he may require." But when she came to the Pirate he cried,
"Wallahi, O our lord the Sultan, this adventure is a grievous,
and Allah upon thee, tell us some other tale;" whereat all the
hearers rejoined, "By Allah, in very sooth the recital is a
pleasing." She continued to acquaint them with the adventure of
the Bird which invested her with the monarchy and she ended with
relating the matter of the Hammam, at all whereof the audience
wondered and said, "By Allah, this is a delectable matter and a
dainty;" but the Pirate cried aloud, "Such story pleaseth me not
in any way for 'tis heavy upon my heart!"--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 Ninth 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 Pirate
cried out, "This tale is heavy upon my heart!" Presently the
damsel resumed her speech and said, "Wallahi! if my mother and my
father say sooth this be my sire and that be my cousin and here
standeth the King and there the Wazir and yonder are the Ra'is
and the Pirate, the comrade of the Forty Thieves whose only will