She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when the sages and the doctors stood in presence of King Hardub，he honoured them with notable honours and committed the hand maidens to their hands，enjoining that these be instructed in all manner of knowledge，philosophy and polite accomplishments；and they set themselves to do his bidding.Such was the case with King Hardub；but as for King Omar bin al Nu'uman，when he returned from coursing and hunting and entered his palace，he sought Princess Abrizah but found her not，nor any one knew of her nor could any give him news of her.This was grievous to him and he said，'How could the lady leave the palace unknown of any？Had my kingdom been at stake in this case，it were in perilous condition there being none to govern it！I will never again go to sport and hunt till I have stationed at the gates those who shall keep good guard over them！'And he was sore vexed and his breast was straitened for the loss of Princess Abrizah.Hereupon behold，his son Sharrkan returned from his journey；and the father told him what had happened，and informed him how the lady had fled，whilst he was chasing and hunting，whereat he grieved with exceeding grief.Then King Omar took to visiting his children every day and ****** much of them and brought them learned men and doctors to teach them，appointing for them stipends.When Sharrkan saw this，he raged with exceeding rage and envied thereupon his brother and sister till the signs of chagrin appeared in his face and he ceased not to languish by reason of this matter：so one day his father said to him，'Why do I see thee grown weak in body and yellow of face？''O my father，'replied Sharrkan，'every time I see thee fondle my brother and sister and make much of them，jealousy seizeth on me，and I fear lest it grow on me till I slay them and thou slay me in return.
And this is the reason of my weakness of body and change of complexion.But now I crave of thy favour that thou give me one of thy castles outlying the rest，that I may abide there the remnant of my life，for as the sayer of bywords saith，'Absence from my friend is better and fitter for me'；and，'Whatso eye doth not perceive，that garreth not heart to grieve.''And he bowed his head towards the ground.When King Omar bin al-Nu'uman heard his words and knew the cause of his ailment and of his being broken down，he soothed his heart and said to him，'O my son，I grant thee this and I have not in my reign a greater than the Castle of Damascus，and the government of it is thine from this time.'Thereupon he forthright summoned his secretaries of state and bade them write Sharrkan's patent of investiture to the viceroyalty of Damascus of Syria.And when they had written it，he equipped him and sent with him the Wazir Dandan，and invested him with the rule and government and gave him instructions as to policy and regulations；and took leave of him，and the grandees and officers of state did likewise，and he set out with his host.
When he arrived at Damascus，the townspeople beat the drums and blew the trumpets and decorated the city and came out to meet him in great state； whilst all the notables and grandees paced in procession，and those who stood to the right of the throne walked on his right flank，and the others to the left.Thus far concerning Sharrkan；but as regards his father，Omar bin al-
Nu'uman，soon after the departure of his son，the children's tutors and governors presented themselves before him and said to him，'O our lord，thy children have now learnt knowledge and they are completely versed in the rules of manners and the etiquette of ceremony.'The King rejoiced thereat with exceeding joy and conferred bountiful largesse upon the learned men，seeing Zau al-Makan grown up and flourishing and skilled in horsemanship.The Prince had reached the age of fourteen and he occupied himself with piety and prayers，loving the poor，the Olema and the Koran students，so that all the people of Baghdad loved him，men and women.One day，the procession of the Mahmil[229] of Irak passed round Baghdad before its departure for the pilgrimage to Meccah and visitation of the tomb of the Prophet （whom Allah bless and preserve！）.When Zau al-Makan the Mahmil procession he was seized with longing desire to become a pilgrim，[230] so he went in to his sire and said，'I come to ask thy leave to make the pilgrimage.'But his father forbade him saying，'Wait till next year and I will go and thou too.'When the Prince saw that the matter was postponed，he betook himself to his sister Nuzhat al-Zaman，whom he found standing at prayer.As soon as she had ended her devotions he said to her，'I am dying with desire of pilgrimage to the Holy House of Allah at Meccah and to visit the tomb of the Prophet，upon whom be peace！I asked my father's leave，but he forbade me that，so I mean to take privily somewhat of money and set out on the pilgrimage without his knowledge.'
'Allah upon thee，'exclaimed she，'take me with thee and deprive me not of visitation to the tomb of the Prophet，whom Allah bless and keep！'And he answered，'As soon as it is dark night，do thou come forth from this place，without telling any.'
Accordingly，When it was the middle of the night she arose and took somewhat of money and donned a man's habit； and she ceased not walking to the palace gate，where she found Zau al-Makan with camels ready for marching.
