cknowledge a king without a tail? And, O beasts of the
forest and the wilderness, how say ye? Am I to blame that I bow not to
one that hath it not?"

'Upon that, the lion rose, and roared in the extreme of wrath; but the
word he was about to utter was checked in him, for 'twas manifest that
where he would have lashed a tail he shook a stump, wagging it as the dog
doth. Lo! when the lion saw that, the majesty melted from him, and in a
moment the plumpness of content and prosperity forsook him, so that his
tawny skin hung flabbily and his jaw drooped, and shame deprived him of
stateliness; abashed was he! Now, seeing the lion shamed in this manner,
my heart beat violently for Shagpat, so that I awoke with the strength of
its beating, and 'twas hidden from me whether the monkey was punished by
the lion, or exalted by the other beasts in his place, or how came it
that the lion's tail was lost, witched from him by that villain of
mischief, the monkey; but, O great Genie, I knew there was a lion among
men, reverenced, and with enemies; that lion, he that espoused me and my
glory, Shagpat! 'Twas enough to know that and tremble at the omen of my
dream, O Genie. Wherefore I thought it well to summon thee here, that
thou mightest set a guard over Shagpat, and shield him from the
treacheries that beset him.'

When Kadza had ceased speaking, the Genie glowered at her awhile in
silence. Then said he, 'What creature is that, Kadza, which tormenteth
like the tongue of a woman, is small as her pretensions to virtue, and
which showeth how the chapters of her history should be read by the holy
ones, even in its manner of movement?'

Cried Kadza, 'The flea that hoppeth!'

So he said, ''Tis well! Hast thou strength to carry one of my weight, O
Kadza?'

She answered in squeamishness, 'I, wullahy! I'm but a woman, Genie,
though the wife of Shagpat: and to carry thee is for the camel and the
elephant and the horse.'

Then he, 'Tighten thy girdle, and when tightened, let a loose loop hang
from it.'

She did that, and he gave her a dark powder in her hand, saying, 'Swallow
the half of this, and what remaineth mix with water, and sprinkle over
thee.'

That did she, and thereupon he exclaimed, 'Now go, and thy part is to
move round Shagpat; and a wind will strike thee from one quarter, and
from which quarter it striketh is the one of menace and danger to
Shagpat.'

So Kadza was diligent in doing what the Genie commanded, and sought fo