us, the bountiful one
that hath sought out our hunger [291] and our poverty? Indeed, we are
beholden to him. [292] Apparently the Sultan hath heard of our case and
our wretchedness and hath sent us this tray." "O my mother," answered
Alaeddin, "this is no time for questioning; rise, so we may eat, for we
are anhungred."

So they arose and sitting down to the tray, proceeded to eat, whilst
Alaeddin's mother tasted food such as she had never in all her life
eaten. And they ate diligently [293] with all appetite, for stress of
hunger, more by token that the food [was such as] is given to kings,
nor knew they if the tray were precious or not, for that never in their
lives had they seen the like of these things. When they had made an end
of eating and were full (and there was left them, over and above what
sufficed them, [enough] for the evening-meal and for the next day
also), they arose and washing their hands, sat down to talk; whereupon
Alaeddin's mother turned to her son and said to him, "O my son, tell me
what befell of [294] the genie, now that, praised be God, we have eaten
of His bounty and are satisfied and thou hast no pretext for saying
to me, 'I am anhungred.'" So he told her all that had passed between
himself and the genie, whenas she fell down aswoon of her affright;
whereat exceeding wonderment took her and she said to him, "It is true,
then, [295] that the Jinn appear to the sons of Adam, though I, O my
son, in all my days, I have never seen them, and methinketh this is
he who delivered thee, whenas thou west in the treasure." "Nay, O my
mother," answered he, "this was not he; he who appeared to thee is the
slave of the lamp." "How so, [296] O my son?" asked she; and he said,
"This slave is other of make than that. That was the servant of the ring
and this thou sawest is the slave of the lamp which was in thy hand."
When [297] his mother heard this, "Well, well!" cried she. "Then the
accursed who appeared to me and came nigh to kill me for affright is
of the lamp?" "Ay is he," answered Alaeddin; and she said to him, "I
conjure thee, O my son, by the milk thou suckedst of me, that thou cast
away from thee both lamp and ring, for that they will be to us a cause
of exceeding fear and I could not endure to see them [298] a second
time; nay, their commerce is forbidden unto us, for that the prophet
(whom God bless and keep) warneth us against them." [299] "O my mother,"
answered Alaeddin, "thy speech is on my he