Now when it was mid-afternoon behold, the Jew came to the Synagogue and found a bonfire and all the furniture thereof lying in ashes and when he saw this he buffeted his face and cried, “Wherefore, O Moslem, hast thou done on such wise?” Replied the youth, “Thou hast defrauded me, O Master,” and rejoined the Jew, “I have not cheated thee of aught.  However, O Moslem, hie thee home and bid thy mistress slaughter a meat-offering and cook it and do thou bring it hither forthright.” “’Tis well, O my Master,” said the Prince.  Now the Jew had two boy children in whom he delighted and the youth going to his house knocked at the door which was opened to him by the Jewess and she asked, “What needest thou?” Quoth the Prince to the Jew’s wife, “O my mistress, my master hath sent me to thee saying, ’Do thou slaughter the two lambs that are with thee and fifty chickens and an hundred pair[FN#307] of pigeons,’ for all the masters are with him in the Synagogue and ’tis his desire to circumcise the boys."[FN#308] The Jew’s wife replied to him, “And who shall slaughter me all this?” when he rejoined, “I will.”  So she brought out to him the lambs and the chickens and the pigeons and he cut the throats of all.  The Jewess hereupon arose and cried upon her neighbours to aid her in the cooking until the meats were well done and all were dished up.  Then the youth hending the ten porcelain plates in hand went with them to a house in the Ghetto[FN#309] and rapped at the door and said, “My Master hath sent all these to you.”  Meanwhile the Jew was in the Synagogue unknowing of such doings; and as the Prince was setting down the last of the plates which he carried with him, behold! the Jew came to that house because he had noticed his servant’s absence, so he repaired thither to see concerning the business of the meat offering wherewith he had charged him.  He found his home in a state of pother and up-take and down-set and he asked the folk, “What is the matter?” They related the whole to him and said, “Thou sentest to demand such-and-such,” and when he heard this case he beat his face with his brogue[FN#310]—­And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.  Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Seven Hundred and Twelfth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale, that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night.”  She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that, when the Jew came to his home and looked around, he found it in the condition