Such was the case with King Shahriman；but as regards Kamar al Zaman，when the night came upon him the eunuch set the lanthorn before him and lighting the waxcandle，placed it in the candlestick；then brought him somewhat of food. The Prince ate a little and continually reproached himself for his unseemly treatment of his father，saying to himself，'O my soul，knowest thou not that a son of Adam is the hostage of his tongue，and that a man's tongue is what casteth him into deadly perils？'Then his eyes ran over with tears and he bewailed that which he had done，from anguished vitals and aching heart，repenting him with exceeding repentance of the wrong wherewith he had wronged his father and repeating，'Fair youth shall die by stumbling of the tongue：
Stumble of foot works not man's life such wrong：
The slip of lip shall oft smite off the head，
While slip of foot shall never harm one long.'
Now when he had made an end of eating，he asked for the wherewithal to wash his hands and when the Mameluke had washed them clean of the remnants of food，he arose and made the Wuzuablution and prayed the prayers of sundown and nightfall，conjoining them in one；after which he sat down.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was the Hundred and Seventysixth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the Prince Kamar alZaman had prayed （conjoining them in one） the prayers of sundown and nightfall，he sat down on the well and began reciting the Koran，and he repeated 'The Cow，'the 'House of Imran，'and 'Y. S.；'The Compassionate，'Blessed be the King，'Unity'and 'The two Talismans'[237]；and he ended with blessing and supplication and with saying，'I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the stoned.'[238] Then he lay down upon his couch which was covered with a mattress of satin from al
Ma'adin town，the same on both sides and stuffed with the raw silk of Irak；and under his head was a pillow filled with ostrichdown And when ready for sleep，he doffed his outer clothes and drew off his bagtrousers and lay down in a shirt of delicate stuff smooth as wax；and he donned a headkerchief of azure Marazi[239] cloth；and at such time and on this guise Kamar alZaman was like the fullorbed moon，when it riseth on its fourteenth night. Then，drawing over his head a coverlet of silk，he fell asleep with the lanthorn burning at his feet and the waxcandle over his head，and he ceased not sleeping through the first third of the night，not knowing what lurked for him in the womb of the Future，and what the Omniscient had decreed for him. Now，as Fate and Fortune would have it，both tower and saloon were old and had been many years deserted；and there was therein a Roman well inhabited by a Jinniyah of the seed of Iblis[240] the Accursed，by name Maymunah，daughter of Al Dimiryat，a renowned King of the Jann.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the One Hundred and Seventyseventh Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the name of the Jinniyah in question was Maymunah，daughter of AlDimiryat；a renowned King of the Jann. And as Kamar alZaman continued sleeping till the first third of the night，Maymunah came up out of the Roman well and made for the firmament，thinking to listen by stealth to the converse of the angels；but when she reached the mouth of the well，she saw a light shining in the tower，contrary to custom；and having dwelt there many years without seeing the like，she said to herself，'Never have I witnessed aught like this'；and，marvelling much at the matter，determined that there must be some cause therefor. So she made for the light and found the eunuch sleeping within the door；and inside she saw a couch spread，whereon was a human form with the waxcandle burning at his head and the lanthorn at his feet，and she wondered to see the light and stole towards it little by little.
Then she folded her wings and stood by the bed and，drawing back the coverlid，discovered Kamar alZaman's face. She was motionless for a full hour in admiration and wonderment；for the lustre of his visage outshone that of the candle；his face beamed like a pearl with light；his eyelids were languorous like those of the gazelle；the pupils of his eyes were intensely black and brilliant[241]；his cheeks were rosy red；his eyebrows were arched like bows and his breath exhaled a scent of musk，even as saith of him the poet，'I kissed him：darker grew those pupils，[242] which Seduce my soul，and cheeks flushed rosier hue；
O heart，if slanderers dare to deem there be His like in chasms，Say 'Bring him hither，you！'
