replied she； "and I will bring them back to thee at the end of the month， by which time thou wilt have accomplished thy fast and they will have had their courses and be free from impurity. Then they shall become thine and be at thy disposal. By Allah， each one of them is worth many times thy kingdom！" "I know it， O pious lady，" replied the King. Then said the old woman， "If there be any one in thy palace who is dear to thee， thou wouldst do well to send her with me， that she may find solace and seek a blessing of the spirits." Quoth the King， "I have a Greek slave called Sufiyeh， by whom God hath vouchsafed me two children， a son and a daughter： but they were lost years ago. Take her with thee， that she may get the spirits" blessing： it may be they will pray God for her， that her children may be restored to her." "It is well，"
replied the old woman； for indeed this was what she most desired.
The King gave not over fasting till the seven-and-twentieth night， when the old woman said to him， "O my son， I am about to go to the spirits； so bring me Sufiyeh." Accordingly， he sent for her and delivered her to the old woman， who placed her with the other damsels. Then she went in to her chamber and bringing out a sealed cup， presented it to the King， saying， "On the thirtieth day， do thou go to the bath and when thou comest out， enter one of the closets in thy palace and drink the liquor that is in this cup. Then sleep， and thou shalt attain what thou seekest， and peace be on thee！" The King was glad and thanked her and kissed her hands. Quoth she， "I commend thee to God；" and he said， "When shall I see thee again， O pious lady？ Indeed I love not to part with thee." Then she called down blessings on him and departed with the five damsels and the Princess Sufiyeh； whilst the King fasted other three days， till the end of the month， when he went to the bath and coming out， shut himself up in a closet，commanding that none should go in to him. Then he drank what was in the cup and lay down to sleep. We sat awaiting him till the end of the day， but he did not come out and we said， "Belike he is tired with the bath and with watching by night and fasting by day， and sleepeth." So we waited till next day； but still he did not come out. Then we stood at the closet-door and cried aloud，so haply he might awake and ask what was the matter. But nothing came of this： so at last we lifted the door off its hinges and going in， found the King dead， with his flesh torn into strips and his bones broken in pieces. When we saw him in this case， it was grievous to us， and we took up the cup and found in its cover a piece of paper， on which was written the following， "He who does evil leaves no regrets behind him. This is the reward of him who plays the traitor with kings" daughters and debauches them：
and we make known to all who happen upon this scroll that Sherkan， when he came to our country， debauched our Princess Abrizeh； nor did this suffice him， but he must take her from us and bring her to you. Then he （Omar ben Ennuman） （debauched her and） sent her away， in company of a black slave， who slew her and we found her lying dead in the desert. This is none of kings"
fashion， and he who did this is requited with nought but his deserts. So do ye suspect none of having killed him， for none slew him but the cunning witch， whose name is Dhat ed Dewahi. And behold， I have taken the King"s wife Sufiyeh and have carried her to her father King Afridoun of Constantinople. Moreover， we will assuredly make war upon you and kill you and take your land from you， and ye shall be cut off even to the last man， nor shall there be left of you a living soul， no， nor a blower of the fire，except he serve the Cross and the Girdle." When we read this， we knew that the old woman had cheated us and carried out her plot against us： so we cried out and buffeted our faces and wept sore.
However， weeping availed us nothing and the troops fell out as to whom they should make Sultan. Some would have thee and others thy brother Sherkan； and we ceased not to wrangle about this for the space of a month， at the end of which time certain of us drew together and agreed to repair to thy brother Sherkan. So we set out and journeyed on till we fell in with thee： and this is the manner of the death of King Omar ben Ennuman."
When the Vizier had made an end of his story， Zoulmekan and his sister wept， and the Chamberlain wept also. Then said the latter to Zoulmekan， "O King， weeping will profit thee nothing； nor will aught avail thee but that thou fortify thy heart and strengthen thy resolution and stablish thy power； for verily he is not dead who leaves the like of thee behind him." So Zoulmekan gave over weeping and causing his throne to be set up without the pavilion，commanded the army to pass in review before him. Then he sat down on the throne， with the Chamberlain by his side and all the arm-bearers behind him， whilst the Vizier Dendan and the rest of the amirs and grandees stood before him， each in his several room. Then said Zoulmekan to Dendan， "Acquaint me with the particulars of my father"s treasures." Dendan answered， "I hear and obey，" and gave him to know the amount and nature of the late King"s treasure and what was in the treasury of money and jewels and other precious things. So Zoulmekan gave largesse to the army and bestowed a sumptuous dress of honour on the Vizier Dendan，saying， "I confirm thee in thine office." Whereupon Dendan kissed the earth before him and wished him long life. Then he bestowed dresses of honour on the amirs， after which he turned to the Chamberlain and said， "Bring out before us the tribute of Damascus， that is with thee." So he laid before him the chests of money and jewels and rarities， and he took them and divided them all amongst the troops， till there was nothing left. And the amirs kissed the ground before him and wished him long life，saying， "Never saw we a king， who gave the like of these gifts."
