" Then he folded the letter and sealed it and said to
Dendan, "None shall carry this letter but thou; and I would have
thee speak my brother fair and say to him, 'If thou have a mind
to thy father's kingdom, it is thine, and thy brother shall be
Viceroy for thee in Damascus; for to this effect am I instructed
by him."' So the Vizier went out from before him and proceeded
to make ready for his journey. Then Zoulmekan set apart a
magnificent house for the stoker and furnished it with sumptuous
furniture and lodged him therein. One day, he went out a-hunting
and as he was returning to Baghdad, one of the amirs presented
him with horses of fine breeds and damsels whose beauty beggars
description. One of the damsels pleased him: so he went in to her
and lay with her, and she conceived by him forthright. After
awhile, the Vizier Dendan returned from Damascus, bringing him
news of his brother Sherkan and that he was then on his way to
him, and said to him, "Thou wouldst do well to go out to meet
him." Zoulmekan replied, "I hear and obey;" and riding forth with
his grandees a day's journey from Baghdad, pitched his tents and
halted to await the coming of his brother. Next morning, the army
of Syria appeared, with King Sherkan in its midst, a bold
cavalier, a fierce lion and a warrior against whom none might
make head. As the squadrons drew nigh and the dust-clouds neared
and the troops came up with banners flying, Zoulmekan and his
attendants rode forward to meet Sherkan; and when the King saw
his brother, he would have dismounted, but Sherkan conjured him
not to do so and himself set foot to the ground and walked
towards him.
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