help complaining of you, for abandoning me so easily to the
discretion of a man who had a design to kill me. and who at this
very moment thinks my death certain. You believed he was my
uncle, as well as I; and what other thoughts could we entertain
of a man who was so kind to me, and made such advantageous
proffers? But I must tell you, mother, he is a rogue and a cheat,
and only made me those promises to accomplish my death; but for
what reason neither you nor I can guess. For my part, I can
assure you, I never gave him any cause to justify the least ill
treatment from him. You shall judge yourself, when you have heard
all that passed from the time I left you, till he came to the
execution of his wicked design."

Alla ad Deen then related to his mother all that had happened to
him from the Friday, when the magician took him to see the
palaces and gardens about the town, and what fell out in the way,
till they came to the place between the two mountains where the
great prodigy was to be performed; how, with incense which the
magician threw into the fire, and some magical words which he
pronounced, the earth opened, and discovered a cave, which led to
an inestimable treasure. He forgot not the blow the magician had
given him, in what manner he softened again, and engaged him by
great promises, and putting a ring to his finger, to go down into
the cave. He did not omit the least circumstance of what he saw
in crossing the three halls and the garden, and his taking the
lamp, which he pulled out of his bosom and shewed to his mother,
as well as the transparent fruit of different colours, which he
had gathered in the garden as he returned. But, though these
fruits were precious stones, brilliant as the sun, and the
reflection of a lamp which then lighted the room might have led