hand, said to him, “O my lord, I am thine hand-maid and thou art the ruler over me; so whatever liketh thee do that same, inasmuch as thy wish is higher and honourabler and holier than mine and if thou wouldst have me serve thee as a hand-maid for the rest of my life, ’twere fairer to me than any mate.”  The king commended her speech and conferred on her a robe of honour and gave her magnificent gifts; after which, his choice having fallen upon his younger son, Malik Shah, he wedded her with him and made him his heir apparent and bade the folk swear fealty to him.  When this reached his brother Bahluwan and he was ware that his younger brother had by favour been preferred over him, his breast was straitened and the affair was sore to him and envy entered in to him and hate; but he hid this in his heart, whilst fire raged therein because of the damsel and the dominion.  Meanwhile Shah Khatun went in bridal splendour to the king’s son and conceived by him and bare a son, as he were the illuming moon.  When Bahluwan saw this betide his brother, envy and jealousy overcame him; so he went in one night to his father’s palace and coming to his brother’s chamber, saw the nurse sleeping at the door, with the cradle before her and therein his brother’s child asleep.  Bahluwan stood by him and fell to looking upon his face, whose radiance was as that of the moon, and Satan insinuated himself into his heart, so that he bethought himself and said, “Why be not this babe mine?  Verily, I am worthier of him than my brother; yea, and of the damsel and the dominion.”  Then the idea got the mastery of him and anger drave him, so that he took out a knife, and setting it to the child’s gullet, cut his throat and would have severed his windpipe.  So he left him for dead and entering his brother’s chamber, saw him asleep, with the Princess by his side, and thought to slay her, but said to himself, “I will leave the girl-wife for myself.”  Then he went up to his brother and cutting his throat, parted head from body, after which he left him and went away.  But now the world was straitened upon him and his life was a light matter to him and he sought the lodging of his sire Sulayman Shah, that he might slay him also, but could not get admission to him.  So he went forth from the palace and hid himself in the city till the morrow, when he repaired to one of his father’s fortalices and therein fortified himself.  On this wise it was with him; but as regards the nurse, she presently awoke that she might give the child suck, and seeing the cradle running with blood, cried out; whereupon the sleepers started up and the king was aroused and making for the place, found the child with his throat cut and the bed running over with blood and his father dead with a slit weasand in his sleeping chamber.  They examined the child and found life in him and his windpipe whole and they sewed up the place of the wound:  then the king sought his son Bahluwan, but found him not and saw that he had fled; so he