for his life and, being skilled in the practice of every weapon, she escaped the notice of the Queen-dowager and after donning her war-garb and battle-gear she went forth to the stable and saddled her a mare and mounted her and pushed in between the two armies.  And as soon as she saw the usurper charge down upon the young King as one determined to shed his life’s blood, she forestalled him and attacked him and tore out the life from between his ribs.  Then she returned to her apartment nor did any know of the deed she had done.  Presently, when it was eventide the young King entered the Palace after securing his succession to royalty; but he was still chafed and vexed for that he knew not the Knight.  His mother met him and gave him joy of his safety and his accession to the Sultanate, whereto he made reply, “Ah!  O my mother, my length of days was from the hand of a horseman who suddenly appearing joined us in our hardest stress and aided me in my straitest need and saved me from Death.”  Quoth she, “O my son, hast thou recognised him?” and quoth he, “’Twas my best desire to discover him and to stablish him as my Wazir, but this I failed to do.”  Now when the Princess heard these words she laughed and rejoiced and still laughing said, “To whoso will make thee acquainted with him what wilt thou give?” and said he, “Dost thou know him?” So she replied, “I wot him not” and he rejoined, “Then what is the meaning of these thy words?” when she answered him in these prosaic rhymes:[FN#175]—­

“O my lord, may I prove thy sacrifice * Nor exult at thy sorrows
     thine enemies! 
Could unease and disease by others be borne * The slave should
     bear load on his lord that lies: 
I’ll carry whatever makes thee complain * And be my body the
     first that dies.”

When he heard these words he again asked, “Dost thou know him?” and she answered, “He?  Verily we wot him not;"[FN#176] and repeated the saying to him a second time:  withal he by no means understood her.  So quoth she, “How canst thou administer the Sultanate and yet fail to comprehend my simple words?  For indeed I have made the case clear to thee.”  Hereupon he fathomed the secret of the saying and flew to her in his joy and clasped her to his bosom and kissed her upon the cheeks.  But his mother turned to him and said, “O my son, do not on this wise, for everything hath its time and season;”—­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 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 Seventy-fourth Night,