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When it was the One Hundred and Second Night, She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Sharrkan saw the Moslems in conquered plight and the Chamberlain upon the brink of retreat and flight and the sword havoc dight among the righteous and the workers of upright, the cause of this weakness among the Moslems was that the accursed old woman, Zat al- Dawahi, the foe of the Faith, after seeing that Bahram and Rustam had set forward with their troops to join Sharrkan and his brother Zau al-Makan, repaired to the camp of the Mahometans before Constantinople and caused the mission of the Emir Tarkash, as hath been before said.
Said Hardub, "Tarry thou till they draw near our country, that we may make us ready meantime and assemble our power." Accordingly they took to levying their forces and preparing for war, and, when the news of the Moslems' advance reached them, they were prepared for defence; and Zat al Dawahi had preceded them.
Thereupon they brought out to him the letter of the King of Constantinople, and Sharrkan read it and said, "We will presently restore to you what hath been taken from you; but yet it behoveth you not to carry merchandise to the country of the Infidels." Asked Sharrkan, "What was it ye won?" Now they had hidden the chest wherein was the damned Zat al- Dawahi.
Then the two Kings returned to Baghdad, with their captives, and Rumzan bade them decorate the city which they did for three days, at the end of which they brought out the old woman Shawahi, highs Zat al- Dawahi, with a peaked red turband of palm-leaves on her head, diademed with asses' dung and preceded by a herald proclaiming aloud, "This is the reward of those who presume to lay hands on Kings and the sons of Kings!"
Then the young lady went up to the old one and, throwing a wrapper of thin silk upon her nakedness, helped her to don her clothes and made excuses saying, "O my lady Zat al- Dawahi, I intended only to throw thee and not all this, but thou triedst to twist out of my hands; so laud to Allah for safety!"
So far concerning the Moslems; but as regards the Greeks and the cause of their refusing to fight during these three days the case was this. As soon as Zat al-Dawahi had slain Sharrkan, she hastened her march and reached the walls of Constantinople, where she called out in the Greek tongue to the guards to throw her down a rope. Quoth they, "Who art thou?"; and quoth she, "I am Zat al- Dawahi."
The news of him reached King Hardub, thy father, by report of the ancient dame Zat al- Dawahi; and thy sire, our sovereign, hath made sure that thou hast rendered good service to the army of the Greeks by taking captive this ominous lion."
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