第17章

whence art thou？Who is thy father and what hath emboldened thee to debauch my daughter？'Replied the Prince，'Know，O King，that if thou put me to death，thou art a lost man，and thou and all in thy dominions will repent the deed.'Quoth the King，'How so？'；and quoth Taj alMuluk'Know that I am the son of King Sulayman Shah，and ere thou knowest it，he will be upon thee with his horse and foot.'When King Shahriman heard these words he would have deferred killing Taj alMuluk and would rather have put him in prison，till he should look into the truth of his words；but his Wazir said to him，'O King of the Age，it is my opinion that thou make haste to slay this gallows bird who dares debauch the daughters of Kings.'So the King cried to the headsman，'Strike off his head；for he is a traitor.'Accordingly，the herdsman took him and bound him fast and raised his hand to the Emirs，signing to consult them，a first and a second signal，thinking thereby to gain time in this matter；[52] but the King cried in anger to him，'How long wilt thou consult others？If thou consult them again I will strike off thine own head.；' So the headsman raised his hand till the hair of his armpit showed' and was about to smite his neck，And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the One Hundred and Thirtysixth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the headsman raised his hand to smite off his head when behold，loud cries arose and the folk closed their shops；whereupon the King said to the headsman，'Wait awhile，'and despatched one to learn the news.The messenger fared forth and presently returned and reported，'I saw an army like the dashing sea with its clashing surge： and their horses curvetting till earth trembleth with the tramp；and I know no more of them.'When the King heard this，he was confounded and feared for his realm lest it should be torn from him；so he turned to his Minister and said，'Have not any of our army gone forth to meet this army？'But ere he had done speaking，his Chamberlains entered with messengers from the King who was approaching，and amongst them the Wazir who had accompanied Taj alMuluk.They began by saluting the King，who rose to receive them and bade them draw near，and asked the cause of their coming；whereupon the Minister came forward from amongst them and stood before him and said'Know that he who hath come down upon thy realm is no King like unto the Kings of yore and the Sultans that went before.'And who is he？'asked Shahriman，and the Wazir answered，'He is the Lord of justice and loyalty，the bruit of whose magnanimity the caravans have blazed abroad，the Sultan Sulayman Shah，Lord of the Green Land and the Two Columns and the Mountains of Ispahan；he who loveth justice and equity，and hateth oppression and iniquity.And he saith to thee that his son is with thee and in thy city；his son，his heart's very core and the fruit of his loins，and if he find him in safety，his aim is won and thou shalt have thanks and praise；but if he have been lost from thy realm or if aught of evil have befallen him，look thou for ruin and the wasting of thy reign！

for this thy city shall become a wold wherein the raven shall croak.Thus have I done my errand to thee and peace be with thee！'Now when King Shahriman heard from the messenger these words，his heart was troubled and he feared for his kingdom： so he cried out for his Grandees and Ministers，Chamberlains and Lieutenants；and，when they appeared，he said to them，'Woe to you！ Go down and search for the youth.'Now the Prince was still under the headsman's hands，but he was changed by the fright he had undergone.Presently，the Wazir，chancing to glance around，saw the Prince on the rug of blood and recognised him；so he arose and threw himself upon him，and so did the other envoys.

Then they proceeded to loose his bonds and they kissed his hands and feet，whereupon Taj alMuluk opened his eyes and，recognising his father's Wazir and his friend Aziz，fell down a fainting for excess of delight in them.When King Shahriman made sure that the coming of this army was indeed because of this youth，he was confounded and feared with great fear；so he went up to Taj al Muluk and，kissing his head，said to him，'O my son，be not wroth with me，neither blame the sinner for his sin；but have compassion on my grey hairs，and waste not my realm.'Whereupon Taj alMuluk drew near unto him and kissing his hand，replied，'No harm shall come to thee，for indeed thou art to me as my father；but look that nought befal my beloved，the Lady Dunya！'

Rejoined the King，'O my lord！ fear not for her；naught but joy shall betide her；'and he went on to excuse himself and made his peace with Sulayman Shah's Wazir to whom he promised much money，if he would conceal from the King what he had seen.Then he bade his Chief Officers take the Prince with them and repair to the Hammam and clothe him in one of the best of his own suits and bring him back speedily.So they obeyed his bidding and bore him to the bath and clad him in the clothes which King Shahriman had set apart for him；and brought him back to the presence chamber.

When he entered the King rose to receive him and made all his Grandees stand in attendance on him.Then Taj alMuluk sat down to converse with his father's Wazir and with Aziz，and he acquainted them with what had befallen him；after which they said to him，'During that delay we returned to thy father and gave him to know that thou didst enter the palace of the Princess and didst not return therefrom，and thy case seemed doubtful to us.

But when thy sire heard of this he mustered his forces；then we came to this land and indeed our coming hath brought to thee relief in extreme case and to us great joy.'Quoth he，'Good fortune hath attended your every action，first and last.'While this was doing King Shahriman went in to his daughter Princess Dunya，and found her wailing and weeping for Taj alMuluk.