Then，having ended his verse，he rose and donned his clothes but he knew not whither to go or whence to come；so he fed on the herbs of the earth and the fruits of the trees and he drank of the streams，and fared on night and day till he came in sight of a city；whereupon he rejoiced and hastened his pace；but when he reached it，And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.
When it Was the Two Hundred and Thirtysixth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that when he reached the city the shades of evening closed around him and the gates were shut. Now by the decrees of Pate and man's lot this was the very city wherein he had been a prisoner and to whose King his brother Amjad was Minister. When As'ad saw the gate was locked，he turned back and made for the burialground，where finding a tomb without a door，he entered therein and lay down and fell asleep，with his face covered by his long sleeve.[396] Meanwhile，Queen Marjanah，coming up with Bahram's ship，questioned him of As'ad. Now the Magian，when Queen Marjanah overtook him with her ships，baffled her by his artifice and gramarye；swearing to her that he was not with him and that he knew nothing of him. She searched the ship，but found no trace of her friend，so she took Bahram and，carrying him back to her castle，would have put him to death，but he ransomed himself from her with all his good and his ship；and she released him and his men. They went forth from her hardly believing in their deliverance，and fared on ten days' journey till they came to their own city and found the gate shut，it being eventide. So they made for the burialground，thinking to lie the night there and，going round about the tombs，as Fate and Fortune would have it，saw the building wherein As'ad lay wide open；whereat Bahram marvelled and said，'I must look into this sepulchre.'Then he entered and found As'ad lying in a corner fast asleep，with his head covered by his sleeve；so he raised his head，and looking in his face，knew him for the man on whose account he had lost his good and his ship，and cried，'What！ art thou yet alive？'Then he bound him and gagged him without further parley，and carried him to his house，where he clapped heavy shackles on his feet and lowered him into the underground dungeon aforesaid prepared for the tormenting of Moslems，and he bade his daughter by name Bostan，[397] torture him night and day，till the next year，when they would again visit the Mountain of Fire and there offer him up as a sacrifice. Then he beat him grievously and locking the dungeon door upon him，gave the keys to his daughter. By and by，Bostan opened the door and went down to beat him，but finding him a comely youth and a sweetfaced with arched brows and eyes black with nature's Kohl，[398] she fell in love with him and asked him，'What is thy name？''My name is As'ad，'answered he；whereat she cried，'Mayst thou indeed be happy as thy name，[399] and happy be thy days！ Thou deservest not torture and blows，and I see thou hast been injuriously entreated.'And she comforted him with kind words and loosed his bonds. Then she questioned him of the religion of AlIslam and he told her that it was the true and right Faith and that our lord Mohammed had approved himself by surpassing miracles[400] and signs manifest，and that fireworship is harmful and not profitable；and he went on to expound to her the tenets of AlIslam till she was persuaded and the love of the True Faith entered her heart.
Then，as Almighty Allah had mixed up with her being a fond affection for As'ad，she pronounced the Two Testimonies[401]
of the Faith and became of the people of felicity. After this，she brought him meat and drink and talked with him and they prayed together： moreover，she made him chicken stews and fed him therewith，till he regained strength and his sickness left him and he was restored to his former health. Such things befel him with the daughter of Bahram，the Magian；and so it happened that one day she left him and stood at the housedoor when behold，she heard the crier crying aloud and saying，'Whoso hath with him a handsome young man，whose favour is thus and thus，and bringeth him forth，shall have all he seeketh of money；but if any have him and deny it，he shall be hanged over his own door and his property shall be plundered and his blood go for naught.'Now As'ad had acquainted Bostan bint Bahram with his whole history：
so，when she heard the crier，she knew that it was he who was sought for and，going down to him，told him the news. Then he fared forth and made for the mansion of the Wazir，whom，when As'ad saw，exclaimed，'By Allah，this Minister is my brother Amjad！'Then he went up （and the damsel walking behind him） to the Palace，where he again saw his brother，and threw himself upon him；whereupon Amjad also knew him and fell upon his neck and they embraced each other，whilst the Wazir's Mamelukes dismounted and stood round them. They lay awhile insensible and，when they came to themselves，Amjad took his brother and carried him to the Sultan，to whom he related the whole story，and the Sultan charged him to plunder Bahram's house.And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.
When it was the Two Hundred and Thirtyseventh Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that the Sultan ordered Amjad to plunder Bahram's house and to hang its owner. So Amjad despatched thither for that purpose a company of men，who sacked the house and took Bahram and brought his daughter to the Wazir by whom she was received with all honour，for As'ad had told his brother the torments he had suffered and the kindness she had done him. Thereupon Amjad related in his turn to As'ad all that had passed between himself and the damsel；and how he had escaped hanging and had become Wazir；and they made moan，each to other，of the anguish they had suffered for separation.
