentions. 'Sir,' replied he, 'the prince is yet but young, and it would not be, in my humble opinion, advisable to burden him with the weight of a crown so soon. Your majesty fears, with great reason, his youth may be corrupted in indolence, but to remedy that do not you think it would be proper to marry him? Your majesty might then admit him to your council, where he would learn by degrees the art of reigning, and so be prepared to receive your authority whenever in your discernment you shall think him qualified.'

The sultan found this advice of his prime minister highly reasonable, therefore he summoned the prince to appear before him at the same time that he dismissed the grand vizier.

The prince, who had been accustomed to see his father only at certain times, without being sent for, was a little startled at this summons; when, therefore, he came before him, he saluted him with great respect, and stood with his eyes fixed on the ground.

The sultan perceiving his constraint, said to him in a mild way, 'Do you know, son, for what reason I have sent for you?'

The prince modestly replied, 'God alone knows the heart; I shall hear it from your majesty with pleasure.'

'I sent for you,' said the sultan, 'to inform you that I have an intention of providing a proper marriage for you; what do you think of it?'

Prince Camaralzaman heard this with great uneasiness: it so surprised him, that he paused and knew not what answer to make. After a few moments' silence, he replied, 'Sir, I beseech you to pardon me if I seem surprised at the declaration you have made to me. I did not expect such proposals to one so young as I am. It requires time to determine on what your majesty requires of me.'

Prince Camaralzaman's answer extremely afflicted his father. He was not a little grieved to see what an aversion he had to marriage, yet would not charge him with disobedience, nor exert his paternal authority. He contented himself with telling him he would not force his inclinations, but give him time to consider the proposal.

The sultan said no more to the prince: he admitted him into his council, and gave him every reason to be satisfied. At the end of the year he took him aside, and said to him, 'My son, have you thoroughly considered what I proposed to you last year about marrying? Will you still refuse me that pleasure I expect from your obedience, and suffer me to die without it?'

The prince seemed less disconcerted than before, and was not long answering his father to this effect: 'Sir, I have not neglected to consider your proposal, but after the maturest reflection find myself more confirmed in my resolution to continue as I am, so that I hope your majesty will pardon me if I presume to tell you it will be in vain to speak to me any further about marriage.' He stopped here, and went out without staying to hear what the sultan would answer.

Any other monarch would have been very angry at such freedom in a son, and would have made him repent it, but the sultan loved him, and preferred gentle methods before he proceeded to compulsion. He communicated this new cause of discontent to his prime minister. 'I have followed your advice,' said he, 'but Camaralzaman is further than ever from complying with my desires. He delivered his resolution in such free terms that it required all my reason and moderation to keep my temper. Tell me, I beseech you, how I shall reclaim a disposition so rebellious to my will?'

'Sir,' answered the grand vizier, 'patience brings many things about that before seemed impracticable, but it may be this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed in that way. Your majesty would have no cause to reproach yourself if you gave the prince another year to consider the matter. If, in this interval he returns to his duty, you will have the greater satisfaction, and if he still continues averse to your proposal when this is expired, your majesty may propose to him in full council that it is highly necessary for the good of the state that he should marry, and it is not likely he will refuse to comply before so grave an assembly, which you honour with your presence.'

The year expired, and, to the great regret of the sultan, Prince Camaralzaman gave not the least proof of having changed his mind. One day, therefore, when there was a great council held, the prime vizier, the other viziers, the principal officers of the crown, and the generals of the army being present, the sultan began to speak thus to the prince: 'My son, it is now a long while since I have expressed to you my earnest desire to see you married; and I imagined you would have had more consideration for a father, who required nothing unreasonable of you, than to oppose him so long. But after so long a resistance on your part, which has almost worn out my patience, I have thought fit to propose the same thing once more to you in the presence of my council. I would have you consider that you ought not to have refused this, not merely to oblige a parent; the well-being of my dominions requires it; and the assembly here present joins with me to require it of you. Declare yourself, then; that, according to your answer, I may take the proper measures.'

