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the mountain, in their voyages over the sea, heard the weeping of the children, as it were the wailing of a woman who had lost her young, and said, “Is there here a mother bereaved of her children?” For which reason the place was named the Mountain of the Bereaved Mother.’ And King Dirbas’s Vizier marvelled at this.
Then they landed and making for the castle, knocked at the gate, which was opened to them by an eunuch, who knew the Vizier Ibrahim and kissed his hands. Ibrahim entered and finding in the courtyard, among the serving men, a man in the habit of a fakir,[1] said. ‘Whence comes yonder fellow?’ Quoth they, ‘He is a merchant, who hath lost his goods by shipwreck, but saved himself on a plank; and he is an ecstatic.’[2] Now this was none other than Uns el Wujoud, [but the Vizier knew him not]; so he left him and went on into the castle. He found there no trace of his daughter and questioned her women, who answered, ‘She abode with us but a little while and went away, how and whither we know not.’ Whereupon he wept sore and repeated the following verses:
O house, whose birds warbled for joyance whilere And whose sills were resplendent with glory and pride,
Till the lover came to thee, bemooning himself For his passion, and found thy doors open and wide,
Would I knew where my soul is, my soul that was late In a house, where its masters no longer abide!
Therein were all things that are costly and rich And with suits of brocade it was decked, like a bride.
Yea, happy and honoured its doorkeeper were. Would God I knew whither its mistress hath tried!
Then he wept and sighed and bemoaned himself, ex-
