pass the night. And if any approached him with intent of
capturing him, he would sit afar from the same and at set of sun
he would take station upon the cage and would cry aloud speaking
in a plaintive voice, "Ho thou who sayest to the mean and
mesquin, 'Lodge!'[FN#294] Ho thou who sayest to the sad and
severed, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the woeful and doleful,
'Lodge!'" Then if these words were grievous to the man standing
before him and he make reply "Lodge!" ere the words could leave
his lips the Bird would take a pinch of dust from beside the cage
and hovering over the wight's head would scatter it upon him and
turn him into stone. At length arrived the youth who had resolved
to seize the Bird and sat afar from him till set of sun: then
Philomelet came and stood upon his cage and cried, "Ho thou who
sayest to the mean and mesquin, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to
the sad and severed, 'Lodge!' Ho thou who sayest to the woeful
and the doleful, 'Lodge!'" Now the cry was hard upon the young
Prince and his heart was softened and he said, "Lodge!" This was
at the time when the sun was disappearing, and as soon as he
spake the word the Bird took a somewhat of dust and scattered it
upon the head of the youth, who forthright became a stone. At
that time his brother was sitting at home in thought concerning
the wanderer, when behold, the signet squeezed his finger and he
cried, "Verily my brother hath been despoiled of life and done to
death!"--And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell
silent and ceased saying 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