" Accordingly they sat down to
the tray and fell to feeding, when Aladdin's mother tasted meats whose
like in all her time she had never touched. So they devoured them with
sharpened appetites and all the capacity engendered by stress of
hunger. And secondly, the food was such that marked the tables of
the kings. But neither of them knew whether the tray was or was not
valuable, for never in their born days had they looked upon aught like
it.
As soon as they had finished the meal (withal leaving victual enough
for supper and eke for the next day), they arose and washed their
hands and sat at chat, when the mother turned to her son and said:
"Tell me, O my child, what befell thee from the slave, the Jinni,
now that Alhamdolillah- laud to the Lord!- we have eaten our full of
the good things wherewith He hath favored us and thou hast no pretext
for saying to me, 'I am a-hungered."' So Aladdin related to her all
that took place between him and the slave what while she had sunk upon
the ground a-swoon for sore terror, and at this she, being seized with
mighty great surprise, said: "'Tis true, for the Jinns do present
themselves before the sons of Adam, but I, O my son, never saw them in
all my life, and meseemeth that this be the same who saved thee when
thou wast within the enchanted hoard.
Pages:
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736