eth barbercraft! Yet it were well to comprehend the saying of the
tackle.'

Then the hawk flew to the tackle and fluttered about it, and lo! the
blade and the brush stood up and said in a shrill tone, 'It is ordained
that Shagpat shall be shaved, and that Shibli Bagarag shall shave him.'

The King bit the forefinger of amazement, and said, 'What then ensueth, O
talking tackle?'

And the brush and the blade stood up, and said in a shrill tone, 'Honour
to Shibli Bagarag and barbers! Shame unto Shagpat and his fellows!'

Upon that, the King cried, 'Enough, O talking tackle; I will forestall
the coming thing. I will be shaved! wullahy, that will I!'

Then the hawk whispered to Shibli Bagarag, 'Forward and shear him!' So he
stepped forth and seized the tackle, and addressed himself keenly to the
shaving of the King of Oolb, lathering him and performing his task with
perfect skill. And the courtiers crowded to follow the example of the
King, and Shibli Bagarag shaved them, all of them. Now, when they were
shaved, fear smote them, the fear of ridicule, and each laughed at the
change that was in the other; but the King cried, 'See that order is
issued for the people of Oolb to be as we before to-morrow's sun. So is
laughter taken in reverse.' And the King said aside to Shibli Bagarag,
'Say now, what may be thy price for yonder hawk?'

And the hawk bade him say, 'The loan of thy cockleshell.'

The King mused, and said, 'That is much to ask, for it is that which
beareth the Princess my daughter to the Lily of the Enchanted Sea, which
she nourisheth; and if 'tis harmed, she will be stricken with ugliness,
as was the daughter of the Vizier Feshnavat, who tended it before her.
Yet is this hawk a bird of price. What be its qualities, besides the gift
of speech?'

Shibli Bagarag answered, 'To counsel in extremity; to forewarn; to
counteract enchantments and foul magic.'

Upon that the King said, 'Follow me!'

And the King led the way from the hall, through many spacious chambers
fair with mirrors and silks and precious woods, and smooth marble floors,
down into a vault lit by a lamp that was shaped like an eye. Round the
vault were hung helm-pieces, and swords, and rich-studded housings; and
there were silken dresses, and costly shawls, and tall vases and jars of
China, tapestries, and gold services. And the King said, 'Take thy choice
of these in exchange for the hawk.'

But Shibli Bagarag said, 'Nought save a loan of the