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 Mohammed
Son of the Sultan craved leave to return to his own motherland,
when his father-in-law gave him an hundred clusters of the
diamantine and smaragdine grapes, after which he farewelled the
King and taking his bride fared without the city. Here he found
expecting him the 'Aun, who, after causing them to fill their
ears with cotton, shouldered him, together with his wife, and
then flew with them through the firmament for two hours or so and
alighted with them near the capital of the Camphor Islands.
Presently Mohammed the Son of the Sultan took four clusters of
the emeralds and diamonds, and going in to the King laid them
before him and drew him back. The Sultan gazed upon them and
marvelled and cried, "Wallahi! doubtless this youth be a Magician
for that he hath covered a space of three hundred years in
three[FN#371] of coming and going, and this is amongst the
greatest of marvels." Presently he resumed, saying, "O Youth,
hast thou reached the city of the Sudan?" and the other replied,
"I have." The King continued, "What is its description and its
foundation and how are its gardens and its rills?" So he informed
him of all things required of him and the Sultan cried, "By
Allah, O Youth, thou deservest all thou askest of me." "I ask for
nothing," said the Prince, "save the birds," and the King, "O
Youth, there is with us in our town a Vulture which cometh every
year from behind Mount Kaf and pounceth upon the sons of this