quoth the other, “O King’s son, thou hast had enough of strangerhood and its sufferings; Alhamdolillah,—­praised be Allah who hath brought thee hither!  So now do thou abide with me, that I may enjoy thy company till I die, when thou shalt become King over this island, to which no bound is known, and these apes thou seest are indeed skilled in all manner of crafts; and whatso thou seekest here shalt thou find.”  Replied Sayf al-Muluk, “O my brother I may not tarry in any place till my wish be won, albeit I compass the whole world in pursuit thereof and make quest of every one so peradventure Allah may bring me to my desire or my course lead me to the place wherein is the appointed term of my days, and I shall die my death.”  Then the youth turned with a sign to one of the apes, and he went out and was absent awhile, after which he returned with other apes girt with silken zones.[FN#411] They brought the trays and set on near[FN#412] an hundred chargers of gold and saucers of silver, containing all manner of meats.  Then they stood, after the manner of servants between the hands of Kings, till the youth signalled to the Chamberlains, who sat down, and he whose wont it was to serve stood, whilst the two Princes ate their sufficiency.  Then the apes cleared the table and brought basins and ewers of gold, and they washed their hands in rose water; after which they set on fine sugar and nigh forty flagons, in each a different kind of wine, and they drank and took their pleasure and made merry and had a fine time.  And all the apes danced and gambolled before them, what while the eaters sat at meat; which when Sayf al-Muluk saw, he marvelled at them and forgot that which had befallen him of sufferings.—­And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

    When it was the Seven Hundred and Sixty-eighth Night,

She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sayf al-Muluk saw the gestures and gambols of the apes, he marvelled thereat and forgot that which had betided him of strangerhood and its sufferings.  At nightfall they lighted waxen candles in candlesticks of gold studded with gems and set on dishes of confections and fruits of sugar-candy.  So they ate; and when the hour of rest was come, the apes spread them bedding and they slept.  And when morning morrowed, the young man arose, as was his wont, before sunrise and waking Sayf al-Muluk said to him, “Put thy head forth of this lattice and see what standeth beneath it.”  So he put out his head and saw the wide waste and all the wold filled with apes, whose number none knew save Allah Almighty.  Quoth he, “Here be great plenty of apes, for they cover the whole country:  but why are they assembled at this hour?” Quoth the youth, “This is their custom.  Every Sabbath,[FN#413] all the apes in the island come hither, some from two and three days’ distance, and stand here till I awake from sleep and put forth my head from this lattice, when they kiss ground before me and go about their