dress and the girdle which she had worn on the day of separation; and
taking from her head the man's turban, she spread her hair and put on
a head-dress of fine gold delicately wrought. So she returned to him,
and when Camaralzaman saw her he uttered a cry and ran into her arms
and held her with kisses as if he could never let her go. And when at
last he spoke of things other than his joy--'How,' he inquired, 'has
the King accomplished this miracle? Surely when he spoke I understood
nothing of what he said.'
Badoura smiled as she answered: 'When the King put the talisman into
thy hand, then did his kingship cease, and he returned once more to his
true form. O my lord, look upon thy king, who is now become thy slave.
Surely hadst thou loved me a little more thou wouldst have known me.'
Then she told Camaralzaman of all that had happened to her from first
to last; and on the morrow she went to King Amanos, and to him also
made her story plain. Nor would she allow that any deception had been
used, 'For truly,' she said, 'I and my beloved are one; and I did but
come before and prepare for him the place which he was destined to
fill. Therefore when I married thy daughter, it was Camaralzaman who
married her; and when I accepted of thee the crown, it was Camaralzaman
who accepted it. Give me leave, therefore, O King, who hast been to me
as a father, to show my beloved to the Queen whom I have won for him,
and to the people over whom, in his name, I have ruled.'
Greatly was King Amanos astonished to hear a woman utter such words;
and the wonder of Camaralzaman was scarcely less. Yet, as she had
brought fortune and happiness to both alike, they consented to do her
will; and so it was agreed.
Therefore from that day on did Camaralzaman take up the power and
authority which Badoura had attained for him, rejoicing also in the
domestic felicity of two wives, the one as beautiful as the other,
each without jealousy, and having no wish or thought out of which
estrangement could arise. Doubtless it was the perfect happiness in
which he thus dwelt which caused Camaralzaman to forget altogether the
object for which his journey had been begun. No second dream of his
father, the King Shahzaman, ever came to remind him of his neglected
purpose, while to the dominions of King Gaiour of China he had no wish
to return.
Epilogue
'This, O King, is the story of Prince Camaralzaman and of the Princess
Badoura from the time of their falling in love until the day when
all their wanderings of separation were ended. A year later the two
Queens each presented him with a son almost upon the same day. And the
birth of these Princes was celebrated with every kind of festivity and
rejoicing.'
As Scheherazade concluded her story the light of dawn grew full. For a
thousand and one nights she had given entertainment to her lord, saving
at the same time the lives of her fellow-women. During this period she
had borne the King three children, all with so strong a resemblance
to their father that even he could find no cause in them for casting
suspicion upon his wife's virtue.
So the tale being ended Scheherazade rose, and having kissed the ground
at the King's feet, said, 'O King of the Age, perfect and incomparable,
lo in dust and ashes I thy slave come to present to thee a petition.'
And the King said, 'Ask, and it shall be granted thee.'
Then Scheherazade called to her attendants and said, 'Bring in the
children!' So they brought the children quickly; one of them walked,
one crawled, and one lay at the breast.
So she set them before the King, and said, 'These children are thine
and mine. In pain I bore them, having little hope of any joy that
they might bring me; for under sentence of death I brought them into
the world, and though thrice I have been a mother thou hast not yet
pardoned me. Say, therefore, O King, when is my death to be; or, if it
is not to be, then let my suspense be ended.'
At these words the King wept; and embracing his children tenderly,
cried: 'O Scheherazade, by Allah I swear to thee that before the coming
of these children thou wast pardoned already. Nor shall the death of
such an one as thou be laid to my charge when Kings come before God to
be judged.'
[Illustration: The Final Marriage Procession.]
Then Scheherazade fell down and kissed his feet and his hands, crying,
'God give thee a long life, and power and strength, and dominion and
majesty to the world's end.'
Joy of that news spread through the palace, and thence to the city and
all the people; and the night of rejoicing that followed was a night
not to be reckoned among lives, for its colour was as the rainbow in
its promise over young fields of corn, and its light whiter than the
face of day.
THE END