and I would have thee make this public, so thy father may joy in that which he seeth upon thee.”  She rejoined “With love and gladness,” and arising forthwith, betook herself to the house of her father, who rejoiced in her coming and in that which he saw upon her; and she abode with him a month’s space, and her husband made no mention of her.  Then came her brother to him and said, “O Firuz, an thou wilt not acquaint me with the reason of thine anger against thy wife, come and plead with us before the king.”  Quoth he, “If ye will have me plead with you, I will e’en plead.”  So they went to the king and found the Kazi sitting with him; whereupon the damsel’s brother began, “Allah assist our lord the Kazi!  I let this man on hire a flower-garden, high-walled, with a well well-conditioned and trees fruit-laden; but he beat down its walls and ruined its well and ate its fruits, and now he desireth to return it to me.”  The Kazi turned to Firuz and asked him, “What sayest thou, O youth?” when he answered, “Indeed, I delivered him the garden in better case than it was before.”  So the Kazi said to the brother, “Hath he delivered to thee the garden, as he avoucheth?” And the pleader replied, “No; but I desire to question him of the reason of his returning it.”  Quoth the Kazi, “What sayest thou, O youth?” And quoth Firuz, “I returned it willy nilly, because I entered it one day and saw the trail of the lion; so I feared lest an I entered it again, the lion should devour me.  Wherefore that which I did, I did of reverence to him and for fear of him.”  Now the king was leaning back upon the cushion, and when he heard the young man’s words, he comprehended the purport thereof; so he sat up and said, “Return to thy flower-garden in all ease of heart; for, by Allah, never saw I the like of thy garth nor stronger of guard than its walls over its trees!” So Firuz returned to his wife, and the Kazi knew not the truth of the affair, no, nor any of those who were in that assembly, save the king and the husband and the wife’s brother.

King Shah Bakht and his Wazir
al-Rahwan.[FN#295]

They relate that there was once, in days of yore and in bygone ages and times long gone before, a king of the kings of the time, Shah Bakht hight, who had troops and servants and guards in hosts and a Wazir called Al-Rahwan, who was learned, understanding, a loyal counsellor and a cheerful acceptor of the commandments of Almighty Allah, to whom belong Honour and Glory.  The king committed to this Minister the affairs of his kingdom and his lieges and spake according to his word, and in this way he abode a long space of time.  Now this Wazir had many foes, who envied his position and sought to do him harm, but thereunto found no way and the Lord, in His immemorial fore-knowledge and His fore-ordinance decreed that the king dreamt that the Minister Al-Rahwan gave him a fruit from off a tree and he ate it and died.  So he awoke,