第99章(2 / 3)

When it was the One Hundred and Ninetyfifth Night,She said,It hath reached me,O auspicious King,that when the ship capsized with all on board,each sought his own safety;and as for Marzawan the set of the sea carried him under the King's palace,wherein was Kamar alZaman. And by the decree of destiny it so happened that this was the day on which King Shahriman gave audience to his Grandees and high officers,and he was sitting,with his son's head on his lap,whilst an eunuch fanned away the flies;and the Prince had not spoken neither had he eaten nor drunk for two days,and he was grown thinner than a spindle.[286] Now the Wazir was standing respectfully afoot near the latticed window giving on the sea and,raising his eyes,saw Marzawan being beaten by the billows and at his last gasp;whereupon his heart was moved to pity for him,so he drew near to the King and moving his head towards him said,'I crave thy leave,O King,to go down to the court of the pavilion and open the watergate that I may rescue a man who is at the point of drowning in the sea and bring him forth of danger into deliverance;peradventure,on this account Allah may free thy son from what he hath!'The King replied,'O thou Wazir,enough is that which hath befallen my son through thee and on shine account. Haply,if thou rescue this drowning man,he will come to know our affairs,and look on my son who is in this state and exult over me;but I swear by Allah,that if this halfdrowned wretch come hither and learn our condition and look upon my son and then fare forth and speak of our secrets to any,I will assuredly strike off thy head before his;for thou,O my Minister art the cause of all that hath betided us,first and last. Now do as thou wilt.'Thereupon the Wazir sprang up and,opening the private pastern which gave upon the sea,descended to the causeway;then walked on twenty steps and came to the water where he saw Marzawan nigh unto death. So he put out his hand to him and,catching him by his hair,drew him ashore in a state of insensibility,with belly full of water and eyes half out of his head. The Wazir waited till he came to himself,when he pulled off his wet clothes and clad him in a fresh suit,covering his head with one of his servants' turbands;after which he said to him,Know that I have been the means of saving thee from drowning:do not thou requite me by causing my death and shine own.'嶢nd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.