into some dark hole or out-of-the-way place; --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 and
tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and 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 Four Hundred and Second 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 Abu Kasim
the Drummer continued to the Sultan; I resolved to throw it into
some dark hole or out-of-the-way place; and presently I came to
the watercloset of the Hammam and cast it into the conduit
saying, "Now shall none ever see it again; nor shall I be
troubled with its foul aspect for the rest of my life." Then I
returned home and abode there the first day and the second, but
about noon on the third a party of the Governor's men came and
seized me and bore me before him; and no sooner did he see me
than he cried out, "Throw him!" Accordingly they laid me out at
fullest length and gave me an hundred cuts with a scourge[FN#252]
which I bore stoutly and presently said, "O my Sultan,[FN#253]
what be the cause of this fustigation and wherefor do they
oppress me?" Said he, "O man, the conduit[FN#254] of the jakes
attached to the Mosque was choked by thy slipper and the flow,