fell on my feet and could not get out of that same pit.Then I turned and saw therein a girdle of gold and I stretched out my hand to take it； but when I raised it from the ground，I saw it was two girdles.So I girt my middle with them both and behold，the girdles became one girdle； and this，O Wazir，is my dream and what I saw when my sleep was deepest.'Said Dandan，'O our Lord the Sultan！ know that this thy dream denoteth thou hast a brother or a brother's son or an uncle's son or other near kinsman of thy flesh and blood whom thou knowest not； withal he is of the noblest of you all.'Now when the King heard these words he looked at Kanmakan and Nuzhat alZaman and Kuzia Fakan and the Wazir Dandan and the rest of the captives and said to himself，'If I smite these people's necks，their troops will lose heart for the destruction of their chiefs and I shall be able to return speedily to my realm，lest the Kingship pass out of my hands.'So having determined upon this he called the Sworder and bade him strike off Kanmakan's head upon the spot and forthright，when lo！ up came Rumzan's nurse and said to him，'O auspicious King，what purposest thou？'Quoth he，'I purpose slaughtering these prisoners who are in my power； and after that I will throw their heads among their men： then will I fall upon them，I and all my army in one body，and kill all we can kill and rout the rest： so will this be the decisive action of the war and I shall return speedily to my kingdom ere aught of accident befal among my subjects.'When the nurse heard these words，she came up to him and said in the Frankish tongue，'How canst thou prevail upon thyself to slay thine own brother's son，and thy sister，and thy sister's daughter？'When he heard this language，he was wroth with exceeding wrath and said to her，'O accursed woman，didst thou not tell me that my mother was murthered and that my father died by poison？Didst thou not give me a jewel and say to me，'Of a truth this jewel was thy father's？' Why didst thou not tell me the truth？'Replied she，'All that I told thee is true，but my case and thy case are wonderful and my history and thy his tory are marvellous.My name is Marjanah and thy mother's name was Abrizah： and she was gifted with such beauty and loveliness and velour that proverbs were made of her，and her prowess was renowned among men of war.And thy father was King Omar bin al Nu'uman，Lord of Baghdad and Khorasan，without doubt or double dealing or denial.He sent his son Sharrkan on a razzia in company with this very Wazir Dandan； and they did all that men can.But Sharrkan，thy brother，who had preceded the force，separated himself from the troops and fell in with thy mother Queen Abrizah in her palace； and we happened to have sought a place apart in order to wrestle，she and I and her other damsels.
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