none of them come up with him and when they were tired they
returned from the chase and stinted not walking until they
entered the tent. There they found the Shaykh breathless nor
could he move save to make signs; so they sprinkled a little
water upon his face; and the life returned to him and he said to
them, "Verily the owner of the calf came to me and beat me till
he killed me and the wight who cried, 'I am the owner of the
calf' is an accomplice of his." Thereupon all waxed furious and
the Elder said to them, "Bear me home and give out that your
Shakyh is deceased; after which do you bathe my body and carry me
to the cemetery and bury me by night and next morning disinter me
so that the owner of this calf may hear that I am dead and leave
me in peace. Indeed as long as I continue in this condition he
will devise for me device after device and some day will come in
to me and kill me downright." They did what their Shaykh bade
them and began crying and keening and saying, "Verily our Chief
is deceased," so that the report was bruited abroad that the
Shaykh of the Vagabonds had died. But I, the owner of the calf,
said to myself, "By Allah, an he be dead, they will assuredly
make for him some mourning ceremony." Now when they had washed
him and shrouded him and carried him out upon the bier, and were
proceeding to the graveyard that they might bury him, and had
reached half way to it, lo and behold! I joined the funeral train
and suddenly walking under the coffin with a sharp
packing-needle[FN#337] in hand,--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 is thy story, O
sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable." Quoth she, "And
where is this compared with that I should relate to you on the
coming night an the King suffer me to survive?" Now when it was