by me: how shall I go forth against them, seeing that I am afoot
and the men be mounted?" The King retorted, "I bade thee mount,
and thou refusedst; but choose thou which of my horses thou
wilt." Then he said, "Not one of thy horses pleaseth me, and I
will ride none but that on which I came." Asked the King, "And
where is thy horse?" "Atop of thy palace." "In what part of my
palace?" "On the roof." Now when the King heard these words, he
cried, "Out on thee! this is the first sign thou hast given of
madness. How can the horse be on the roof? But we shall at once
see if thou speak the truth or lies." Then he turned to one of
his chief officers and said to him, "Go to my palace and bring me
what thou findest on the roof." So all the people marvelled at
the young Prince's words, saying one to other, "How can a horse
come down the steps from the roof? Verily this is a thing whose
like we never heard." In the meantime the King's messenger
repaired to the palace and mounting to the roof, found the horse
standing there and never had he looked on a handsomer; but when
he drew near and examined it, he saw that it was made of ebony
and ivory. Now the officer was accompanied by other high
officers, who also looked on and they laughed to one another,
saying, "Was it of the like of this horse that the youth spake?
We cannot deem him other than mad; however, we shall soon see the
truth of his case."--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and
ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Three Hundred and Sixty-second Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when the
high officials looked upon the horse, they laughed one to other
and said, "Was it of the like of his horse that the youth spake?