by the angel of death; I wish your majesty may protect me, as you
always protected my father.' If the sultan of the genii," added
Mobarec, "ask you what favour you desire of him, you must answer,
'I most humbly beg of you to give me the ninth statue.'"

Mobarec, having thus instructed prince Zeyn, began his
conjuration. Immediately their eyes were dazzled by a long flash
of lightning, which was followed by a clap of thunder. The whole
island was covered with a thick darkness, a furious storm of wind
blew, a dreadful cry was heard, the island felt a shock, and
there was such an earthquake, as that which Asrayel is to cause
on the day of judgment.

Zeyn was startled, and began to regard these concussions of the
elements as a very ill omen, when Mobarec, who knew better than
he what to judge, began to smile, and said, "Take courage, my
prince, all goes well." In short, that very moment, the sultan
of the genii appeared in the shape of a very handsome man, yet
there was something of a sternness in his air.

As soon as sultan Zeyn had made him the compliment he had been
taught by Mobarec, the sultan of the genii smiling, answered, "My
son, I loved your father, and every time he came to pay me his
respects, I presented him with a statue, which he carried away
with him. I have no less kindness for you. I obliged your
father, some days before he died, to write that which you read on
the piece of white satin. I promised him to receive you under my
protection, and to give you the ninth statue, which in beauty
surpasses those you have already. I had begun to perform my
promise to him. It was I whom you saw in a dream in the shape of