The slaves spent great part of the night in doing what
their mistress commanded them, and acquitted themselves very
dexterously.
Next night the husband returned, and examined the parrot again
about what had passed during his absence. The bird answered, Good
master, the lightning, thunder, and rain, did so much disturb me
all night, that I cannot tell how much I suffered by it. The
husband, who knew that there had been neither thunder, lightning,
nor rain that night, fancied that the parrot, not having told him
the truth in this, might also have lied to him in the other; upon
which he took it out of the cage, and threw it with so much force
to the ground that he killed it; yet afterwards he understood, by
his neighbours, that the poor parrot had not lied to him when it
gave him an account of his wife's base conduct, which made him
repent that he had killed it. Scheherazade stopped here, because
she saw it was day.
All that you tell us, sister, says Dinarzade is so curious, that
nothing can be more agreeable. I shall be willing to divert you,
answers Scheherazade, if the sultan, my master, will allow me
time to do it. Schahriar, who took as much pleasure to hear the
sultaness as Dinarzade, rose, and went about his affairs, without
ordering the vizier to cut her off.
The Fifteenth Night.
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