nothing about our cadet.”  However, the King who loved his youngest with exceeding love put the question, “Have ye not looked after him and have ye not been in his company?” whereto they answered saying, “A certain wayfarer declared to have seen him on some path or other.”  When the father heard this from them he cried, “There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;” and he fell to striking palm upon palm.[FN#297] On this wise it befel these, but as regards the case of their brother, when they cast him into the well he awoke from his sleep and he felt himself falling into the depths, so he cried, “I take refuge with the All-sufficient Words of Allah[FN#298] from the mischief He hath created.”  And by the blessing of these Holy Names he reached the sole of the well without aught of harm or hurt.  Here finding himself pinioned, he strained upon his bonds and loosed them; but the well was deep of bottom and he came upon an arched recess, so he sat in it and exclaimed, “Verily we are Allah’s and to Him we are returning and I who wrought for them such work[FN#299] am rewarded with the contrary thereof; withal the power is unto Allah.”  And suddenly he heard the sound of speaking at some little distance beside him, and the voice was saying, “O Black of Head, who hath come amongst us?” and his comrade responded, “By Allah, this youth is the son of the Sultan and his best beloved, and the same hath released his brothers from sorcery and was carrying them to their homes when they played him false and cast him into this well.  However, he hath a signet-ring with a bezel which if he rub ’twill bespeak him with whatso he desireth, and will do what he may wish.”  So the Prince said in his mind, “I bid the Servant of this Ring to take me out;” after which he rubbed it and the Jinni appeared and cried, “Yea verily, O son of the Sultan, what is it thou requirest of me?”—­And Shahrazad was surprised by the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased to say her permitted say.  Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet is thy story, O sister mine, and how enjoyable and delectable!” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I should 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 Four Hundred and Twenty-third 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 Ring-bezel said to him, “What dost thou require of me?” and said the Prince, “I demand that thou hoist me out of the well:  and this done that thou summon for me an host with Pages and Eunuchs and tents and pavilions and ensigns and banners.”  Whereto the other replied, “Present."[FN#300] Then he