" Hereat the Sultan, fired with wrath, cried, "Where be
Aladdin?" and the Minister replied, "He hath gone a-hunting," when the
King commanded without stay or delay sundry of his agas and army
officers to go and bring to him his son-in-law chained and with
pinioned elbows.
So they fared forth until they found Aladdin, when they said to him:
"O our lord Aladdin, excuse us, nor be thou wroth with us, for the
King hath commanded that we carry thee before him pinioned and
fettered, and we hope pardon from thee, because we are under the royal
orders which we cannot gainsay." Aladdin, hearing these words, was
seized with surprise, and not knowing the reason of this, remained
tonguetied for a time, after which he turned to them and asked: "O
assembly, have you naught of knowledge concerning the motive of the
royal mandate? Well I wot my soul to be innocent, and that I never
sinned against King or against kingdom." "O our lord," answered
they, "we have no inkling whatever." So Aladdin alighted from his
horse and said to them: "Do ye whatso the Sultan bade you do, for that
the King's command is upon the head and the eyes.
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