The prince answered with so little reserve, or rather with so much warmth, that the sultan, enraged to see himself thwarted in full council, cried out, 'Unnatural son! have you the insolence to talk thus to your father and sultan?' He ordered the guards to take him away, and carry him to an old tower that had been unoccupied for a long while, where he was shut up, with only a bed, a little furniture, some books, and one slave to attend him.

Camaralzaman, thus deprived of liberty, was nevertheless pleased that he had the freedom to converse with his books, and that made him look on his imprisonment with indifference. In the evening he bathed and said his prayers; and after having read some chapters in the Koran, with the same tranquility of mind as if he had been in the sultan's palace, he undressed himself and went to bed, leaving his lamp burning by him all the while he slept.

In this tower was a well, which served in the daytime for a retreat to a certain fairy, named Maimoune, daughter of Damriat, king or head of a legion of genies. It was about midnight when Maimoune sprang lightly to the mouth of the well, to wander about the world after her wonted custom, where her curiosity led her. She was surprised to see a light in Prince Camaralzaman's chamber, and entered, without stopping, over the slave who lay at the door.

Prince Camaralzaman had but half-covered his face with the bedclothes, and Maimoune perceived the finest young man she had seen in all her rambles through the world. 'What crime can he have committed,' said she to herself, 'that a man of his high rank can deserve to be treated thus severely?' for she had already heard his story, and could hardly believe it.

She could not forbear admiring the prince, till at length, having kissed him gently on both cheeks and in the middle of the forehead without waking him, she took her flight into the air. As she mounted high to the middle region, she heard a great flapping of wings, which made her fly that way; and when she approached, she knew it was a genie who made the noise, but it was one of those that are rebellious. As for Maimoune, she belonged to that class whom the great Solomon compelled to acknowledge him.

This genie, whose name was Danhasch, knew Maimoune, and was seized with fear, being sensible how much power she had over him by her submission to the Almighty. He would fain have avoided her, but she was so near him that he must either fight or yield. He therefore broke silence first.

'Brave Maimoune,' said he, in the tone of a suppliant, 'swear to me that you will not hurt me; and I swear also on my part not to do you any harm.'

'Cursed genie,' replied Maimoune, 'what hurt canst thou do me? I fear thee not; but I will grant thee this favour; I will swear not to do thee any harm. Tell me then, wandering spirit, whence thou comest, what thou hast seen, and what thou hast done this night.'

'Fair lady,' answered Danhasch, 'you meet me at a good time to hear something very wonderful. I come from the utmost limits of China, which look on the last islands of this hemisphere. But, charming Maimoune,' said Danhasch, who so trembled with fear at the sight of this fairy that he could hardly speak, 'promise me at least that you will forgive me, and let me go on after I have satisfied your demands.'

'Go on, go on, cursed spirit,' replied Maimoune; 'go on and fear nothing. Dost thou think I am as perfidious an elf as thyself, and capable of breaking the solemn oath I have made? Be sure you tell nothing but what is true, or I shall clip thy wings, and treat thee as thou deservest.'

Danhasch, a little heartened at the words of Maimoune, said, 'My dear lady, I will tell you nothing but what is strictly true, if you will but have the goodness to hear me. The country of China, from whence I come, is one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms of the earth. The king of this country is at present Gaiour, who has an only daughter, the finest maiden that ever was seen in the world since it was a world. Neither you nor I, nor your class nor mine, nor all our respective genies, have expressions strong enough, nor eloquence sufficient to describe this brilliant lady. Any one that did not know the king, father of this incomparable princess would scarcely be able to imagine the great respect and kindness he shows her. No one has ever dreamed of such care as his to keep her from every one but the man who is to marry her: and, that the retreat which he has resolved to place her in may not seem irksome to her, he has built for her seven palaces, the most extraordinary and magnificent that ever were known.

