So they arose and sitting down to the tray, proceeded to eat, whilst Alaeddin’s mother tasted food such as she had never in all her life eaten.  And they ate diligently [FN#293] with all appetite, for stress of hunger, more by token that the food [was such as] is given to kings, nor knew they if the tray were precious or not, for that never in their lives had they seen the like of these things.  When they had made an end of eating and were full (and there was left them, over and above what sufficed them, [enough] for the evening-meal and for the next day also), they arose and washing their hands, sat down to talk; whereupon Alaeddin’s mother turned to her son and said to him, “O my son, tell me what befell of [FN#294] the genie, now that, praised be God, we have eaten of His bounty and are satisfied and thou hast no pretext for saying to me, ‘I am anhungred.’” So he told her all that had passed between himself and the genie, whenas she fell down aswoon of her affright; whereat exceeding wonderment took her and she said to him, “It is true, then, [FN#295] that the Jinn appear to the sons of Adam, though I, O my son, in all my days, I have never seen them, and methinketh this is he who delivered thee, whenas thou west in the treasure.”  “Nay, O my mother,” answered he, “this was not he; he who appeared to thee is the slave of the lamp.”  “How so, [FN#296] O my son?” asked she; and he said, “This slave is other of make than that.  That was the servant of the ring and this thou sawest is the slave of the lamp which was in thy hand.”  When [FN#297] his mother heard this, “Well, well!” cried she.  “Then the accursed who appeared to me and came nigh to kill me for affright is of the lamp?” “Ay is he,” answered Alaeddin; and she said to him, “I conjure thee, O my son, by the milk thou suckedst of me, that thou cast away from thee both lamp and ring, for that they will be to us a cause of exceeding fear and I could not endure to see them [FN#298] a second time; nay, their commerce is forbidden unto us, for that the prophet (whom God bless and keep) warneth us against them.” [FN#299] “O my mother,” answered Alaeddin, “thy speech is on my head and eyes; [FN#300] but, as for this that thou sayest, it may not be that I should cast away either the lamp or the ring; nay, thou seest that which it [FN#301] did with us of good, whenas we were anhungred, and know, O my mother, that the lying Maugrabin enchanter, what time I went down into the treasure, sought nought of gold nor of silver, whereof the four places were full, but charged me bring him the lamp and that only, for that he knew the greatness of its virtues; [FN#302] and except he knew it to be exceeding of might, he had not toiled and travailed and come from his land to this in quest of it, nor had he shut the treasure on me, whenas he failed of the lamp, seeing I gave it him not.  Wherefore, O my mother, it behoveth us keep this lamp and guard it with all care, for that this is our support and this it is shall enrich us; and it behoveth us