Accordingly， the Vizier went forth and transmitted the King"s wishes to the troops， who received his commands with submission and wished him eternity of glory. Moreover， he gave them leave to divert themselves and ordered that none of the lords in waiting should go in to the King for his service for the space of three days. Then Zoulmekan waited till nightfall， when he went in to his sister Nuzhet ez Zeman and said to her， "Dost thou know the fashion of my father"s death or not？" "I have no knowledge of it，" replied she， and drew a silken curtain before herself，whilst Zoulmekan seated himself without the curtain and sending for the Vizier， bade him relate to him in detail the manner of King Omar"s death. "Know then， O King，" replied Dendan， "that King Omar ben Ennuman， when he returned to Baghdad from his hunting excursion， enquired for thee and thy sister， but could not find you and knew that you had gone on the pilgrimage，whereat he was greatly concerned and angered， and his breast was contracted. He abode thus a whole year， seeking news of you from all who came and went， but none could give him any tidings of you. At the end of this time， as we were one day in attendance upon him， there came to us an old woman， as she were a devotee，accompanied by five damsels， high-bosomed maids， like moons，endowed with such beauty and grace as the tongue fails to describe； and to crown their perfections， they knew the Koran by heart and were versed in various kinds of learning and in the histories of bygone peoples. The old woman sought an audience of the King， and he bade admit her； whereupon she entered and kissed the ground before him. Now I was then sitting by his side， and he， seeing in her the signs of devoutness and asceticism， made her draw near and sit down by him. So she sat down and said to him， "Know， O King， that with me are five damsels， whose like no king possesses， for they are endowed with beauty and grace and wit. They know the Koran and the traditions and are skilled in all manner of learning and in the history of bygone peoples. They are here before thee， at thy disposal； for it is by proof that folk are prized or disdained." Thy late father looked at the damsels and their favour pleased him； so he said to them， "Let each of you tell me something of what she knows of the history of bygone folk and peoples of times past." Thereupon one of them came forward and kissing the earth before him， spoke as follows，"Know， O King， that it behoves the man of good breeding to eschew impertinence and adorn himself with excellencies， observing the Divine precepts and shunning mortal sins； and to this he should apply himself with the assiduity of one who， if he stray therefrom， is lost； for the foundation of good breeding is virtuous behaviour. Know that the chief reason of existence is the endeavour after life everlasting and the right way thereto is the service of God： so it behoves thee to deal righteously with the people； and swerve not from this rubrick， for the mightier folk are in dignity， the more need they have of prudence and foresight； and indeed kings need this more than common folk， for the general cast themselves into affairs， without taking thought to the issue of them. Be thou prodigal both of thyself and thy treasure in the way of God and know that， if an enemy dispute with thee， thou mayst litigate with him and refute him with proof and ward thyself against him； but as for thy friend， there is none can judge between thee and him but righteousness and fair-dealing. Wherefore， choose thy friend for thyself， after thou hast proved him. If he be a man of religion， let him be zealous in observing the external letter of the Law and versed in its inner meaning， as far as may be： and if he be a man of the world， let him be free-born， sincere， neither ignorant nor perverse， for the ignorant man is such that even his parents might well flee from him， and a liar cannot be a true friend， for the word "friend"[FN#66] is derived from "truth，"[FN#67] that emanates from the bottom of the heart； and how can this be the case， when falsehood is manifest upon the tongue？ Know，therefore， that the observance of the Law profits him who practices it： so love thy brother， if he be after this fashion，and do not cast him off， even if thou see in him that which thou mislikest； for a friend is not like a wife whom one can divorce and take again； but his heart is like glass； once broken， it cannot be mended. And God bless him who says：
Be careful not to hurt men"s hearts nor work them aught of dole，For hard it is to bring again a once estranged soul；
And hearts， indeed， whose loves in twain by discord have been rent Are like a broken glass， whose breach may never be made whole.
The wise say （continued she）， "The best of friends is he who is the most assiduous in good counsel， the best of actions is that which is fairest in its result， and the best of praise is （not）
that which is in the mouths of men." It is said also， "It behoves not the believer to neglect to thank God， especially for two favours， health and reason." Again， "He who honoureth himself，his lust is a light matter to him， and he who makes much of small troubles， God afflicts him with great ones： he who obeys his own inclination neglects his duties and he who listens to the slanderer loses the true friend. He who thinks well of thee， do thou fulfil his thought of thee. He who exceeds in contention sins， and he who does not beware of upright is not safe from the sword."