'The first palace is of rock crystal, the second of copper, the third of fine steel, the fourth of brass, the fifth of touchstone, the sixth of silver, and the seventh of massy gold. He has furnished these palaces most sumptuously, each in a manner suited to the materials that they are built of. He has filled the gardens with grass and flowers, intermixed with pieces of water, water- works, fountains, canals, cascades, and several great groves of trees, where the eye is lost in the prospect, and where the sun never enters, and all differently arranged. King Gaiour, in a word, has shown that he has spared no expense.

'Upon the fame of this incomparable princess's beauty, the most powerful neighbouring kings sent ambassadors to request her in marriage. The King of China received them all in the same obliging manner; but as he resolved not to compel his daughter to marry without her consent, and as she did not like any of the suitors, the ambassadors were forced to return as they came: they were perfectly satisfied with the great honours and civilities they had received.'

'"Sir," said the princess to the king her father, "you have an inclination to see me married, and think to oblige me by it; but where shall I find such stately palaces and delicious gardens as I have with your majesty? Through your good pleasure I am under no constraint, and have the same honours shown to me as are paid to yourself. These are advantages I cannot expect to find anywhere else, to whatsoever husband I should give my hand; men love ever to be masters, and I do not care to be commanded."

'At last there came an embassy from the most rich and potent king of all. This prince the King of China recommended to his daughter as her husband, urging many powerful arguments to show how much it would be to her advantage to accept him, but she intreated her father to dispense with her accepting him for the same reasons as before, and at last lost all the respect due to the king her father: "Sir," said she, in anger, "talk to me no more of this or any other match, unless you would have me plunge this poniard in my bosom, to deliver myself from your importunities."

'The king, greatly enraged, said "Daughter, you are mad, and I must treat you as such." In a word, he had her shut up in a single apartment of one of his palaces, and allowed her only ten old women to wait upon her and keep her company, the chief of whom had been her nurse. And in order that the kings his neighbours, who had sent embassies to him on this account, might not think any more of her, he despatched envoys to them severally, to let them know how averse his daughter was to marriage; and as he did not doubt that she was really mad, he charged them to make known in every court that if there were any physician that would undertake to come and cure her, he should, if he succeeded, marry her for his pains.

'Fair Maimoune,' continued Danhasch, 'all that I have told you is true; and I have not failed to go every day regularly to contemplate this incomparable beauty, to whom I would be very sorry to do the least harm, notwithstanding my natural inclination to mischief. Come and see her, I conjure you; it would be well worth your while; I am ready to wait on you as a guide, and you have only to command me. I doubt not that you would think yourself obliged to me for the sight of a princess unequalled for beauty.'

Instead of answering Danhasch, Maimoune burst out into violent laughter, which lasted for some time; and Danhasch, not knowing what might be the occasion of it, was astonished beyond measure. When she had laughed till she could laugh no more, she cried, 'Good, good, very good! you would have me believe all you have told me: I thought you intended to tell me something surprising and extraordinary, and you have been talking all this while of a mad woman. What would you say, cursed genie, if you had seen the beautiful prince that I have just come from seeing? I am confident you would soon give up the contest, and not pretend to compare your choice with mine.'

'Agreeable Maimoune,' replied Danhasch, 'may I presume to ask you who is this prince you speak of?'

'Know,' answered Maimoune, 'the same thing has happened to him as to your princess. The king his father would have married him against his will; but, after much importunity, he frankly told him he would have nothing to do with a wife. For this reason he is at this moment imprisoned in an old tower which I make my residence, and whence I came but just now from admiring him.'

'I will not absolutely contradict you,' replied Danhasch; 'but, my pretty lady, you must give me leave to be of opinion, till I have seen your prince, that no mortal upon earth can come up to the beauty of my princess.'

'Hold thy tongue, cursed sprite,' replied Maimoune. 'I tell thee once more that that can never be.'

'I will not contend with you,' said Danhasch; 'but the way to be convinced whether what I say is true or false is to accept the proposal I made you to go and see my princess, and after that I will go with you to your prince.'

'There is no need I should take so much pains' replied Maimoune; 'there is another way to satisfy us both; and that is for you to bring your princess, and place her in my prince's room; by this means it will be easy for us to compare them together and determine the dispute.'

