said to the Bhang-eater, "O man, fearest thou not aught from the
Sovran, thou and thy friend; and are ye sitting up until this
hour?" He replied, "The Sultan himself often fareth forth at such
untimely time, and as he is a King even so am I, and yonder man
is my Basha: moreover, if the ruler think to make japery of us,
we are his equals and more." Thereupon the Sultan turned to his
Wazir and said by signals, "I purpose to strike off the heads of
these fellows;" and said the Minister in the same way, "O King,
needs must they have a story, for no man with his wits in his
head would have uttered such utterance. But patience were our
bestest plan." Then cried the Bhang-eater to the Sultan, "O man,
whenever we say a syllable, thou signallest to thine associate.
What is it thou wouldst notify to him and we not understanding
it? By Allah, unless thou sit respectfully in our presence we
will bid our Basha strike off thy pate!"--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 Sovran suffer me to survive?"
Now when it was the next night and that was

The Three Hundred and Ninety-fifth 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 deed fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that when the