brought them to her in haste, and they were three boy children,
one walking, one crawling and one sucking. She took them and
setting them before the King, again kissed the ground and said,
"O King of the age, these are thy children and I crave that thou
release me from the doom of death, as a dole to these infants;
for, an thou kill me, they will become motherless and will find
none among women to rear them as they should be reared." When the
King heard this, he wept and straining the boys to his bosom,
said, "By Allah, O Shahrazad, I pardoned thee before the coming
of these children, for that I found thee chaste, pure, ingenuous
and pious! Allah bless thee and thy father and thy mother and thy
root and thy branch! I take the Almighty to witness against me
that I exempt thee from aught that can harm thee." So she kissed
his hands and feet and rejoiced with exceeding joy, saying, The
Lord make thy life long and increase thee in dignity and
majesty[FN#111]!"; presently adding, "Thou marvelledst at that
which befel thee on the part of women; yet there betided the
Kings of the Chosroes before thee greater mishaps and more
grievous than that which hath befallen thee, and indeed I have
set forth unto thee that which happened to Caliphs and Kings and
others with their women, but the relation is longsome and
hearkening groweth tedious, and in this is all sufficient warning
for the man of wits and admonishment for the wise." Then she
ceased to speak, and when King Shahriyar heard her speech and
profited by that which she said, he summoned up his reasoning
powers and cleansed his heart and caused his understanding revert
and turned to Allah Almighty and said to himself, "Since there
befel the Kings of the Chosroes more than that which hath
befallen me, never, whilst I live, shall I cease to blame myself
for the past. As for this Shahrazad, her like is not found in the