Danhasch consented to what Maimoune had proposed, and determined to set out immediately for China upon that errand. But Maimoune told him she must first show him the tower whither he was to bring the princess. They flew together to the tower, and when Maimoune had shown it to Danhasch, she cried, 'Go, fetch your princess, and do it quickly, for you shall find me here: but listen, you shall pay the wager if my prince is more beautiful than your princess, and I will pay it if your princess is more beautiful than my prince.'

Danhasch left Maimoune, and flew towards China, whence he soon returned with incredible speed, bringing the fair princess along with him, asleep. Maimoune received him, and introduced him into the tower of Prince Camaralzaman, where they placed the princess still asleep.

At once there arose a great contest between the genie and the fairy about their respective beauty. They were some time admiring and comparing them without speaking: at length Danhasch broke silence, and said to Maimoune, 'You see, as I have already told you, my princess is handsomer than your prince; now, I hope, you are convinced of it.'

'Convinced of it!' replied Maimoune; 'I am not convinced of it, and you must be blind if you cannot see that my prince is far handsomer. The princess is fair, I do not deny; but if you compare them together without prejudice, you will quickly see the difference.'

'Though I should compare them ever so often,' said Danhasch, 'I could never change my opinion. I saw at first sight what I see now, and time will not make me see differently: however, this shall not hinder my yielding to you, charming Maimoune, if you desire it.'

'Yield to me as a favour? I scorn it,' said Maimoune: 'I would not receive a favour at the hand of such a wicked genie; I refer the matter to an umpire, and if you will not consent I shall win by your refusal.'

Danhasch no sooner gave his consent than Maimoune stamped with her foot; the earth opened, and out came a hideous, humpbacked, squinting, and lame genie, with six horns on his head, and claws on his hands and feet. As soon as he had come forth, and the earth had closed up, he, perceiving Maimoune, cast himself at her feet, and then rising up on one knee asked her what she would please to do with him.

'Rise, Caschcasch,' said Maimoune, 'I brought you hither to determine a difference between me and Danhasch. Look there, and tell me, without partiality, which is the handsomest of those two that lie asleep, the young man or the young lady.'

Caschcasch looked at the prince and princess with great attention, admiration and surprise; and after he had considered them a good while, without being able to determine which was the handsomer, he turned to Maimoune, and said, 'Madam, I must confess I should deceive you and betray myself, if I pretended to say that one was a whit handsomer than the other: the more I examine them, the more it seems to me that each possesses, in a sovereign degree, the beauty which is betwixt them. But if there be any difference, the best way to determine it is to awaken them one after the other, and by their conduct to decide which ought to be deemed the most beautiful.'

This proposal of Caschcasch's pleased equally both Maimoune and Danhasch. Maimoune then changed herself into a gnat, and leaping on the prince's neck stung him so smartly that he awoke, and put up his hand to the place; but Maimoune skipped away, and resumed her own form, which, like those of the two genies, was invisible, the better to observe what he would do.

In drawing back his hand, the prince chanced to let it fall on that of the Princess of China, and on opening his eyes, was exceedingly surprised to perceive a lady of the greatest beauty. He raised his head and leaned on his elbow, the better to consider her. She was so beautiful that he could not help crying out, 'What beauty! my heart! my soul!' In saying which he kissed her with so little caution that she would certainly have been awaked by it, had she not slept sounder than ordinary, through the enchantment of Danhasch.

He was going to awaken her at that instant, but suddenly refrained himself. 'Is not this she,' said he, 'that the sultan my father would have had me marry? He was in the wrong not to let me see her sooner. I should not have offended him by my disobedience and passionate language to him in public, and he would have spared himself the confusion which I have occasioned him.'

The prince began to repent sincerely of the fault he had committed, and was once more upon the point of waking the Princess of China. 'It may be,' said he, recollecting himself, 'that the sultan my father has a mind to surprise me with this young lady. Who knows but he has brought her himself, and is hidden behind the curtains to make me ashamed of myself. I will content myself with this ring, as a remembrance of her.'

