ehold! fire issued therefrom and burnt up all the
growths that were around it; wherefore I was affrighted and fear took
me. Then I awoke and sent to bid thee to me, because of thy knowledge
and skill in the interpretation of dreams and of that which I know of
the vastness of thy wisdom and the greatness of thine understanding.” At
this Shimas the Wazir bowed his head groundwards awhile and presently
raising it, smiled; so the King said to him, “What deemest thou, O
Shimas? Tell me the truth of the matter and hide naught from me.”
Answered Shimas, “O King, verily Allah Almighty granteth thee thy wish
and cooleth thine eyes; for the matter of this dream presageth all good,
to wit, that the Lord will bless thee with a son, who shall inherit the
Kingdom from thee, after thy long life. But there is somewhat else I
desire not to expound at this present, seeing that the time is not
favourable for interpretation.” The King rejoiced in these words with
exceeding joy and great was his contentment; his trouble departed from
him, his mind was at rest and he said, “If the case be thus of the happy
presage of my dream, do thou complete to me its exposition when the
fitting time betideth: for that which it behoveth not to expound to me
now, it behoveth that thou expound to me when its time cometh, so my joy
may be fulfilled, because I seek naught in this save the approof of
Allah extolled and exalted be He!” Now when the Wazir Shimas saw that
the King was urgent to have the rest of the exposition, he put him off
with a pretext; but Jali’ad assembled all the astrologers and
interpreters of dreams of his realm and as soon as they were in the
presence related to them his vision, saying, “I desire you to tell me
the true interpretation of this.” Whereupon one of them came forward and
craved the King’s permission to speak, which being granted, he said,
“Know, O King, that thy Wazir Shimas is nowise unable to interpret this
thy dream; but he shrank from troubling thy repose: wherefore he
disclosed not unto the