第11章

and when he went into the presence，he kissed the ground between his hands and delivered to him the message.Quoth the King，'My name is King Ghayur and I come wayfaring in quest of my daughter Budur whom fortune hath taken from me，for she left me and returned not to me，nor have I heard any tidings of her or of her husband Kamar al-Zaman.Have ye any news of them？' When Amjad heard this，he hung his head towards the ground for a while in thought till he felt assured that this King was none other than his grandfather，his mother's father； where upon he raised his head and，kissing ground before him，told him that he was the son of his daughter Budur； on hearing which Ghayur threw himself upon him and they both fell a weeping.[22] Then said Ghayur，'Praised be Allah，O my son，for safety，since I have foregathered with thee，' and Amjad told him that his daughter Budur was safe and sound，and her husband Kamar al-Zaman likewise，and acquainted him that both abode in a city called the City of Ebony.Moreover，he related to him how his father，being wroth with him and his brother，had commended that both be put to death，but that his treasurer had taken pity on them and let them go with their lives.Quoth King Ghayur，'I will go back with thee and thy brother to your father and make your peace with him.' So Amjad kissed the ground before him in huge delight and the King bestowed a dress of honour upon him，after which he returned，smiling，to the King of the City of the Magians and told him what he had learnt from King Ghayur，whereat he wondered with exceeding wonder.Then he despatched guest-gifts of sheep and horses and camels and forage and so forth to King Ghayur，and did the like by Queen Marjanah； and both of them told her what chanced； whereupon quoth she，'I too will accompany you with my troops and will do my endeavour to make this peace.' Meanwhile behold，there arose another dust cloud and flew and grew till it walled the view and blackened the day's bright hue； and under it they heard shouts and cries and neighing of steeds and beheld sword glance and the glint of levelled lance.When this new host drew near the city and saw the two other armies，they beat their drums and the King of the Magians exclaimed，'This is indeed naught but a blessed day.Praised be Allah who hath made us of accord with these two armies； and if it be His will，He shall give us peace with yon other as well.' Then said he to Amjad and As'ad，'Fare forth and fetch us news of these troops，for they are a mighty host，never saw I a mightier.' So they opened the city gates，which the King had shut for fear of the beleaguering armies，and Amjad and As'ad went forth and，coming to the new host，found that it was indeed a mighty many.But as soon as they came to it behold，they knew that it was the army of the King of the Ebony Islands，wherein was their father，King Kamar al-Zaman in person.Now when they looked upon him，they kissed ground and wept； but，when he beheld them，he threw himself upon them weeping，with sore weeping，and strained them to his breast for a full hour.Then he excused himself to them and told them what desolation he had suffered for their loss and exile； and they acquainted him with King Ghayur's arrival，whereupon he mounted with his chief officers and taking with him his two sons，proceeded to that King's camp.As they drew near，one of the Princes rode forward and informed King Ghayur of Kamar al-Zaman's coming，whereupon he came out to meet him and they joined company，marvelling at these things and how they had chanced to foregather in that place.Then the townsfolk made them banquets of all manner of meats and sweetmeats and presented to them horses and camels and fodder and other guest-gifts and all that the troops needed.And while this was doing，behold，yet another cloud of dust arose and flew till it walled the view，whilst earth trembled with the tramp of steed and tabors sounded like stormy winds.After a while，the dust lifted and discovered an army clad in coats of mail and armed cap-a-pie； but all were in black garb，and in their midst rode a very old man whose beard flowed down over his breast and he also was clad in black.When the King of the city and the city folk saw this great host，he said to the other Kings，'Praised be Allah by whose omnipotent command ye are met here，all in one day，and have proved all known one to the other！ But what vast and victorious army is this which hemmeth in the whole land like a wall？' They answered，'Have no fear of them； we are three Kings，each with a great army，and if they be enemies，we will join thee in doing battle with them，were they three times as many as they now are.'

Meanwhile，up came an envoy from the approaching host，making for the city.So they brought him before Kamar al-Zaman，King Ghayur，Queen Marjanah and the King of the city； and he kissed the ground and said，'My liege lord cometh from Persia-land； for many years ago he lost his son and he is seeking him in all countries.If he find him with you，well and good； but if he find him not，there will be war between him and you and he will waste your city.'