He then gently drew off a fine ring which the princess had on her finger, and immediately put on one of his own in its place. After this he fell into a more profound sleep than before through the enchantment of the genies.

As soon as Prince Camaralzaman was in a sound sleep, Danhasch transformed himself, and went and bit the princess so rudely on the lip that she forthwith awoke, started up, and opening her eyes, was not a little surprised to see a beautiful young prince. From surprise she proceeded to admiration, and from admiration to a transport of joy.

'What,' cried she, 'is it you the king my father has designed me for a husband? I am indeed most unfortunate for not knowing it before, for then I should not have made him so angry with me. Wake then, wake!'

So saying, she took Prince Camaralzaman by the arm and shook him so that he would have awaked, had not Maimoune increased his sleep by enchantment. She shook him several times, and finding he did not wake, she seized his hand, and kissing it eagerly, perceived he had a ring upon his finger which greatly resembled hers, and which she was convinced was her own, by seeing she had another on her finger instead of it. She could not comprehend how this exchange could have been made. Tired with her fruitless endeavours to awaken the prince, she soon fell asleep.

When Maimoune saw that she could now speak without fear of awaking the princess, she cried to Danhasch, 'Ah, cursed genie dost thou not now see what thy contest has come to? Art thou not now convinced how much thy princess is inferior to my prince? But I pardon thee thy wager. Another time believe me when I assert anything.' Then turning to Caschcasch, 'As for you,' said she, 'I thank you for your trouble; take the princess, you and Danhasch, and convey her back whence he has taken her.' Danhasch and Caschcasch did as they were commanded, and Maimoune retired to her well.

Prince Camaralzaman on waking next morning looked to see if the lady whom he had seen the night before were there. When he found she was gone, he cried out, 'I thought indeed this was a trick the king my father designed to play me. I am glad I was aware of it.' Then he waked the slave, who was still asleep, and bade him come and dress him, without saying anything. The slave brought a basin and water, and after he had washed and said his prayers, he took a book and read for some time.

After this, he called the slave, and said to him, 'Come hither, and look you, do not tell me a lie. How came that lady hither, and who brought her?'

'My lord,' answered the slave with great astonishment, 'I know not what lady your highness speaks of.'

'I speak,' said the prince, 'of her that came, or rather, that was brought hither.'

'My lord,' replied the slave, 'I swear I know of no such lady; and how should she come in without my knowledge, since I lay at the door?'

'You are a lying rascal,' replied the prince, 'and in the plot to vex and provoke me the more.' So saying, he gave him a box on the ear which knocked him down; and after having stamped upon him for some time, he at length tied the well-rope under his arms, and plunged him several times into the water, neck and heels. I will drown thee,' cried he, 'if thou dost not tell me speedily who this lady was, and who brought her.'

The slave, perplexed and half-dead, said within himself, 'The prince must have lost his senses through grief.' 'My lord, then,' cried he, in a suppliant tone, 'I beseech your highness to spare my life, and I will tell you the truth.'

The prince drew the slave up, and pressed him to tell him. As soon as he was out of the well, 'My lord,' said he trembling, 'your highness must perceive that it is impossible for me to satisfy you in my present condition; I beg you to give me leave to go and change my clothes first.'

'I permit you, but do it quickly,' said the prince, 'and be sure you conceal nothing.'

The slave went out, and having locked the door upon the prince, ran to the palace just as he was. The king was at that time in discourse with his prime vizier, to whom he had just related the grief in which he had passed the night on account of his son's disobedience and opposition to his will. The minister endeavoured to comfort his master by telling him that the prince himself had given him good cause to be angry. 'Sir,' said he, 'your majesty need not repent of having treated your son after this sort. Have but patience to let him continue a while in prison, and assure yourself his temper will abate, and he will submit to all you require.'

The grand vizier had just made an end of speaking when the slave came in and cast himself at the king's feet. 'My lord,' said he, 'I am very sorry to be the messenger of ill news to your majesty, which I know must create you fresh affliction. The prince is distracted, my lord; and his treatment to me, as you may see, too plainly proves it.' Then he proceeded to tell all the particulars of what Prince Camaralzaman had said to him, and the violence with which he had been treated.

