Answered Kamar alZaman，'O my father，Inshallah，I will lie abroad but one night！'Then he took leave of him，and he and Marzawan mounted and leading the spare horses，the dromedary with the money and the camel with the water and victual，turned their faces towards the open country；And Shahrazad perceived the dawning day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and First Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Kamar al
Zaman and Marzawan fared forth and turned their faces towards the open country；and they travelled from the first of the day till nightfall，when they halted and ate and drank and fed their beasts and rested awhile；after which they again took horse and ceased not journeying for three days，and on the fourth they came to a spacious tract wherein was a thicket. They alighted in it and Marzawan，taking the camel and one of the horses，slaughtered them and cut off their flesh and stripped their bones. Then he doffed from Kamar alZaman his shirt and trousers which he smeared with the horse's blood and he took the Prince's coat which he tore to shreds and befouled with gore；and he cast them down in the fork of the road. Then they ate and drank and mounting set forward again；and，when Kamar al Zaman asked why this was done，and said，'What is this O my brother，and how shall it profit us？'；Marzawan replied，'Know that thy father，when we have outstayed the second night after the night for which we had his leave，and yet we return not，will mount and follow in our track till he come hither；and，when he happeneth upon this blood which I have spilt and he seeth thy shirt and trousers rent and gorefouled，he will fancy that some accident befel thee from bandits or wildbeasts，so he will give up hope of thee and return to his city，and by this device we shall win our wishes.'
Quoth Kamar alZaman，'By Allah，this be indeed a rare device！
Thou hast done right well.''[298] Then the two fared on days and nights and all that while Kamar alZaman did naught but complain when he found himself alone，and he ceased not weeping till they drew near their journeys end，when he rejoiced and repeated these verses，'Wilt tyrant play with truest friend who thinks of thee each hour，And after showing lovedesire betray indifference？
May I forfeit every favour if in love I falsed thee，
If thee I left，abandon me by way of recompense：
But I've been guilty of no crime such harshness to deserve，
And if I aught offended thee I bring my penitence；
Of Fortune's wonders one it is thou hast abandoned me，
But Fortune never wearieth of showing wonderments.'
When he had made an end of his verses，Marzawan said to him，'Look！ these be King Ghayur's Islands；'whereat Kamar alZaman joyed with exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done，and kissed him between the eyes and strained himAnd Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Second Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when Marzawan said 'Look！ these be the Islands of King Ghayur；'Kamar alZaman joyed with exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done and kissed him between the eyes and strained him to his bosom. And after reaching the Islands and entering the city they took up their lodging in a khan，where they rested three days from the fatigues of their wayfare；after which Marzawan carried Kamar alZaman to the bath and，clothing him in merchant's gear，provided him with a geomantic tablet of gold，[299] with a set of astrological instruments and with an astrolabe of silver，plated with gold. Then he said to him，'Arise，O my lord，and take thy stand under the walls of the King's palace and cry out，'I am the ready Reckoner；I am the Scrivener；I am he who weeteth the Sought and the Seeker；I am the finished man of Science；I am the Astrologer accomplished in experience！ Where then is he that seeketh？' As soon as the King heareth this，he will send after thee and carry thee in to his daughter the Princess Budur，thy lover；but when about going in to her do thou say to him，'Grant me three days' delay，and if she recover，give her to me to wife；and if not，deal with me as thou dealest with those who forewent me.' He will assuredly agree to this，so as soon as thou art alone with her，discover thyself to her；and when she seeth thee，she will recover strength and her madness will cease from her and she will be made whole in one night. Then do thou give her to eat and drink. and her father，rejoicing in her recovery，will marry thee to her and share his kingdom with thee；for he hath imposed on himself this condition and so peace be upon thee.'Now when Kamar alZaman heard these words he exclaimed，'May I never lack thy benefits！'，and，taking the set of instruments aforesaid，sallied forth from the caravanserai in the dress of his order. He walked on till he stood under the walls of King Ghayur's palace，where he began to cry out，saying，'I am the Scribe，I am the ready Reckoner，I am he who knoweth the Sought and the Seeker；I am he who openeth the Volume and summeth up the Sums；[300] who Dreams can expound whereby the sought is found！ Where then is the seeker？'Now when the city people heard this，they flocked to him，for it was long since they had seen Scribe or Astrologer，and they stood round him and，looking upon him，they saw one in the prime of beauty and grace and perfect elegance，and they marvelled at his loveliness，and his fine stature and symmetry.
Presently one of them accosted him and said，'Allah upon thee，O thou fair and young，with the eloquent tongue！ incur not this affray；nor throw thy life away in thine ambition to marry the Princess Budur. Only cast shine eyes upon yonder heads hung up； all their owners have lost their lives in this same venture.'
