Page:Tales from the Arabic, Vol 1.djvu/202

178 breasts are straitened. Indeed, this is the greatest of ill-will in you to me, and had I hearkened to you, my regret had been prolonged and I had died miserably of grief.” “O my father,” quoth the prince, “but for the fairness of thy thought and thy judgment and thy longanimity and deliberation in affairs, there had not betided thee this great joyance. Hadst thou slain me in haste, repentance would have been sore on thee and long grief, and on this wise doth he who ensueth haste repent.”

Then the king sent for the captain of the thieves and bestowed on him a dress of honour, commanding that all who loved the king should put off [their raiment and cast it] upon him. So there fell dresses of honour [and other presents] on him, till he was wearied with their much plenty, and Azadbekht invested him with the mastership of the police of his city. Then he bade set up other nine gibbets beside the first and said to his son, “Thou art guiltless, and yet these wicked viziers endeavoured for thy slaughter.” “O my father,” answered the prince, “I had no fault [in their eyes] but that I was a loyal counsellor to thee and still kept watch over thy good and withheld their