it into her coynte and did manly devoir.  And after having his will of her he said, “Thou hast now done thy best for me and thy belly is filled full of the warm breeze.”  On this wise he continued every day, enjoying the wife of his father for some time during his wayfare, till the traveller returned home, and on his entering the house the bride rose and greeted him and said, “Thou hast been absent overlong!"[FN#589] The man sat with her awhile and presently asked of her case for that he was fearful of his son; so she answered, “I am hale and hearty!” “Did my son ask thee of aught?” “Nay, he asked me not, nor did he ever address me:  withal, O Man, he hath admirable and excellent expedients and indeed he is deeply versed in natural philosophy.”  “What expedients and what natural philosophy?” “He tucketh up his dress and exposeth his backside to the breeze which now passeth into his belly and benefiteth him throughout the cold season, and in winter he doeth exactly what he did in summer with effect as beneficial.  And I also have done as he did.”  Now when the husband heard these her words he knew that the youth had practised upon her and had enjoyed his desire of her; so he asked her, “And what was it thou diddest?” She answered, “I did even as he did.  However the breeze would not at first enter into my belly for whatever passed through the back postern passed out of the front portal, and the youth said to me, ‘Stopper up thy solution of continuity.’  I asked him, ‘Dost thou know how to stopper it?’ and he answered, ‘Indeed I do!’ Then he arose and blocked it with his prickle; and every day I continued to do likewise and he to stopper up the peccant part with the wherewithal he hath.”  All this was said to the husband who listened with his head bowed groundwards; but presently he raised it and cried, “There is no Majesty and there is no might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;” and suddenly as they were speaking on that subject the youth came in to them—­ And Sharazad 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 King suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Eight Hundred and Thirty-fourth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be not sleeping, 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 worth celebrating, that the youth came in to his father and found his step-mother relating to him all they had done whilst he was away and the man said to him, “Wherefore, O youth, hast thou acted on such wise?” Said the son, “What harm