t up and went into the forest, and on
the fifth day, as they were resting near a stream, the gazelle gave
its master a sound beating, and then bade him stay where he was till it
returned. And the gazelle ran off, and about ten o'clock it came near
the sultan's palace, where the road was all lined with soldiers who were
there to do honour to Sultan Darai. And directly they caught sight of
the gazelle in the distance one of the soldiers ran on and said, 'Sultan
Darai is coming: I have seen the gazelle.'

Then the sultan rose up, and called his whole court to follow him,
and went out to meet the gazelle, who, bounding up to him, gave him
greeting. The sultan answered politely, and inquired where it had left
its master, whom it had promised to bring back.

'Alas!' replied the gazelle, 'he is lying in the forest, for on our way
here we were met by robbers, who, after beating and robbing him, took
away all his clothes. And he is now hiding under a bush, lest a passing
stranger might see him.'

The sultan, on hearing what had happened to his future son-in-law,
turned his horse and rode to the palace, and bade a groom to harness
the best horse in the stable and order a woman slave to bring a bag of
clothes, such as a man might want, out of the chest; and he chose out
a tunic and a turban and a sash for the waist, and fetched himself a
gold-hilted sword, and a dagger and a pair of sandals, and a stick of
sweet-smelling wood.

'Now,' said he to the gazelle, 'take these things with the soldiers to
the sultan, that he may be able to come.'

And the gazelle answered: 'Can I take those soldiers to go and put my
master to shame as he lies there naked? I am enough by myself, my lord.'

'How will you be enough,' asked the sultan, 'to manage this horse and
all these clothes?'

'Oh, that is easily done,' replied the gazelle. 'Fasten the horse to my
neck and tie the clothes to the back of the horse, and be sure they are
fixed firmly, as I shall go faster than he does.'

Everything was carried out as the gazelle had ordered, and when all was
ready it said to the sultan: 'Farewell, my lord, I am going.'

'Farewell, gazelle,' answered the sultan; 'when shall we see you again?'

'To-morrow about five,' replied the gazelle, and, giving a tug to the
horse's rein, they set off at a gallop.

The sultan watched them till they were out of sight: then he said to his
attendants, 'That gazelle comes from gentle hands, from the house of a
s