Then the midwives took the newborn child and cut the navel cord and darkened his eyelids with Kohl powder[466] and named him Taj al-Muluk Kharan.[467] He was suckled at the breast of fond indulgence and was reared in the lap of happy fortune；and thus his days ceased not running and the years passing by till he reached the age of seven.Thereupon Sulayman Shah summoned the doctors and learned men and bade them teach his son writing and science and belle-lettres.This they continued to do for some years，till he had learnt what was needful；and，when the King saw that he was well grounded in whatso he desired，he took him out of the teachers' and professors' hands and engaged for him a skilful master，who taught him cavalarice and knightly exercises till the boy attained the age of fourteen；and when he fared abroad on any occasion，all who saw him were ravished by his beauty and made him the subject of verse；and even pious men were seduced by his brilliant loveliness.--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Tenth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，That when Taj al-Muluk Kharan，son of Sulayman Shah，became perfect in riding craft and excelled all those of his time，his excessive beauty，when he fared abroad on any occasion，caused all who saw him to be ravished and to make him the subject of verse；and even pious men were seduced by his brilliant loveliness.Quoth the poet of him，'I clipt his form and wax'd drunk with his scent，Fair branch to whom Zephyr gave nutriment：
Nor drunken as one who drinks wine，but drunk With night draught his lips of the honey dew lent：
All beauty is shown in the all of him，Hence all human hearts he in hand hath hens：
My mind，by Allah！shall ne'er unmind His love，while I wear life's chains till spent：
If I live，in his love I'll live；if I die For pine and longing，'O blest！' I'll cry When he reached the eighteenth year of his age，tender down[468] sprouted，on his side face fresh with youth，from a mole upon one rosy cheek and a second beauty spot，like a grain of ambergris adorned the other；and he won the wits and eyes of every wight who looked on him，even as saith the poet，'He is Caliph of Beauty in Yusufs lieu，And all lovers fear when they sight his grace：
Pause and gaze with me；on his cheek thou'lt sight The Caliphate's banner of sable hue.'[469]
And as saith another，'Thy sight hath never seen a fairer sight，Of all things men can in the world espy，Than yon brown mole，that studs his bonny cheek Of rosy red beneath that jet black eye.'
And as saith another，'I marvel seeing yon mole that serves his cheeks' bright flame
Yet burneth not in fire albeit Infidel[470]
I wonder eke to see that apostolic glance，Miracle working，though it work by magic spell：
How fresh and bright the down that decks his cheek，and yet
Bursten gall bladders feed which e'en as waters well.'
And as saith another，'I marvel hearing people questioning of The Fount of Life and in what land'tis found：
I see it sprung from lips of dainty fawn，Sweet rosy mouth with green mustachio down'd：
And wondrous wonder'tis when Moses viewed That Fount，he rested not from weary round.'[471]
Now having developed such beauty，when he came to man's estate his loveliness increased，and it won for him many comrades and intimates；while every one who drew near to him wished that Taj al-Muluk Kharan might become Sultan after his father's death，and that he himself might be one of his Emirs.Then took he passionately to chasing and hunting which he would hardly leave for a single hour.His father，King Sulayman Shah，would have forbidden him the pursuit fearing for him the perils of the waste and the wild beasts；but he paid no heed to his warning voice.
And it so chanced that once upon a time he said to his attendants'Take ye ten days food and forage；' and，when they obeyed his bidding，he set out with his suite for sport and disport.They rode on into the desert and ceased not riding four days，till they came to a place where the ground was green，and they saw in it wild beasts grazing and trees with ripe fruit growing and springs flowing.Quoth Taj al-Muluk to his followers，'Set up the nets here and peg them in a wide ring and let our trysting place be at the mouth of the fence，in such a spot.' So they obeyed his words and staked out a wide circle with toils；and there gathered together a mighty matter of all kinds of wild beasts and gazelles，which cried out for fear of the men and threw themselves for fright in the face of the horses.Then they loosed on to them the hounds and lynxes[472] and hawks；[473] and they shot the quarry down with shafts which pierced their vitals；and，by the time they came to the further end of the net ring，they had taken a great number of the wild beasts，and the rest fled.Then Taj al-Muluk dismounted by the water side and bade the game be brought before himself，and divided it，after he had set apart the best of the beasts for his father，King Sulayman Shah，and despatched the game to him；and some he distributed among the officers of his court.He passed the night in that place，and when morning dawned there came up a caravan of merchants conveying negro slaves and white servants，and halted by the water and the green ground.When Taj al-Muluk saw them，he said to one of his companions，'Bring me news of yonder men and question them why they have halted in this place.'[474] So the messenger went up to them and addressed them，'Tell me who ye be，and answer me an answer without delay.'
