Then she bade the Great King，Afridun，give command that the city be decorated，and the people held festival high and drank their wines drunkenly and knew not the decrees of Destiny.Now whilst they were in the midst of their rejoicings，behold，the raven of dule and downfall croaked over them，and up came the twenty fugitive ships wherein was the King of Caesarea.So King Afridun，Lord of Constantinople，met them on the sea shore，and they told him all that had befallen them from the Moslem，and they wept sore and groaned and moaned；and rejoicing at weal was turned into dismay for unheal；and they informed him concerning Luka son of Shamlut，how calamity had betided him and how Death had shot him with his shaft.Thereat the horrors of Doomday rose upon King Afridun，[405] and he knew that there was no making straight their crook.Then came up from them the sound of weeping and wailing；the city was full of men mourning and the keepers were keening，and sighs and cries were heard from all sides.And when King Hardub of Greece met King Afridun he told him the truth of the case and how the flight of the Moslems was by way of stratagem and deceit，and said to him，'Look not to see any of the army，save those who have already reached thee.'When King Afridun heard these words he fell down in a fainting fit，with his nose under his feet；and，as soon as he revived，he exclaimed，'Surely the Messiah was wroth with them that he caused the Moslems to prevail over them！'
Then came the Arch Patriarch sadly to the King who said to him，'O our father，annihilation hath overtaken our army and the Messiah hath punished us！'Replied the Patriarch，'Grieve not nor feel concerned，for it cannot be but that one of you have sinned against the Messiah，and all have been punished for his offence；but now we will read prayers for you in the churches，that the Mohammeden hosts may be repelled from you.'After which the old woman，Zat al-Dawahi，came to Afridun and said to him，'O King，verily the Moslem hosts are many，and we shall never overcome them save by wile：wherefore I purpose to work upon them by guile and repair to this army of Al-Islam，haply I may win my wish of their leader and slay their champion，even as I slew his father.
If my stratagem succeed in his case，not one of the host he leads shall return to his native land，for all are strong only because of him；but I desire to have some Christian dwellers of Syria，such as go out every month and year to sell their goods，that they may help me （for this they can do） in carrying out my plan.'
Replied the King，'Be it so whenever thou wilt.'So she bade fetch an hundred men，natives of Najran，[406] in Sham，and the King asked them，'Have ye not heard what hath befallen the Christians with the Moslems？''Yes，'answered they；and he rejoined，'Know ye that this woman hath devoted her life to the Messiah and purposeth to go forth with you，disguised as Monotheists and Mohammedans，to work out a device which shall profit us and hinder the Moslem from us：say，then，are ye also willing to devote yourselves to the Anointed and I will give you a quintal of gold？[407] He of you who escapeth shall have the money，and him of you who dieth will the Messiah reward.''O King，'replied they，'we will devote our lives to the Messiah，and we will be thy sacrifice.'Thereupon the old woman took all she required of aromatic roots and placed them in water which she boiled over the fire till the black essence of them was extracted.She waited till the decoction was cold，then dipped the corner of a long kerchief therein and stained her face therewith.Moreover，she donned over her clothes a long gaberdine with an embroidered border and took in her hand a rosary，and afterwards went in to King Afridun，who knew her not，nor did any of his companions know her，till she discovered herself to them：and there was none in the assembly but who thanked and praised her for her cunning；and her son rejoiced and said，'May the Messiah never fail thee！'Thereupon she took with her the Syrian Christians，and set out for the army of Baghdad.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Ninety-third Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when King Afridun heard these words，he fell into a fainting fit with his nose under his feet；and，as soon as he revived，fear fluttered the scrotum[408] below his belly and he complained to the ancient dame，Zat al-Dawahi.Now this accursed old woman was a witch of the witches，past mistress in sorcery and deception；wanton and wily，deboshed and deceptious；with foul breath，red eyelids，yellow cheeks，dull brown face，eyes bleared，mangy body，hair grizzled，back humped，skin withered and wan and nostrils which ever ran.But she had studied the ures of Al-Islam and had made the Pilgrimage to the Holy House of Meccah and all this that she might come to the knowledge of the Mohammedan ordinances and the miraculous versets of the Koran；and she had professed Judaism in the Holy City of Jerusalem[409] for two years'space，that she might master the magic of men and demons；so that she was a plague of plagues and a pest of pests，wrong headed as to belief and to no religion fief.
