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 the Queen
continued, "And Satan tempted me and made the sin fair in my
sight. So I went up to the Kitchener, attired and adorned as I
was in my finest apparel and I fell a-jesting with him and
provoking him and disporting with him till his passions were
excited by me: so he tumbled me at that very hour, after which he
arose and slaughtered one of the birds and went his ways. Then I
bade the handmaids sprinkle water on the fowl and clean it and
cook it; and they did my bidding. After a while symptoms of
pregnancy declared themselves in me and became evident; and when
the King heard that his Queen was with child, he waxed gladsome
and joyful and gave alms and scattered gifts and bestowed robes
upon his Officers of State and others till the day of my delivery
and I bare a babe--which is thyself. Now at that time the Sultan
was hunting and birding and enjoying himself about the gardens
all of his pleasure at the prospect of becoming a father; and
when the bearer of good news went to him and announced the birth
of a man-child he hurried back to me and forthright bade them
decorate the capital and he found the report true; so the city
adorned itself for forty days in honour of its King. Such is my
case and my tale."[FN#47] Thereupon the King went forth from her
to the Sharper and bade him doff his dress and when this had been
done he doffed his own raiment and habited the man in royal gear
and hooded him with the Taylasan[FN#48] and asked him saying,
"What proof hast thou of my being a son of adultery?" The Sharper
answered, "O my lord, my proof was thy bidding our being