your hearts and be no afraid on any wise!" In due time the news
of a fresh arrival reached the Ruler, and he ordered his men to
bring him tidings concerning that vessel, and when they went for
her and boarded her they found that her captain was a damsel of
virginal semblance exceeding in beauty and loveliness. So they
returned and reported this to the King who despatched messengers
bidding her lodge with him for they had heightened their praises
of her and the excess of her comeliness, and he said in his mind,
"By Allah, an she prove as they describe her, needs must I marry
her." But the damsel sent back saying, "I am a clean maid, not
may I land alone but do thou send to me forty girls, virgins like
myself, when I will disembark together with them."--And Sharazad
was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to
say her permitted say. Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, "How sweet
is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!"
Quoth she, "And where is this compared with that I would relate
to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now
when it was the next night and that was

The Five Hundred and Third Night,

Dunyazad said to her, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be
other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short
the watching of this our latter night!" She replied, "With love
and good will!" It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the
director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting
and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the damsel
demanded of the king forty clean maids and said, "We will land, I
and they together," whereto he replied, "The right is with her."
Hereupon he ordered all those about him, the Lords of his land