Then they returned to the ship. Some time later, when the favorable
monsoon blew for their return homeward, Sidi Ali Ghaiath thought upon
his departure. He went to see the King, laden with a present which
consisted of two golden ducks, male and female, enriched with precious
stones, and in a big golden basin. He filled this golden basin with
water, put in the ducks. They began to swim, dive, and pursue each
other, a sight at which the King marvelled much.
"I beg of you to tell me," he said, "what you desire of me. By the God
whom I worship, I swear to fulfil your wishes."
Then Sidi Ali answered: "Lord, if it is the accomplishment of your
favor, we beg that you will give us your poultry-keeper."
"It is the King of Pasey that you ask of me. But, very well, I grant
him to you."
"It is because he is a Mussulman," said the strangers, "that we ask him
of your Majesty."
The King Chehr-en-Naoui delivered therefore the Sultan Melik-ed-Dhahir
to Sidi Ali Gaiath-ed-Din, who took him on board the ship, gave him a
bath, and then clothed him in royal raiment. The wind blew, they
weighed anchor, set sail, and after a certain time arrived at the
country of Samoudra. And God knows the truth. He is our aid and our
refuge.
Now we are going to speak of the King Melik-el-Mansour at Samoudra.
This prince said one day to Sidi Ali Asmai-ed-Din:
"I would like to go and see how my brother is getting along."
The minister answered, "Do not go, my lord, for fear of misfortune."
And, indeed, he tried to restrain his master. The prince would listen
to nothing, and finally the minister was silent. He ordered the drums
to beat, in order to make the announcement, "Sultan Melik-el-Mansour is
going to see the country of his brother."
Sidi Ali Asmai-ed-Din was not satisfied. He was an old minister who
knew that out of every affair causes of trouble may arise. But it was
his duty to obey. The prince started. He made the tour of the city of
Pasey, and then entered the palace of the Sultan Melik-ed-Dhahir. There
he fell in love with one of the ladies-of-honor of his brother's court,
and a quarrel arose between the two brothers on her account. Sultan
Melik-ed-Dhahir felt in the bottom of his heart a violent irritation
toward his brother.
Now he had a son named Radja Ahmed, very young when his father was
captured, but grown up when the prince was restored from the hands of
Chehr-en-Naoui. Sidi Ali Ghaiath-ed-Din having withdrawn from affairs,
a minister named Parapatih Toulous Toukang Sikari had replaced him in
his ministerial functions. One day the King said to the minister:
"What is your opinion concerning the act of Sultan Melik-el-Mansour?"