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 Prince went forth from his father with a train of five attendants and made for the wilderness, and he conjoined the journeys of night and day; withal he knew not whither he was going, and he chanced travel over the same wilds and wolds and dales and stony leas.  But as regards the Merchant and his daughter, he went in to her one day of the days and found her weeping and wailing, so he said to her, “What causeth thee to shed tears, O my child?” and said she, “How shall I not weep? indeed I must wail over my lot, and over the promise wherewith Allah promised me.”  Hereupon he exclaimed, “O my daughter, be silent and Inshallah—­God willing—­ I will equip me for travel and will fare to the son of the King; and look to it, for haply Allah Almighty our Lord may direct me to a somewhat shall conduct me to the Prince’s city.”  So saying he bade his handmaidens and eunuchs make ready forthright a viaticum sufficing for a full-told year himself and his following of pages and eunuchs, and they did his bidding.  After a few days they prepared all he had required and he purposed to set out; then, he loaded his loads and, farewelling his wife and daughter, went forth seeking the city of the King’s son.  He ceased not travelling for a space of three months, when he found a meadow wide of sides on the margin of a sweet-water lake, so he said to his slaves, “Alight we here in this very place that we may take our rest.”  Accordingly, they dismounted and pitched a tent and furnisht it for him, and he passed that night by the water-side, and all enjoyed their repose.  But as soon as morn ’gan show and shone with sheeny glow, and the sun arose o’er the lands lying low, the Khwajah designed to order a march for his slaves when suddenly espying a dust-cloud towering in rear of them, they waited to see what it might be, and after some two hours of the day it cleared off and disclosed beneath it six riders and with them a bƒt-beast carrying a load of provisions.  These drew near the meadow where the Khwajah sat looking at them, and fear hereat entered into his heart, and trembling fell upon his limbs[FN#551] until he was assured that they were but six men.  So his mind was calmed.  But when the party drew near him he fixed his glance and made certain that the men were headed by the King’s son whom he had met on his first journey, and he marvelled indeed at the youth making for the same place, and he strove to guess the cause of his coming with only five followers and no more.  Then he arose and accosted him and salam’d and sat down in converse with him, being assured the while that it was the same who had had doings with