e, without his having observed by what agency
it had been done. He had it then removed again and again, and on each
occasion it returned to the same chamber. Seeing at last all his
efforts fruitless, he permitted it to remain. The adventure, however,
was too remarkable to make no impression on his mind. He threw himself
down in his clothes on his couch; but sleep was denied to him. A train
of thought on the subject of the wondrous chest, and his fear on
account of the warning he had received, disturbed his mind, and
prevented him from taking any rest. There he lay awake till midnight,
and saw the chest glittering in the light of the moon, which fell
upon it as it streamed through the window.

Curiosity at once overcame his fear: he started up and procured an
iron tool with which he could break the seal of the cover, and took a
hammer and chisel with him. With the aid of these instruments he broke
through the leaden seal; but scarcely had it given way, when the lid
opened, and a blue curling smoke arose from it, and from the midst of
it issued a hideous old woman in a strange dress. She carried a crutch
under her left arm, and held another in her right hand. She limped
over the side of the vessel, and hobbling towards the astonished
Jalaladdeen, said,

"Fool, fool that thou art! is it befitting for thee, so young as thou
art, to stand there like an old idler? Go forth into the world, and
fetch the wonder-stone from Mount Massis, otherwise thou canst never
be my husband."

After these words she hobbled back on her crutch to the copper vessel,
gathered herself together, as it were, into a ball, tumbled hastily
in, and closed the cover on herself.

Overcome with fear and astonishment, Jalaladdeen threw himself upon
his couch; but the dawn of morning found him still awake. He
endeavoured to beguile the day in the arrangement of his house; but,
nevertheless, he could not chase from his memory the wonderful
spectacle which he had witnessed, and the portentous words that
attended it. He felt an uneasiness which he endeavoured in vain to
subdue, nor could he rest satisfied until he had investigated the
cause of his anxiety.

At length he was so exhausted by the business of the day, fatigue, and
want of rest, that he laid himself down early in the evenings and fell
asleep; but at the hour of midnight he awoke again. He saw the vessel
open, and the blue smoke arising from it, and from the midst of it the
ugly old woman hobb