the couch with the bride and
bridegroom in their own chamber, the sultan came to the door to offer
his good wishes to his daughter. The grand vizier's son, who was almost
perished with cold, by standing in his thin under-garment all night, no
sooner heard the knocking at the door than he got out of bed, and ran
into the robing-chamber, where he had undressed himself the night
before.

The sultan having opened the door, went to the bedside, kissed the
princess on the forehead, but was extremely surprised to see her look so
melancholy. She only cast at him a sorrowful look, expressive of great
affliction. He suspected there was something extraordinary in this
silence, and thereupon went immediately to the sultaness's apartment,
told her in what a state he found the princess, and how she had received
him. "Sire," said the sultaness, "I will go and see her; she will not
receive me in the same manner."

The princess received her mother with sighs and tears, and signs of deep
dejection. At last, upon her pressing on her the duty of telling her all
her thoughts, she gave to the sultaness a precise description of all
that happened to her during the night; on which the sultaness enjoined
on her the necessity of silence and discretion, as no one would give
credence to so strange a tale. The grand vizier's son, elated with the
honour of being the sultan's son-in-law, kept silence on his part, and
the events of the night were not allowed to cast the least gloom on the
festivities on the following day, in continued celebration of the royal
marriage.

When night came, the bride and bridegroom were again attended to their
chamber with the same ceremonies as on the preceding evening. Aladdin,
knowing that this would be so, had already given his commands to the
genie of the lamp; and no sooner were they alone than their bed was
removed in the same mysterious manner as on the preceding evening; and
having passed the night in the same unpleasant way, they were in the
morning conveyed to the palace of the sultan. Scarcely had they been
replaced in their apartment, when the sultan came to make his
compliments to his daughter, when the princess could no longer conceal
from him the unhappy treatment she had been subject to, and told him all
that had happened as she had already related it to her mother. The
sultan, on hearing these strange tidings, consulted with the grand
vizier; and finding from him that his son had been subjected to eve