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my son, who is the generous, the bountiful one that hath sought out our hunger[1] and our poverty? Indeed, we are beholden to him.[2] Apparently the Sultan hath heard of our case and our wretchedness and hath sent us this tray.” “O my mother,” answered Alaeddin, “this is no time for questioning; rise, so we may eat, for we are anhungred.”
So they arose and sitting down to the tray, proceeded to eat, whilst Alaeddin’s mother tasted food such as she had never in all her life eaten. And they ate diligently[3] with all appetite, for stress of hunger, more by token that the food [was such as] is given to kings, nor knew they if the tray were precious or not, for that never in their lives had they seen the like of these things. When they had made an end of eating and were full (and there was left them, over and above what sufficed them, [enough] for the evening-meal and for the next day also), they arose and washing their hands, sat down to talk; whereupon Alaeddin’s mother turned to her son and said to him, “O my son, tell me what befell of[4] the genie, now that,
