ad talked to him, and
he paid no heed; and he had beaten him, and he paid no heed; and he had
tied him up, and he paid no heed, till at last his father grew tired of
trying to make him change his ways, and let him alone.

Time passed, and one day the sultan, to his great joy, saw signs
of fruit on his date tree. And he told his vizir, 'My date tree is
bearing;' and he told the officers, 'My date tree is bearing;' and he
told the judges, 'My date tree is bearing;' and he told all the rich men
of the town.

He waited patiently for some days till the dates were nearly ripe, and
then he called his six sons, and said: 'One of you must watch the date
tree till the dates are ripe, for if it is not watched the slaves will
steal them, and I shall not have any for another year.'

And the eldest son answered, 'I will go, father,' and he went.

The first thing the youth did was to summon his slaves, and bid them
beat drums all night under the date tree, for he feared to fall asleep.
So the slaves beat the drums, and the young man danced till four
o'clock, and then it grew so cold he could dance no longer, and one
of the slaves said to him: 'It is getting light; the tree is safe; lie
down, master, and go to sleep.'

So he lay down and slept, and his slaves slept likewise.

A few minutes went by, and a bird flew down from a neighbouring thicket,
and ate all the dates, without leaving a single one. And when the tree
was stripped bare, the bird went as it had come. Soon after, one of the
slaves woke up and looked for the dates, but there were no dates to see.
Then he ran to the young man and shook him, saying:

'Your father set you to watch the tree, and you have not watched, and
the dates have all been eaten by a bird.'

The lad jumped up and ran to the tree to see for himself, but there was
not a date anywhere. And he cried aloud, 'What am I to say to my father?
Shall I tell him that the dates have been stolen, or that a great rain
fell and a great storm blew? But he will send me to gather them up and
bring them to him, and there are none to bring! Shall I tell him that
Bedouins drove me away, and when I returned there were no dates? And he
will answer, "You had slaves, did they not fight with the Bedouins?" It
is the truth that will be best, and that will I tell him.'

Then he went straight to his father, and found him sitting in his
verandah with his five sons round him; and the lad bowed his head.

'Give me the news fro