said the Butterfly's Wife, fanning herself quickly,
'over nothing at all, but we must humour them, O Queen. They never mean
half they say. If it pleases my husband to believe that I believe he can
make Suleiman-bin-Daoud's Palace disappear by stamping his foot, I'm
sure _I_ don't care. He'll forget all about it to-morrow.'

'Little sister,' said Balkis, 'you are quite right; but next time he
begins to boast, take him at his word. Ask him to stamp, and see what
will happen. _We_ know what men-folk are like, don't we? He'll be very
much ashamed.'

Away flew the Butterfly's Wife to her husband, and in five minutes they
were quarrelling worse than ever.

'Remember!' said the Butterfly. 'Remember what I can do if I stamp my
foot.'

'I don't believe you one little bit,' said the Butterfly's Wife. 'I
should very much like to see it done. Suppose you stamp now.'

'I promised Suleiman-bin-Daoud that I wouldn't,' said the Butterfly,
'and I don't want to break my promise.'

'It wouldn't matter if you did,' said his wife. 'You couldn't bend a
blade of grass with your stamping. I dare you to do it,' she said.
'Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!'

Suleiman-bin-Daoud, sitting under the camphor-tree, heard every word of
this, and he laughed as he had never laughed in his life before. He
forgot all about his Queens; he forgot all about the Animal that came
out of the sea; he forgot about showing off. He just laughed with joy,
and Balkis, on the other side of the tree, smiled because her own true
love was so joyful.

Presently the Butterfly, very hot and puffy, came whirling back under
the shadow of the camphor-tree and said to Suleiman, 'She wants me to
stamp! She wants to see what will happen, O Suleiman-bin-Daoud! You know
I can't do it, and now she'll never believe a word I say. She'll laugh
at me to the end of my days!'

'No, little brother,' said Suleiman-bin-Daoud, 'she will never laugh at
you again,' and he turned the ring on his finger--just for the little
Butterfly's sake, not for the sake of showing off,--and, lo and behold,
four huge Djinns came out of the earth!

'Slaves,' said Suleiman-bin-Daoud, 'when this gentleman on my finger'
(that was where the impudent Butterfly was sitting) 'stamps his left
front forefoot you will make my Palace and these gardens disappear in a
clap of thunder. When he stamps again you will bring them back
carefully.'

'Now, little brother,' he said, 'go back to your wife and stamp all
you've a mi