Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 7.djvu/134

116 Blue King’s son: but we will go about with him and question him and find out who he is.’ So they came softly up to him, as he sat in a corner of the garden, and sitting down by him, said to him, ‘O fair youth, thou didst rarely in killing the son of the Blue King and delivering Dauleh Khatoun from him; for he was a perfidious dog and had played the traitor with her, and had not God appointed thee to her, she had never won free. But how didst thou slay him?’ Seif looked at them and deeming them of the folk of the garden, answered, ‘ [sic]I slew him by means of this ring on my finger.’ Therewith they were assured that it was he who had slain him; so they seized on him, two of them holding his hands, whilst other two held his feet and the fifth his mouth, lest he should cry out and King Shehyal’s people should hear him and rescue him.

Then they lifted him up and flying away with him, stayed not in their flight till they set him down before their king and said to him, ‘O king of the age, we bring thee the murderer of thy son.’ ‘Where is he?’ asked the king: and they replied, ‘This is he.’ So the Blue King said to Seif, ‘How slewest thou my son, the darling of my heart and the light of my eyes, and why didst thou slay him without right, for all he had done thee no injury?’ Quoth the prince, ‘I slew him, because of his wrongdoing and frowardness, in that he used to seize kings’ daughters and sever them from their families and carry them to the Castle of Japhet son of Noah and transgress against them. I slew him by means of this ring on my finger, and God hurried his soul to the fire and ill is the abiding-place [to which he went].’

Therewithal the king was certified that this was indeed he who slew his son; so he called his viziers and said to them, ‘Without doubt, this is the murderer of my son: so how do you counsel me to deal with him? Shall I slay