Now the prince her brotherwho loved her with an exceeding lovemore than her sisterswas then newly returned from a journey and hearing her weeping and cryingcame in to her and said'What ails thee？ Tell me and conceal nought from me.'O my brother and my dear one，'answered she'if the palace be straitened upon thy fatherI will go out；and if he be resolved upon a foul thingI will separate myself from him，though he consent not to provide for me.'Quoth he'Tell me what means this talk and what has straitened thy breast and troubled thy humour.'O my brother and my dear one，'answered the princess'know that my father hath given me in marriage to a sorcererwho brought himas a gifta horse of black wood，and hath stricken him with his craft and his sorcery；butas for meI will none of himand wouldbecause of himI had never come into this world！'Her brother soothed her and comforted herthen betook himself to his father and said to him'What is this sorcerer to whom thou hast given my youngest sister in marriageand what is this present that he hath brought theeso that thou hast caused my sister to [almost]
die of chagrin？ It is not right that this should be.'
Now the Persian was standing by and when he heard the prince's wordshe was mortified thereby and filled with rageand the King said'O my sonan thou sawest this horsethy wit would be confounded and thou wouldst be filled with amazement.'Then he bade the slaves bring the horse before him and they did so；and when the princewho was an accomplished cavaliersaw it，it pleased him. So he mounted it forthright and struck its belly with the stirrup-irons；but it stirred not and the King said to the sage'Go and show him its movementthat he also may help thee to thy wish.'Now the Persian bore the prince malice for that he willed not he should have his sister；so he showed him the peg of ascent on the right side [of the horse's neck] and saying to him'Turn this pin，'left him. So the prince turned the pin and forthwith the horse soared with him into the airas it were a birdand gave not over flying with himtill it disappeared from sightwhereat the King was troubled and perplexed about his affair and said to the Persian'O sagelook how thou mayst make him descend.'But he answered'O my lordI can do nothingand thou wilt never see him again till the Day of Resurrectionfor that heof his ignorance and conceitasked me not of the peg of descent and I forgot to acquaint him therewith.'When the King heard thishe was sore enraged and bade beat the sorcerer and clap him in prisonwhilst he himself cast the crown from his head and buffeted his face and beat upon his breast. Moreoverhe shut the doors of his palaces and gave himself up to weeping and lamentationhe and his wife and daughters and all the folk of the city；and [thus] their joy was turned to mourning and their gladness changed into chagrin and sore affliction.
Meanwhilethe horse gave not over soaring with the prince，till he drew near the sunwhereat he gave himself up for lost and was confounded at his caserepenting him of having mounted the horse and saying in himself'Verilythis was a plot of the sage to destroy me；but there is no power and no virtue but in God the Most Highthe Supreme！ I am lost without recourse；
butI wonderdid not he who made the peg of ascent make a peg of descent also？'Now he was a man of wit and intelligence；so he fell to examining all the parts of the horsebut saw nothing save a peglike a cock's headon its right shoulder and the like on the leftand turned the right-hand peg，whereupon the horse flew upward with increased speed. So he left it and turned the left-hand pegand immediately the steed's upward motion ceased and he began to descendlittle by littletowards the earth. When the prince saw this and knew the uses of the horsehe was filled with joy and gladness and thanked God the Most High for that He had vouchsafed to deliver him from destruction. Then he began to turn the horse's head whither he wouldmaking him rise and fall at pleasuretill he had gotten complete command of his movement.
He ceased not to descend the whole of that dayfor that the steed's upward flight had borne him afar from the earth；and as he descendedhe diverted himself with viewing the various towns and countries over which he passed and which he knew not，having never seen them in his life. Amongst the resthe saw a city of the goodliest ordinancein the midst of a green and smiling countryabounding in trees and streams；whereat he fell a-musing and said in himself'Would I knew the name of yonder city and in what country it is！'And he began to circle about it and observe it right and left. By this timethe day began to wane and the sun drew near to its setting；and he said'I see no goodlier place to pass the night in than this city；so I will lodge here this night and on the morrow I will return to my people and my kingdom and tell my father and family what has passed and what I have seen with my eyes.'Then he addressed himself to look for a placewhere he might safely bestow himself and his horse and where none should see himand presently espied a palacesurrounded by a great wall with lofty battlementsrising high into the air from the midst of the city and guarded by forty black slavesclad in complete mail and armed with spears and swords and bows and arrows.
Quoth he'This is a goodly place，'and turned the peg of descentwhereupon the horse sank down with him and alighted gently on the roof of the palace. So the prince dismounted and began to go round about the horse and examine itsaying'By Allahhe who fashioned thee was a cunning craftsmanand if God extend the term of my life and restore me to my country and family in safety and reunite me with my fatherI will assuredly bestow upon him all manner of bounties and entreat him with the utmost favour.'
