The Seven Hundred and Forty-first Night,

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 woman said to her husband, "Moreover each of the four was habited in gaberdine and bonnet." But when the amourists heard these words every one of them said to himself, "Here be a judgment this strumpet of a woman hath wrought upon us, the whore! the witch!" and her husband understanding what she told him asked, "Wherefore didst thou not bring them hither that the sight might solace us?" "O my lord," answered she, "had I brought them what hadst thou said to them? indeed I fear me thou wouldst have slain them!" And he, "No indeed; I would not have killed them, for they are but buffoon-folk, and we should have enjoyed their harlequinades and would have made them dance to us a wee and all and some tell us tales to gladden our minds; after which we would have suffered them depart and go about their own business." The wife enquired, "And given that they knew neither dancing nor story-telling what hadst thou done with them?" and replied he, "Had the case been as thou sayest and they ignorant of all this, verily we would have killed them and cast them into the chapel of ease." The four men hearing such threatening words muttered to themselves, "There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great;" but the Kazi said in his mind, "How remain Judge of this city when I shall have been found garbed in gaberdine and bonnet and dancing and tale-telling? and indeed this is the greater death. Allah bring to ruin this adulteress of a woman!" Then the Flesher took thought as follows, "How shall I continue to be Chief of the Butchers when I prance about with a bonnet on my pate? this is indeed a painful penalty!" Then quoth the Gentleman, the Consul, "How shall it be with me when I am seen dancing and donning a bonnet? indeed death by the sword were lighter than this!" Then muttered the Trader which was the woman's neighbour, "'Tis easier to kill myself with my own hand than to endure all such ill." Anon the woman said to her husband, "Inshallah—God willing—on the morrow we will bring them hither to thy house that we may solace ourselves therewith;" but said he, "Walláhi, hadst thou brought them this night 'twere better, for that to-morrow evening I have business in the house of the Chief Emir." Quoth she to him, "Now grant me immunity and give me permission and I will arise and bring them to thee at this moment, but each must come to thee alone and by himself." Quoth he, "O Woman, leave I do give thee and immunity I do grant thee;" whereupon she rose without stay or delay and went to the closet wherein was the Judge. Then she opened it and entered, and taking him by the hand dragged him forward and came out with him and set him before her spouse garbed as he was in gaberdine and bonnet. The house-master scrutinised him and was certified of his being the Kazi and said to him, "Blessed be to thee, O our lord, this bonnet and this gaberdine which become thee passing well." But the Judge, as he stood before the presence of the woman's husband, bowed his front downwards and was clothed as with a garment in the sweat of shame and was sore abashed, when the Emir said to him, "O our lord the Kazi, do thou dance for us a wee the baboon dance and rejoice us; after which performance do thou tell us a tale that our breasts may thereby be broadened." But when the man said this to him, the Judge feared for his life because he had heard and well remembered the words of the householder and he fell to clapping his palms and prancing to right and left. Hereupon the Emir laughed consumedly, he and his wife, and they signed and signalled each to other deriding the judicial dance, and the Kazi ceased not skipping until he fell to the floor for his fatigue. Hereupon the man said to him, "Basta! Now tell us thy tale that we may rejoice thereat; then do thou rise up and go about thy business." "Hearkening and obedience," said the Judge and forthright he began to relate the adventure of