Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/153

141 Muslim ship, they carried all her people to the King of France, who put them to death in accomplishment of the vow he had made on account of his daughter Meryem. So they boarded the ship in which was Noureddin and taking him and the rest of the company prisoners, to the number of a hundred Muslims, carried them to the king, who bade cut their throats. So they slaughtered them all, one after another, till there was none left but Noureddin, whom the headsman had left till the last, in pity of his tender age and slender shape.

When the king saw him, he knew him right well and said to him, ‘Art thou not Noureddin, that was with us before?’ ‘I was never with thee,’ answered he; ‘and my name is not Noureddin, but Ibrahim.’ ‘Thou liest,’ rejoined the king; ‘thou art Noureddin, he whom I gave to the old woman, the prioress, to help her in the service of the church.’ But Noureddin said, ‘O my lord, my name is Ibrahim.’ Quoth the king, ‘Wait awhile,’ and bade his knights fetch the old woman forthright, saying, ‘When she comes and sees thee, she will know if thou be Noureddin or not.’ At this juncture, in came the one-eyed vizier and kissing the earth before the king, said to him, ‘Know, O king, that the palace is finished; and thou knowest that I vowed to the Messiah that, when I had made an end of building it, I would slaughter thirty Muslims before its gate; wherefore I am come to get them of thee, that I may sacrifice them and so fulfil my vow to the Messiah. They shall be at my charge, by way of loan, and whenas there come prisoners to my hands, I will give thee other thirty in their stead.’ ‘By the virtue of the Messiah and the True Faith,’ replied the king, ‘I have but this one captive left!’ And he pointed to Noureddin. ‘Take him and slaughter him now, and the rest I will send thee, whenas there come to my hands [other] prisoners of the Muslims.’