Lord, sister, says Dinarzade, what a wonderful story is this! The
remainder of it, says Scheherazade, is more surprising; and you
will be of my mind, if the sultan will let me live this day, and
permit me to tell it you next night. Schahriar, who had listened
to Scheherazade with pleasure, says to himself, I will stay till
to-morrow, for I can at any time put her to death, when she has
ended the story. So having resolved not to take away
Scheherazade's life that day, he rose and went to prayers, and
then called his council.
All this while the grand vizier was terribly uneasy. Instead of
sleeping, he spent the night in sighs and groans, bewailing the
lot of his daughter, of whom he believed that he himself should
be the executioner: And as, in this melancholy prospect, he was
afraid of seeing the sultan, he was agreeably surprised when he
saw the prince enter the council-chamber, without giving him the
fatal orders he expected.
The sultan, according to his custom, spent the day in regulating
his affairs; and when night came, he went to bed with
Scheherazade. Next morning, before day, Dinarzade failed not to
address herself to her sister thus: My dear sister, if you be not
asleep, I pray you, till day-break, which will be in a very
little time, to go on with the story you began last night. The
sultan, without staying till Scheherazade asked him leave, bid
her make an end of the story of the genie and the merchant, for I
long to hear the issue of it; upon which Scheherazade spoke, and
continued the story as follows.
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