tell me what befell of [FN#294] the genie, now that, praised be
God, we have eaten of His bounty and are satisfied and thou hast
no pretext for saying to me, 'I am anhungred.'" So he told her
all that had passed between himself and the genie, whenas she
fell down aswoon of her affright; whereat exceeding wonderment
took her and she said to him, "It is true, then, [FN#295] that the
Jinn appear to the sons of Adam, though I, O my son, in all my
days, I have never seen them, and methinketh this is he who
delivered thee, whenas thou west in the treasure." "Nay, O my
mother," answered he, "this was not he; he who appeared to thee
is the slave of the lamp." "How so, [FN#296] O my son?" asked she;
and he said, "This slave is other of make than that. That was the
servant of the ring and this thou sawest is the slave of the lamp
which was in thy hand." When [FN#297] his mother heard this,
"Well, well!" cried she. "Then the accursed who appeared to me
and came nigh to kill me for affright is of the lamp?" "Ay is
he," answered Alaeddin; and she said to him, "I conjure thee, O
my son, by the milk thou suckedst of me, that thou cast away from
thee both lamp and ring, for that they will be to us a cause of
exceeding fear and I could not endure to see them [FN#298] a
second time; nay, their commerce is forbidden unto us, for that
the prophet (whom God bless and keep) warneth us against
them." [FN#299] "O my mother," answered Alaeddin, "thy speech is
on my head and eyes; [FN#300] but, as for this that thou sayest,
it may not be that I should cast away either the lamp or the
ring; nay, thou seest that which it [FN#301] did with us of good,
whenas we were anhungred, and know, O my mother, that the lying
Maugrabin enchanter, what time I went down into the treasure,
sought nought of gold nor of silver, whereof the four places were
full, but charged me bring him the lamp and that only, for that