"I desire you to tell me the true interpretation of this."
Whereupon one of them came forward and craved the King's
permission to speak, which being granted, he said, "Know, O King,
that thy Wazir Shimas is nowise unable to interpret this thy
dream; but he shrank from troubling thy repose. Wherefore he
disclosed not unto thee the whole thereof; but, an thou suffer me
to speak, I will expose to thee that which he concealed from
thee." The King replied, "Speak without respect for persons, O
interpreter, and be truthful in thy speech." The interpreter
said, "Know then, O King, that there will be born to thee a boy
child who shall inherit the Kingship from thee, after thy long
life; but he shall not order himself towards the lieges after thy
fashion; nay, he shall transgress thine ordinances and oppress
thy subjects, and there shall befal him what befel the Mouse with
the Cat[FN#60]; and I seek refuge with Almighty Allah[FN#61]!"
The King asked, "But what is the story of the Cat and the
Mouse?"; and the interpreter answered "May Allah prolong the
King's life! They tell the following tale of




The Mouse and the Cat.



A grimalkin, that is to say, a Cat, went out one night to a
certain garden, in search of what she might devour, but found
nothing and became weak for the excess of cold and rain that
prevailed that night. So she sought for some device whereby to