archs, and Dinarzade slept at the foot of it on a mattress, prepared for the purpose.
Dinarzade, having waked about an hour before day, did what her mistress had ordered her. “My dear lady,” she said, “if you are not asleep, I entreat you, as it will soon be light, to relate to me one of those delightful tales you know. It will, alas, be the last time I shall hear one.”
Instead of returning any answer to her slave, Scheherazade addressed these words to the sultan: “Will your majesty permit me to indulge my slave in her request?” “Freely,” replied he. Scheherazade began as follows:
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