the tree, whereupon she flew off and alit upon an ’old man’[FN#241] of clay hard by.  So it occurred to my mind, “By Allah, the Mother of Solomon biddeth me follow her and recover the value of the bull from yonder ‘old man.’” Presently I went up to it and digging therein suddenly came upon a crock[FN#242] full of gold wherefrom I took ten ashrafis, the value of the bull, and returned it to its place, saying, “Allah ensure thy weal, O Mother of Solomon.”  Then I walked back to my village and went in to my wife and said, “By Allah, verily the Mother of Solomon is of the righteous!  Lookye, she gave me these ten golden ducats to the price of our Roger.”  Said my wife, “And who may be the Mother of Solomon?” and I told her all that had befallen me especially in the matter of the crock of gold buried in the ‘old man.’  But after she heard my words she tarried until sundown; then, going to the land-mark she dug into it and carrying off the crock brought it home privily.  But I suspected her of so doing and said to her, “O woman, hast thou taken the good of the Mother of Solomon (and she of the righteous) after we have received from her the price of our Roger out of her own moneys?  And hast thou gone and appropriated her property?  By Allah, an thou restore it not to its stead even as it was, I will report to the Wali that my wife hath happened upon treasure-trove.”  And so saying I went forth from her.  Then she arose and got ready somewhat of dough for cooking with flesh-meat and, sending for a fisherman, bade him bring her a few fishes fresh-caught and all alive, and taking these inside the house she drew sweet water and sprinkled them therewith, and lastly she placed the dough and meat outside the house ready for nightfall.  Presently I returned and we supped, I and she; but ’twas my firm resolve to report my wife’s find to the Chief of Police.  We slept together till midnight when she awoke me saying, “O man, I have dreamed a dream, and this it is, that the sky hath rained down drink and meat and that the fishes have entered our house.”  I replied to her of my folly and the overmuch Bhang which disported in my head, “Let us get up and look.”  So we searched the inside of the house and we found the fishes, and the outside where we came upon the doughboy and flesh-meat; so we fell to picking it up, I and she, and broiling it and eating thereof till morning.  Then said I, “Do thou go and return the moneys of Solomon’s Mother to their own place.”  But she would not and flatly refused.—­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 Ninety-ninth Night,