than they loved the Sultan Darai.

At last one day signs of houses appeared, far, far off. And those who
saw cried out, 'Gazelle!'

And it answered, 'Ah, my mistresses, that is the house of Sultan Darai.'

At this news the women rejoiced much, and the slaves rejoiced much, and
in the space of two hours they came to the gates, and the gazelle bade
them all stay behind, and it went on to the house with Sultan Darai.

When the old woman saw them coming through the courtyard she jumped and
shouted for joy, and as the gazelle drew near she seized it in her arms,
and kissed it. The gazelle did not like this, and said to her: 'Old
woman, leave me alone; the one to be carried is my master, and the one
to be kissed is my master.'

And she answered, 'Forgive me, my son. I did not know this was our
master,' and she threw open all the doors so that the master might see
everything that the rooms and storehouses contained. Sultan Darai looked
about him, and at length he said:

'Unfasten those horses that are tied up, and let loose those people that
are bound. And let some sweep, and some spread the beds, and some cook,
and some draw water, and some come out and receive the mistress.'

And when the sultana and her ladies and her slaves entered the house,
and saw the rich stuffs it was hung with, and the beautiful rice that
was prepared for them to eat, they cried: 'Ah, you gazelle, we have seen
great houses, we have seen people, we have heard of things. But this
house, and you, such as you are, we have never seen or heard of.'

After a few days, the ladies said they wished to go home again. The
gazelle begged them hard to stay, but finding they would not, it brought
many gifts, and gave some to the ladies and some to their slaves. And
they all thought the gazelle greater a thousand times than its master,
Sultan Darai.

The gazelle and its master remained in the house many weeks, and one day
it said to the old woman, 'I came with my master to this place, and I
have done many things for my master, good things, and till to-day he has
never asked me: "Well, my gazelle, how did you get this house? Who is
the owner of it? And this town, were there no people in it?" All good
things I have done for the master, and he has not one day done me any
good thing. But people say, "If you want to do any one good, don't do
him good only, do him evil also, and there will be peace between you."
So, mother, I have done: I want to see the favours