Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 3.djvu/269

245 Faithful.” “No harm shall befall you,” said he; “I give you to one another.” Then he said to the young man, “O Nimeh, who told thee where she was and taught thee how to get at her?” “O Commander of the Faithful,” replied he, “give ear to my story; for by the virtue of thy pious forefathers, I will hide nothing from thee!” And he told him all that had passed between himself and the Persian physician and the old woman and how she had brought him into the palace and he had mistaken one door for another; whereat the Khalif wondered exceedingly and said, “Fetch me the Persian.” So they fetched him and he made him one of his chief officers. Moreover, he bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered him a handsome present, saying, “Him, who has shown such good sense and skill in his ordinance, it behoves us to make one of our chief officers.” He also loaded Nimeh and Num with gifts and honours and rewarded the old woman; and they abode with him in joy and content and all delight of life seven days; at the end of which time Nimeh craved leave to return to Cufa with his slave-girl. The Khalif gave leave and they departed accordingly and arrived in due course at Cufa, where Nimeh foregathered with his father and mother, and they abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life, till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies.’

The princes wondered mightily at Behram’s story and said, ‘By Allah, this is indeed a rare story!’ They passed the night thus, and next morning, Amjed and Asaad mounted and riding to the palace, sought an audience of the King, who received them with honour. As they sat talking, of a sudden they heard the townsfolk crying aloud and shouting to one another and calling for help, and the chamberlain came in to the King and said to him, ‘Some King hath encamped before the city, he and his army,