whereat the Queen-mother was seized with mighty fear and
affright. But presently appeared the King of the Jinns who said
to her, "O my lady, fear not! 'Tis I, the protector of thy son
whom I fondly affect for the affection borne to me by his sire. I
also am he who manifested myself to him in his sleep; and my
object therein was to make trial of his valiance and to learn an
he could do violence to his passions for the sake of his promise,
or whether the beauty of this lady would so tempt and allure him
that he could not keep his promise to me with due regard."--And
Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.

When it was the Five Hundred and Thirteenth Night,

Quoth Dunyazad, "O sister mine, an thou be other than sleepy,
tell us one of thy fair tales, so therewith we may cut short the
waking hours of this our night," and quoth Shahrazad:--It hath
reached me, O King of the Age, that the King of the Jann said to
the Queen-mother, "Indeed Zayn al-Asnam hath not kept faith and
covenant with all nicety as regards the young lady, in that he
longed for her to become his wife. However, I am assured that
this lapse befel him from man's natural and inherent frailty
albeit I repeatedly enjoined him to defend and protect her until
he concealed from her his face. I now accept[FN#61] this man's
valour and bestow her upon him to wife, for she is the Ninth
Statue by me promised to him and she is fairer than all these
jewelled images, the like of her not being found in the whole
world of men save by the rarest of chances." Then the King of the
Jann turned to the Prince and said to him, "O Emir Zayn al-Asnam,
this is thy bride: take her and enjoy her upon the one condition