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 King fell into the pit (and he disguised in Darwaysh-garb) the thieves sought to slay him and carry off his clothes, when quoth he to them, “Wherefore kill me when my garments are not worth a thousand groats[FN#324] and I own not a single one?  However, I have at hand a handicraft whereat I am ready to work sitting in this pit and do you take and sell my produce for a thousand faddahs; and every day I will labour for you, finishing one and requiring naught save my meat and drink and perpetual privacy in your quarters.”  “At what craft art thou crafty?” asked they, and he answered, “At mat-weaving:  so do ye bring me a piastre[FN#325] worth of rushes[FN#326] and the same of yarn.”  Accordingly they fared forth and fetched him his need and presently he made a mat and said to them, “Take ye this and sell it not for less than a thousand faddahs.”  They hied out and carried the work to the Bazar where, as soon as the folk caught sight thereof, they crowded about the seller, each man offering more until the price had risen to a thousand and two hundred silvern nusfs.  Hereupon said the thieves to themselves, “By Allah, this Darwaysh can profit us with much profit and enrich us without other trade;” so every morning for ten days they brought him rushes and yarn and he wove for them a mat which they vended for a like sum.  On this wise it happened to him; but as regards the Wazirs and Emirs and lords of the land, they went up to the Council-chamber[FN#327] for the first day and the second and the third until the week was ended and they awaited the coming of their King, but he came not, neither found they any tidings nor hit they upon any manifest traces and none knew whither he had wended.  So they were sore exercised and confusion befel with much tittle-tattle of folk; each one said his own say nor were they guided by any to what they should do.  Furthermore, as often as they asked of the Harem they were answered, “We have no tidings of him;” so they were perplext and at last they agreed, their King being clean lost, to set up a Sultan as his successor.  However the Wazirs said, “Tarry ye until Allah shall open unto us a door whereby we shall be rightly directed to him.”  Now the King had required from the people of the pit rushes of various colours, red and green, and when they fetched them he fell to weaving a mat like those of the striped sort, whereon he figured by marks and signs the name of the quarter wherein he was gaoled[FN#328] and discovered to his men the way thereto and the site itself; after which he said to the thieves, “Verily this mat misfitteth every save those in the Royal Palace and its price