Then said he，'O Num，is this thy lord？'And she answered，'Yes，O Commander of the Faithful.'No harm shall befall you，'said he；'I give you to one another.'Then he said to the young man，'O Nimeh，who told thee where she was and taught thee how to get at her？'O Commander of the Faithful，'replied he，'give ear to my story；for by the virtue of thy pious forefathers，I will hide nothing from thee！'And he told him all that had passed between himself and the Persian physician and the old woman and how she had brought him into the palace and he had mistaken one door for another；whereat the Khalif wondered exceedingly and said，'Fetch me the Persian.'So they fetched him and he made him one of his chief officers.Moreover，he bestowed on him robes of honour and ordered him a handsome present，saying，'Him，who has shown such good sense and skill in his ordinance，it behoves us to make one of our chief officers.'He also loaded Nimeh and Num with gifts and honours and rewarded the old woman；and they abode with him in joy and content and all delight of life seven days；at the end of which time Nimeh craved leave to return to Cufa with his slave-girl.The Khalif gave leave and they departed accordingly and arrived in due course at Cufa，where Nimeh foregathered with his father and mother，and they abode in the enjoyment of all the delights and comforts of life，till there came to them the Destroyer of Delights and the Sunderer of Companies.'
The princes wondered mightily at Behrams story and said，By Allah，this is indeed a rare story！'They passed the night thus，and next morning，Amjed and Asaad mounted and riding to the palace，sought an audience of the King，who received them with honour.As they sat talking，of a sudden they heard the townsfolk crying aloud and shouting to one another and calling for help，and the chamberlain came in to the King and said to him，Some King hath encamped before the city，he and his army，with arms displayed，and we know not who they are nor what they seek.'The King took counsel with his Vizier and Asaad，and Amjed said，I will go out to him and learn the cause of his coming.'So he took horse and riding forth the city，repaired to the strangers camp，where he found the King and with him many soldiers and mounted officers.When the guards saw him，they knew him for an ambassador from the King of the city；so they took him and brought him to their King.Amjed kissed the ground before him；but lo，the King was a queen，who wore a chin-band over her face，and she said to Amjed，Know that I have no design on your city and am only come hither in quest of a beardless slave of mine，whom if I find with you，I will do you no hurt；
but if I find him not，then shall there befall sore battle between you and me.'O Queen，'asked Amjed，what is thy slaves name and what like is he？Said she，His name is Asaad and he is of such and such a favour.My name is Merjaneh，and this slave came to my town in company of Behram，a Magian，who refused to sell him to me；so I took him by force，but the Magian fell upon him by night and took him away by stealth.'When Amjed heard this he knew that it was his brother Asaad whom she sought and said to her，O Queen of the age，praised be God who hath brought us relief！Know that he whom thou seekest is my brother.'Then he told her their story and all that had befallen them in the land of exile，and acquainted her with the cause of their departure from the Islands of Ebony，whereat she marvelled and rejoiced to have found Asaad.So she bestowed a dress of honour upon Amjed，and he returned to the King and told him what had passed，at which they all rejoiced and the King and the two princes went forth to meet Queen Merjaneh.They were admitted to her presence and sat down to converse with her，but as they were thus engaged，behold，a cloud of dust arose and grew，till it covered the landscape.Presently，it lifted and discovered an army，in numbers like the swollen sea，armed cap-a-pie，who，****** for the city with naked swords，encompassed it as the ring encompasses the little finger.When Amjed and Asaad saw this，they exclaimed，We are Gods and to Him we return.What is this great army？Doubtless，these are enemies；and except we agree with this Queen Merjaneh to resist them，they will take the town from us and slay us.There is nothing for us but to go out to them and see who they are.'So Amjed mounted and passing through Queen Merjanehs camp，came to the approaching army and was admitted to the presence of their King，to whom he delivered his message，after kissing the earth before him.Quoth the King，I am called King Gha？our，lord of the Islands and the Seas and the Seven Castles，and am come out in quest of my daughter Budour，of whom fortune hath bereft me；for she left me and returned not to me，nor have I heard any news of her or her husband Kemerezzeman.
