folk of the realm said, 'The king's daughter loveth the pilgrim
youth and he loveth her.'

Now the king was a very old man and destiny decreed the ending of
his term of life; so he died and when he was buried, the folk
assembled and many were the sayings of the people and of the
king's kinsfolk and officers, and they took counsel together to
slay the princess and the young pilgrim, saying, 'This fellow
dishonoureth us with yonder strumpet and none accepteth dishonour
but the base.' So they fell upon them and slew the princess,
without questioning her of aught; whereupon the pious woman (whom
they deemed a boy) said to them, 'Out on ye, O misbelievers I Ye
have slain the pious lady.' Quoth they, 'Lewd fellow that thou
art, dost thou bespeak us thus? Thou lovedst her and she loved
thee, and we will slay thee without mercy.' 'God forbid!'
answered she, 'Indeed, the affair is the contrary of this.' 'What
proof hast thou of that?' asked they, and she said, 'Bring me
women.' So they brought her women, and when they looked on her,
they found her a woman.

When the townsfolk saw this, they repented of that which they had
done and the affair was grievous to them; so they sought pardon
[of God] and said to her, ' By the virtue of Him whom thou
servest, do thou seek pardon for us [of God!]' Quoth she, 'As for
me, I may no longer abide with you and I am about to depart from
you.' Then they humbled themselves in supplication to her and
wept and said to her, 'We conjure thee, by the virtue of God the
Most High, that thou take upon thyself the governance of the
kingdom and of the subjects.' But she refused; whereupon they
came up to her and wept and gave not over supplicating her, till