Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/70

50 night, my father appeared to me, with his yard uncovered, and there came forth of it a thing the bigness of a bee, which grew till it became as a mighty lion, with claws like daggers. As I lay, wondering and alarmed at this, behold, it ran upon me and smiting me with its claws, rent my belly in sunder; whereupon I awoke, affrighted and trembling. Expound to me the meaning of this dream.’ The interpreters looked at one another and answered, after consideration, ‘O mighty King, this dream points to a child born of thy father, between whom and thee shall be strife, and he shall get the better of thee: so be thou ware of him, by reason of this thy dream.’ When Agib heard their words, he said, ‘I have no brother whom I should fear; so this your speech is a lying one.’ ‘We tell thee but what we know,’ answered they; but he was wroth with them and beat them.

Then he rose and going in to his father’s palace, examined his concubines and found one of them seven months gone with child; whereupon he bade two of his slaves carry her to the sea-shore and drown her. So they took her forth to the sea-shore and were about to drown her, when they looked at her and seeing her to be of surpassing beauty and grace, said to each other, ‘Why should we drown this damsel? Let us rather carry her to the forest and live with her there in rare dalliance.’ So they took her and fared on with her nights and days, till they brought her to a distant forest, abounding in fruit trees and streams, where they thought to take their will of her; but each said, ‘I will lie with her first.’ And they fell out one with the other concerning this. As they were thus engaged, a company of blacks fell upon them, and they drew their swords and defended themselves; but the blacks slew them both in less than the twinkling of an eye. So the damsel abode alone and wandered about the forest, eating of its fruits and drinking of its waters, till in