pleasures and amusements of a court had made
to forget his good host Abdallah, began now to think of him
again, and believed he had more than ordinary occasion for his
advice, after all he had seen the queen do that night. As soon as
he was up, therefore, he expressed a great desire to go and see
his uncle, and begged of her majesty to permit him. "What! my
dear Beder," cried the queen, "are you then already tired, I will
not say with living in so superb a palace as mine is, where you
must find so many pleasures, but with the company of a queen, who
loves you so passionately as I do, and has given you so many
marks of affection?"

"Great queen!" answered king Beder, "how can I be tired of so
many favours and graces as your majesty perpetually heaps upon
me? So far from it, I desire this permission, madam, purely to go
and give my uncle an account of the mighty obligations I have to
your majesty. I must own, likewise, that my uncle loving me so
tenderly, as I well know he does, having been absent from him now
forty days, I would not give him reason to think, that I consent
to remain longer without seeing him." "Go," said the queen, "you
have my consent; but you will not be long before you return, if
you consider I cannot possibly live without you." This said, she
ordered him a horse richly caparisoned, and he departed.

Old Abdallah was overjoyed to see king Beder. Without regard to
his quality, he embraced him tenderly, and King Beder returned
his embrace, that nobody might doubt but that he was his nephew.
As soon as they were sat down, "well," said Abdallah to the king,
"and how have you passed your time with that abominable
sorceress?"

"Hitherto," answered King Beder, "I must needs own she has been
extraordinarily kind to me, and has done all she could to
persuade me that she loves me faithfully; but I observed
something last night, which gives me just reason to suspect that
all her kindness was but dissimulation. Whilst she thought me
asleep, although I was really awake, she stole from me with a
great deal of precaution, which made me suspect her intention,
and therefore I resolved to watch her, still feigning myself
asleep." He then related to Abdallah in what manner he had seen
her make the cake; and then added, "Hitherto," said he, "I must
needs confess, I had almost forgotten, not only you, but all the
advice you gave me concerning the wickedness of this queen; but
this last action of hers gives me reason