whence art thou？Who is thy father and what hath emboldened thee to debauch my daughter？'Replied the Prince，'Know，O King，that if thou put me to death，thou art a lost man，and thou and all in thy dominions will repent the deed.'Quoth the King，'How so？'；and quoth Taj alMuluk'Know that I am the son of King Sulayman Shah，and ere thou knowest it，he will be upon thee with his horse and foot.'When King Shahriman heard these words he would have deferred killing Taj alMuluk and would rather have put him in prison，till he should look into the truth of his words；but his Wazir said to him，'O King of the Age，it is my opinion that thou make haste to slay this gallows bird who dares debauch the daughters of Kings.'So the King cried to the headsman，'Strike off his head；for he is a traitor.'Accordingly，the herdsman took him and bound him fast and raised his hand to the Emirs，signing to consult them，a first and a second signal，thinking thereby to gain time in this matter；[52] but the King cried in anger to him，'How long wilt thou consult others？If thou consult them again I will strike off thine own head.；' So the headsman raised his hand till the hair of his armpit showed' and was about to smite his neck，And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Thirtysixth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the headsman raised his hand to smite off his head when behold，loud cries arose and the folk closed their shops；whereupon the King said to the headsman，'Wait awhile，'and despatched one to learn the news.The messenger fared forth and presently returned and reported，'I saw an army like the dashing sea with its clashing surge： and their horses curvetting till earth trembleth with the tramp；and I know no more of them.'When the King heard this，he was confounded and feared for his realm lest it should be torn from him；so he turned to his Minister and said，'Have not any of our army gone forth to meet this army？'But ere he had done speaking，his Chamberlains entered with messengers from the King who was approaching，and amongst them the Wazir who had accompanied Taj alMuluk.They began by saluting the King，who rose to receive them and bade them draw near，and asked the cause of their coming；whereupon the Minister came forward from amongst them and stood before him and said'Know that he who hath come down upon thy realm is no King like unto the Kings of yore and the Sultans that went before.'And who is he？'asked Shahriman，and the Wazir answered，'He is the Lord of justice and loyalty，the bruit of whose magnanimity the caravans have blazed abroad，the Sultan Sulayman Shah，Lord of the Green Land and the Two Columns and the Mountains of Ispahan；he who loveth justice and equity，and hateth oppression and iniquity.And he saith to thee that his son is with thee and in thy city；his son，his heart's very core and the fruit of his loins，and if he find him in safety，his aim is won and thou shalt have thanks and praise；but if he have been lost from thy realm or if aught of evil have befallen him，look thou for ruin and the wasting of thy reign！