Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/103

85 and surrounded him; then they went on before him, signing to him to follow them, and he did so, till he came to a lofty and strong-builded castle, the ordinance whereof was one brick of gold and one of silver. The apes entered and he after them, and he saw in the castle all manner of jewels and precious metals and things of price, such as the tongue fails to describe. Here also he found a young man, exceeding tall of stature, with no hair on his cheeks, and there was no human being but he in the castle.

The two young men greeted each other with delight, and the stranger marvelled exceedingly at sight of Seif el Mulouk and said to him, ‘What is thy name and what countryman art thou and how camest thou hither? Tell me thy story and conceal from me nought thereof.’ ‘By Allah,’ answered the prince, ‘I came not hither of my own intent nor is this place that which I seek; but I cannot but go from place to place till I compass my desire.’ ‘And what is it thou seekest?’ asked the youth. ‘I am of the land of Egypt,’ replied Seif, ‘and my name is Seif el Mulouk, son of King Aasim ben Sefwan;’ and told him all that had befallen him, from first to last, [up to his coming to the land of China]. Whereupon the youth arose and stood in his service, saying, ‘O king of the age, I was in Egypt [awhile since] and heard that thou hadst gone to the land of China; but it is a far cry from China hither. Verily, this is a strange thing and a rare case!’

‘True,’ answered the prince; ‘but, when I left China, I set out, intending for the land of Hind;’ and he told him all that had befallen him till he came thither; whereupon quoth the other, ‘O king’s son, thou hast had enough of strangerhood and its hardships; praised be God who hath brought thee hither! So now do thou abide with me, that I may enjoy thy company till I die, when thou shalt become king over this island, to which no bound is