caused her snuff up perfumes pure and pungent and said to her
when she revived, "Rise, O mother mine, and let us eat of these
meats wherewith Almighty Allah hath eased our poverty." But when
she saw that mighty fine silvern tray she fell to marvelling at
the matter and Quoth she, "O my son, who be this generous, this
beneficent one who hath abated our hunger-pains and our penury?
We are indeed under obligation to him and, meseemeth, 'tis the
Sultan who, hearing of our mean condition and our misery, hath
sent us this food tray." Quoth he, "O my mother, this be no time
for questioning: arouse thee and let us eat for we are both a-
famished." Accordingly, they sat down to the tray and fell to
feeding when Alaeddin's mother tasted meats whose like in all her
time she had never touched; so they devoured them with sharpened
appetites and all the capacity engendered by stress of hunger;
and, secondly, the food was such that marked the tables of the
Kings. But neither of them knew whether the tray was or was not
valuable, for never in their born days had they looked upon aught
like it. As soon as they had finished the meal (withal leaving
victual enough for supper and eke for the next day), they arose
and washed their hands and sat at chat, when the mother turned to
her son and said, "Tell me, O my child, what befel thee from the
Slave, the Jinni, now that Alhamdolillah--laud to the Lord!--we
have eaten our full of the good things wherewith He hath favoured
us and thou hast no pretext for saying to me, 'I am anhungered.'
" So Alaeddin related to her all that took place between him and
the Slave what while she had sunk upon the ground aswoon for sore
terror; and at this she, being seized with mighty great surprise,
said, " 'tis true; for the Jinns do present themselves before the
Sons of Adam[FN#112] but I, O my son, never saw them in all my
life and meseemeth that this be the same who saved thee when thou