man and giddy with watching and fear and hunger. As in this sore
case I walked along the valley, behold, there fell down before me
a slaughtered beast; but I saw no one, whereat I marvelled with
great marvel and presently remembered a story I had heard
aforetime of traders and pilgrims and travellers; how the
mountains where are the diamonds are full of perils and terrors,
nor can any fare through them; but the merchants who traffic in
diamonds have a device by which they obtain them, that is to say,
they take a sheep and slaughter and skin it and cut it in pieces
and cast them down from the mountain-tops into the valley-sole,
where the meat being fresh and sticky with blood, some of the
gems cleave to it. There they leave it till mid-day, when the
eagles and vultures swoop down upon it and carry it in their
claws to the mountain-summits, whereupon the merchants come and
shout at them and scare them away from the meat. Then they come
and, taking the diamonds which they find sticking to it, go their
ways with them and leave the meat to the birds and beasts; nor
can any come at the diamonds but by this device,--And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Five Hundred and Forty-fifth Night,

She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Sindbad the
Seaman continued his relation of what befel him in the Mountain
of Diamonds, and informed them that the merchants cannot come at
the diamonds save by the device aforesaid. So, when I saw the
slaughtered beast fall (he pursued) and bethought me of the
story, I went up to it and filled my pockets and shawl-girdle and
turband and the folds of my clothes with the choicest diamonds;
and, as I was thus engaged, down fell before me another great