to fear she intends to
observe none of her promises or solemn oaths to you. I thought
of you immediately, and I esteem myself happy that I have
obtained permission to come to you."

"You are not mistaken," replied old Abdallah with a smile, which
showed he did not himself believe she would have acted otherwise;
"nothing is capable of obliging a perfidious woman to amend. But
fear nothing. I know how to make the mischief she intends you
fall upon herself. You are alarmed in time; and you could not
have done better than to have recourse to me. It is her ordinary
practice to keep her lovers only forty days; and after that time,
instead of seeding them home, to turn them into animals, to stock
her forests and parks; but I thought of measures yesterday to
prevent her doing you the same harm. The earth has borne this
monster long enough, and it is now high time she should be
treated as she deserves."

So saying, Abdallah put two cakes into king Beder's hands,
bidding him keep them to be used as he should direct. "You told
me," continued he, "the sorceress made a cake last night; it was
for you to eat; but do not touch it. Nevertheless, do not refuse
to receive it, when she offers it you; but instead of tasting it,
break off part of one of the two I shall give you, unobserved,
and eat that. As soon as she thinks you have swallowed it, she
will not fail to attempt transforming you into some animal, but
she shall not succeed; when she sees that she has failed, she
will immediately turn her proceeding into pleasantry, as if what
she had done was only out of joke to frighten you; but she will
conceal a mortal grief in her heart, and think she has omitted
something in the composition of her cake. As for the other cake,
you shall make a present of it to her, and press her to eat it;
which she will not refuse to do, were it only to convince you she
does not mistrust you, though she has given you so much reason to
mistrust her. When she has eaten of it, take a little water in
the hollow of your hand, and throwing it in her face, say, "Quit
that form you now wear, and take that of such or such animal," as
you shall think fit; which done, come to me with the animal, and
I will tell you what you shall do afterwards."

King Beder expressed to Abdallah, in the warmest terms, his great
obligations to him, for his endeavours to defend him from the
power of a pestilent sorceress; and after some further
conversation took his leave of hi