over his eyes and directed his cutlass against his sister's neck. But at that instant,
by the will of God the most high, a little gazelle came up and, by the power of
God the most high, placed its neck upon the neck of the princess Djouher-
Manikam, saying, "I will take the place of the princess Djouher-Manikam." And
the little gazelle was killed by Minbah-Chahaz. That done he unbound his eyes
and saw a little gazelle lying dead with its throat cut, by the side of his young
sister the princess Djouher-Manikam.
At this sight, Minbah-Chahaz was stricken with astonishment. He thought in his
heart: "Since it is so with my sister, she must be entirely innocent, and cannot
have commited the least fault. Nevertheless, although I am confident that she
was calumniated by the cadi I must tell my father that I have killed her."
Minbah-Chahaz set out then for Mecca, to find the prince his father. When he
had arrived at Mecca he presented to his father the cutlass still stained with
blood. The King Haroun-er-Raschid cried, "Praise be to God, the Lord of the
worlds. Our shame is now effaced, since you have poniarded your sister and she
is dead." Such were the deeds of this first story.
The princess Djouher-Manikam, having awakened after the departure of
Minbah-Chahaz, saw that her brother was no longer there, but that at her side
there was a little gazelle with its throat cut. She thought in her heart: "The cadi
has slandered me to my father, and that is why my brother came here with orders
to kill me." The princess Djouher-Manikam felt a great shame and thought in her
heart, "Since it is so, I must retire to a hidden place." Now in the King's park
there was a solitary place in the midst of a vast deserted plain. There was a pond
of very agreeable appearance there, many kinds of fruit-trees and flowers, and an
oratory beautifully built. The princess Djouher-Manikam set out and retired to
this place to pray to God the most high and worthy of all praise. She was
established there for some time when, by the will of God the most high, a certain
thing happened.
SECOND STORY
There was in the country of Damas a king who was named Radja Chah Djouhou.
This King wished to go hunting in the deserted forests. His first minister said to