Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/274

240 it shall be given unto thee.” Whereupon she cried out to the nurses and the eunuchs, saying, “Bring me my children.” So they brought them to her in haste, and they were three male children, one walking, one crawling and one sucking [at the breast]. She took them and setting them before the King, kissed the ground and said, “O king of the age, these are thy children and I crave that thou release me from the doom of death, for the sake of these infants; for, if thou slay me, they will become motherless and will find none among women to rear them aright.”

When the King heard this, he wept and straining the children to his bosom, said, “By Allah, O Shehrzad, I pardoned thee before the coming of these children, for that I found thee chaste, pure, noble and pious! May God bless thee and thy father and thy mother and thy root and thy branch! I take God to witness against me that I exempt thee from aught that can harm thee.” So she kissed his hands and feet and rejoiced with an exceeding joy, saying, “May God make thy life long and increase thee in reverence and majesty!” Therewith joy spread throughout the palace of the King and the good news was bruited abroad in the city; it was a night not to be counted among lives and its colour was whiter than the face of day.

On the morrow, the King arose, full of joy and contentment, and summoning all his troops, bestowed on his vizier, Shehrzad’s father, a rich and splendid robe of honour and said to him, “God protect thee, for that thou gavest me to wife thy noble daughter, who hath been the means of my repentance from slaying the daughters of the people. Indeed, I have found her noble, pure, chaste and virtuous, and God hath vouchsafed me three male children by her; wherefore praised be He for this exceeding bounty!” Then he bestowed dresses of honour