Now when he saw them，he laid hands on them，saying，'Omy sons，know ye that I am but a slave commanded，and that your father hath laid a commandment on me；will ye obey his commandment？'
They said，'Yes'；whereupon he went up to them and，after pinioning their arms，laid them in the chests which he loaded on the back of a mule he had taken from the city. And he ceased not carrying them into the open country till near noon，when he halted in a waste and desolate place and，dismounting from his mare，let down the two chests from the mule's back. Then he opened them and took out Amjad and As'ad；and when he looked upon them he wept sore for their beauty and loveliness；then drawing his sword he said to them，'By Allah，O my lords，indeed it is hard for me to deal so evilly by you；but I am to be excused in this matter，being but a slave commanded，for that your father King Kamar alZaman hath bidden me strike off your heads.'They replied，'O Emir，do the King's bidding，for we bear with patience that which Allah （to Whom be Honour，Might and Glory！）
hath decreed to us；and thou art quit of our blood.'Then they embraced and bade each other farewell，and As'ad said to the treasurer，'Allah upon thee，O uncle，spare me the sight of my brother's deathagony and make me not drink of his anguish，but kill me first，for that were the easier for me.'And Amjad said the like and entreated the treasurer to kill him before As'ad，saying，'My brother is younger than I；so make me not taste of his anguish. And they both wept bitter tears whilst the treasurer wept for their weeping；And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Twentyfirst Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the treasurer wept for their weeping；then the two brothers embraced and bade farewell and one said to the other，'All this cometh of the malice of those traitresses，my mother and thy mother；and this is the reward of my forbearance towards thy mother and of thy for bearance towards my mother！ But there is no Might and there is no Majesty save in Allah，the Glorious，the Great！
Verily，we are Allah's and unto Him we are returning.'[364]
And As'ad em braced his brother，sobbing and repeating these couplets，'O Thou to whom sad trembling wights in fear complain！
O ever ready whatso cometh to sustain！
The sole resource for me is at Thy door to knock，
At whose door knock an Thou to open wilt not deign？
O Thou whose grace is treasured in the one word，Be！[365]
Favour me，I beseech，in Thee all weals contain.'
Now when Amjad heard his brother's weeping he wept also and pressing him to his bosom repeated these two couplets，'O Thou whose boons to me are more than one！
Whose gifts and favours have nor count nor bound！
No stroke of all Fate's strokes e'er fell on me，
But Thee to take me by the hand I found.'
Then said Amjad to the treasurer，'I conjure thee by the One，Omnipotent，the Lord of Mercy，the Beneficent！ slay me before my brother As'ad，so haply shall the fire be quencht in my heart's core and in this life burn no more.'But As'ad wept and exclaimed，'Not so： I will die first；'whereupon quoth Amjad，'It were best that I embrace thee and thou embrace me，so the sword may fall upon us and slay us both at a single stroke.'Thereupon they embraced，face to face and clung to each other straitly，whilst the treasurer tied up the twain and bound them fast with cords，weeping the while. Then he drew his blade and said to them，'By Allah，O my lords，it is indeed hard to me to slay you！
But have ye no last wishes that I may fulfil or charges which I may carry out，or message which I may deliver？'Replied Amjad，'We have no wish；and my only charge to thee is that thou set my brother below and me above him，that the blow may fall on me first，and when thou hast killed us and returnest to the King and he asketh thee，'What heardest thou from them before their death？'；do thou answer，'Verily thy sons salute thee and say to thee，Thou knewest not if we were innocent or guilty，yet hast thou put us to death and hast not certified thyself of our sin nor looked into our case.' Then do thou repeat to him these two couplets，'Women are Satans made for woe o' men；I fly to Allah from their devilish scathe：
Source of whatever bale befel our kind，
In wordly matters and in things of Faith.'
Continued Amjad，'We desire of thee naught but that thou repeat to our sire these two couplets.'And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it was ad the Two Hundred and Twentysecond Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Amjad added，speaking to the treasurer，'We desire of thee naught but that thou repeat to our sire these two couplets which thou hast just now heard；and I conjure thee by Allah to have patience with us，whilst I cite to my brother this other pair of couplets.'
Then he wept with sore weeping and began，'The Kings who fared before us showed Of instances full many a show：
Of great and small and high and low
How many this one road have trod！'
Now when the treasurer heard these words from Amjad，he wept till his beard was wet，whilst As'ad's eyes brimmed with tears and he in turn repeated these couplets，'Fate frights us when the thing is past and gone；Weeping is not for form or face alone[366]：
What ails the Nights？[367] Allah blot out our sin，
And be the Nights by other hand undone！
Ere this Zubayrson[368] felt their spiteful hate，
Who fled for refuge to the House and Stone：
Would that when Kharijah was for Amru slain[369]
They had ransomed Ali with all men they own.'
Then，with cheeks stained by tears down railing he recited also these verses，'In sooth the Nights and Days are charactered
By traitor falsehood and as knaves they lie；
The Desertreek[370] recalls their teeth that shine；
All horrid blackness is their K of eye：
My sin anent the world which I abhor
Is sin of sword when sworders fighting hie.'
Then his sobs waxed louder and he said，'O thou who woo'st a World[371] unworthy，learn