s. The
people are murmuring at it, and I should have thought myself wanting
in my duty had I concealed from you their uneasiness, the consequences
of which may be dangerous. It is never too soon to prevent a
rebellion, and that which is now forming would be extremely fatal."

Constrained by these observations, the King commanded the criminal to
be brought before him.

"Unhappy man!" said he to him, "thou shalt never summon me to the
tribunal of Heaven for having hastened thy punishment. I have listened
to all the weak shifts by which thou hast defended thyself. I have
weighed their value. But reserve and circumspection have an end. My
people murmur. Their patience and mine is exhausted. Heaven and earth
look to me for justice, and thou hast reached thy last moment."

"Sire," replied the modest Aladin, "do the people look for an example
of your justice? Impatience is the fault of the people. But patience
ought always to sit upon the throne, amidst the virtues which form its
basis and safety. This virtue, necessary to all, and which calls upon
us for that resignation which we owe to the eternal decrees, raised
the patient Abosaber from the bottom of a well even to the throne."

"Who is this Abosaber?" asked the King. "Give me a short account of
his history."

[Illustration]

THE HISTORY OF ABOSABER THE PATIENT.

Sire (said Aladin), Abosaber, surnamed the Patient, was a wealthy and
generous man, who lived in a village which he rendered happy by his
charities. He was hospitable and beneficent to the poor, and every one
that applied to him. His granaries were full, his ploughs were
continually at work, his flocks covered the plains, and he maintained
plenty in the country. He had a wife and two children, and the
happiness of this way of life was disturbed by nothing but the
devastations of a monstrous lion, which ravaged the stables and folds
belonging to the peaceful cultivators of these happy regions,
according to its necessities and those of its young.

The wife of Abosaber wanted her husband, at the head of his people, to
hunt this animal, by whose devastation they, on account of their
riches, were more particularly affected.

"Wife," said Abosaber to her, "let us have patience! I have not any
skill in lion hunting; leave it to others."

The King of the country heard of the ravages of this lion, and ordered
a general chase. The people immediately took arms: the lion was sought
for, and soon surrounded on