The king, who did not expect to hear anything of this afflictive kind, said to the prime minister, 'This is very melancholy, very different from the hopes you gave me just now: go immediately, without loss of time, see what is the matter, and come and give me an account.'

The grand vizier obeyed instantly; and coming into the prince's chamber, he found him sitting on his bed in good temper, and with a book in his hand, which he was reading.

After mutual salutations, the vizier sat down by him, and said, 'My lord, I wish that a slave of yours were punished for coming to frighten the king your father.'

'What,' replied the prince, 'could give my father alarm? I have much greater cause to complain of that slave.'

'Prince,' answered the vizier, 'God forbid that the news which he has told your father concerning you should be true; indeed, I myself find it to be false, by the good temper I observe you in.'

'It may be,' replied the prince, 'that he did not make himself well understood; but since you are come, who ought to know something of the matter, give me leave to ask you who was that lady who was here last night?'

The grand vizier was thunderstruck at this question; however, he recovered himself and said, 'My lord, be not surprised at my astonishment at your question. Is it possible that a lady, or any other person in the world, should penetrate by night into this place, without entering at the door and walking over the body of your slave? I beseech you, recollect yourself, and you will find it is only a dream which has made this impression on you.'

'I give no ear to what you say,' said the prince, raising his voice; 'I must know of you absolutely what is become of the lady; and if you hesitate to obey me, I shall soon be able to force you to obey me.'

At these stern words the grand vizier began to be in greater confusion than before, and was thinking how to extricate himself. He endeavoured to pacify the prince by good words, and begged of him, in the most humble and guarded manner, to tell him if he had seen this lady.

'Yes, yes,' answered the prince, 'I have seen her, and am very well satisfied you sent her. She played the part you had given her admirably well, for I could not get a word out of her. She pretended to be asleep, but I was no sooner fallen into a slumber than she arose and left me. You know all this; for I doubt not she has been to make her report to you.'

'My lord,' replied the vizier, 'nothing of this has been done which you seem to reproach me with; neither your father nor I have sent this lady you speak of; permit me therefore to remind your highness once more that you have only seen this lady in a dream.'

'Do you come to affront and contradict me,' said the prince in a great rage, 'and to tell me to my face that what I have told you is a dream?' At the same time he took him by the beard, and loaded him with blows as long as he could stand.

The poor grand vizier endured with respectful patience all the violence of his lord's indignation, and could not help saying within himself, 'Now am I in as bad a condition as the slave, and shall think myself happy if I can, like him, escape from any further danger.' In the midst of repeated blows he cried out for but a moment's audience, which the prince, after he had nearly tired himself with beating him, consented to give.

'I own, my prince,' said the grand vizier, dissembling, 'there is something in what your highness suspects; but you cannot be ignorant of the necessity a minister is under to obey his royal master's orders; yet, if you will but be pleased to set me at liberty, I will go and tell him anything on your part that you shall think fit to command me.'

'Go then,' said the prince, 'and tell him from me that if he pleases I will marry the lady he sent me. Do this quickly, and bring me a speedy answer.' The grand vizier made a profound reverence, and went away, not thinking himself altogether safe till he had got out of the tower, and shut the door upon the prince.

He came and presented himself before the king, with a countenance that sufficiently showed he had been ill-used, which the king could not behold without concern. 'Well,' said the king, 'in what condition did you find my son?'

'Sir,' answered the vizier, 'what the slave reported to your majesty is but too true.' He then began to relate his interview with Camaralzaman, how he flew into a passion upon his endeavouring to persuade him it was impossible that the lady he spoke of should have got in; the ill-treatment he had received from him; how he had been used, and by what means he made his escape.

The king, the more concerned as he loved the prince with excessive tenderness, resolved to find out the truth of this matter, and therefore proposed himself to go and see his son in the tower, accompanied by the grand vizier.