Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/294

282 from king to king, between whom are secrets, and how cometh it that thou goest forth among the folk and publishest kings’ secrets to the common people? Verily, thou meritest punishment from us; but this we will forbear, for the sake of returning an answer by thee to this fool of a king of thine: and it befitteth not that any return him an answer but the least of the boys of the school.’ Then he sent for the vizier’s son, who came and prostrating himself to God, offered up prayers for the king’s abiding glory and long life; whereupon Wird Khan threw him the letter, saying, ‘Read that letter and write me a reply thereto in haste.’

The boy took the letter and reading it, smiled; then he laughed aloud and said to the king, ‘Didst thou send for me to answer this letter?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Wird Khan, and the boy said, ‘O king, methought thou hadst sent for me on some grave matter; indeed a lesser than I had availed to the answering of this letter; but it is thine to command, O puissant king.’ Quoth the king, ‘Write the answer forthright, on account of the courier, for that he is appointed a term and we have delayed him another day.’ ‘I hear and obey,’ answered the boy and pulling out paper and inkhorn, wrote the following answer.

‘In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate! Peace be upon him who hath gotten pardon and deliverance and the mercy of the Compassionate One! To proceed. O thou that pretendest thyself a mighty king [and art but a king] in word and not in deed, we give thee to know that thy letter hath reached us and we have read it and have taken note of that which is therein of absurdities and rare extravagances, whereby we are certified of thine ignorance and ill-will unto us. Verily, thou hast put out thy hand to that whereunto thou availest not, and but that we have compassion on God’s creatures and the people, we had not held back [our hand] from