prayers accepted of Allah, wherewith I might have gotten me my good, both in this world and in the next, and now two wishes are gone in pure waste, by thy lewd will, and there remaineth but one.”  Quoth she, “Pray Allah the Most High to restore thee thy yard as it was.”  So he prayed to his Lord and his prickle was restored to its first estate.  Thus the man lost his three wishes by the ill counsel and lack of wit in the woman; “And this, O King” (said the Wazir), “have I told thee, that thou mightest be certified of the thoughtlessness of women and their inconsequence and silliness and see what cometh of hearkening to their counsel.  Wherefore be not persuaded by them to slay thy son, thy heart’s core, who shall cause thy remembrance to survive thee.”  The King gave ear to his Minister’s words and forbore to put his son to death; but, on the seventh day, the damsel came in, shrieking, and after lighting a great fire in the King’s presence, made as she would cast herself therein; whereupon they laid hands on her and brought her before him.  He asked her, “Why hast thou done this?”; and she answered, “Except thou do me justice on thy son, I will cast myself into this very fire and accuse thee of this on the Day of Resurrection, for I am a-weary of my life, and before coming into thy presence I wrote my last will and testament and gave alms of my goods and resolved upon death.  And thou wilt repent with all repentance, even as did the King of having punished the pious woman who kept the Hammam.”  Quoth the King, “How was that?” and quoth she, “I have heard tell, O King, this tale concerning

The Stolen Necklace.

There was once a devotee, a recluse, a woman who had devoted herself to religion.  Now she used to resort to a certain King’s palace,[FN#217] whose dwellers were blessed by her presence and she was held of them in high honour.  One day she entered that palace according to her custom and sat down beside the King’s wife.  Presently the Queen gave her a necklace, worth a thousand dinars, saying, “Keep this for me, O woman, whilst I go to the Hammam.”  So she entered the bath, which was in the palace, and the pious woman remaining in the place where the Queen was and awaiting her return laid the necklace on the prayer-carpet and stood up to pray.  As she was thus engaged, there came a magpie[FN#218] which snatched up the necklace, while she went out to obey a call of nature and carrying it off, hid it inside a crevice in a corner of the palace-walls.  When the Queen came out of the bath, she sought the necklace of the recluse, who also searched for it, but found it not nor could light on any trace of it; so she said to the King’s wife, “By Allah, O my daughter, none hath been with me.  When thou gavest me the necklace, I laid it on the prayer-carpet, and I know not if one of the servants saw it and took it without my heed, whilst I was engaged in prayer.  Almighty Allah only knoweth what is come of it!” When the King heard what had happened, he bade his Queen put the bath-woman to the question by fire and grievous blows, —­And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.