he reached his own country and so he won his wish.  “See, then, O King” (said the damsel), “the malice of men and their wiles.  Now thy Wazirs hinder thee from doing me justice on thy son; but to-morrow we shall stand, both thou and I, before the Just Judge, and He shall do me justice on thee, O King.”  When the King heard this, he commanded to put his son to death; but the fifth Wazir came in to him and kissing the ground before him, said, “O mighty King, delay and hasten not to slay thy son:  speed will oftentimes repentance breed; and I fear for thee lest thou repent, even as did the man who never laughed for the rest of his days.”  “And how was that, O Wazir?” asked the King.  Quoth he, “I have heard tell, O King, this tale concerning

The Man who never Laughed during the Rest of his Days.

There was once a man who was rich in lands and houses and monies and goods, eunuchs and slaves, and he died and went to the mercy of Allah the Most High; leaving a young son, who, when he grew up, gave himself to feasting and carousing and hearing music and singing and the loud laughter of parasites; and he wasted his substance in gifts and prodigality till he had squandered all the money his father left him, —­And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

     When it was the Five Hundred and Eighty-eighth Night,

She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the young man, when he had squandered all the money his father had left him and naught thereof remained to him, betook himself to selling his slaves and handmaids, lands and houses and spent the proceeds on like wise, till he was reduced to beggary and must needs labour for his living.  He abode thus a year’s space, at the end of which time he was sitting one day under a wall, awaiting who should hire him when behold, there came up to him an old man of comely aspect and apparel and saluted him.  The young man asked, “O uncle, hast thou known me aforetime?” and the other answered, “Not so, O my son, I know thee not at all, at all; but I see the trace of gentle breeding on thee despite thy present case.”  “O uncle, " rejoined the poor man, “needs must Fate and Fortune be accomplished; but, O uncle, O bright of blee, hast thou any occasion wherein thou wouldst employ me?” Said the other, “I wish, O my son, to employ thee in a slight matter.”  “What is it?” quoth the young man, and quoth the stranger, “We are eleven old men in one house, but we have none to serve us; so an thou wilt stay and take service with us, thou shalt have food and clothing to thy heart’s content, besides what cometh to thee of coin and other good; and haply Allah will restore thee thy fortune by our means.”  Replied the youth, “Hearkening and obedience!” “But I have a condition to impose on thee.”  “What is that?” “O my son, it is that thou keep our secret in what thou seest us do, and if thou see us weep, that thou question us not of the cause of our weeping.”  “It