thy story, O sister mine, and how 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 Three Hundred and Forty-fourth 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 the Sultan
of Cairo continued:[FN#58]--So I took it and repaired with it to
the King of that city, and a slave whom the youth had bought bore
the bundle. Now when I approached the Palace I found thereabout
the Chamberlains and Eunuchs and Lords of the Land: so I drew
near them and when they saw me in that suit they approved my
appearance and questioned me saying, "What be thy business and
what dost thou require?" I replied, "My wish is to have audience
of the King," and they rejoined, "Wait a little while till we
obtain for thee his permission." Then one of the ushers went in
and reported the matter to the Sultan who gave orders to admit
me; so the man came out and led me within and on entering the
presence I salamed to the Sovran and wished him welfare and
presently set before him the bundle, saying, "O King of the Age,
this be in the way of a gift which besitteth my station not thine
estate." The Sultan bade the package be spread out, and he looked
into it and saw a suit of royal apparel whose like he never had
owned. So he was astonished at the sight and said in his mind,