King." So he went and told him what had happened, whereupon quoth

the King, "There is no help for it but that I see this with mine own



eyes Then he sent for the fisherman and commanded him to bring four

other fish like the first and to take with him three men as witnesses.



The fisherman at once brought the fish, and the King, after ordering

them to give him four hundred gold pieces, turned to the Wazir and



said, "Up, and fry me the fishes here before me!" The Minister,

replying, "To hear is to obey," bade bring the frying pan, threw



therein the cleansed fish, and set it over the fire, when lo! the wall

clave asunder, and out burst a black slave like a huge rock or a



remnant of the tribe Ad, bearing in hand a branch of a green tree. And

he cried in loud and terrible tones, "O fish! O fish! Be ye an



constant to your antique convenant?" Whereupon the fishes lifted their

heads from the frying pan and said, "Yes! Yes! We be true to our vow,"



and they again recited the couplet:

"Come back and so will I! Keep faith and so will I!



But if ye fain forsake, I'll requite till quits we cry!"

Then the huge blackamoor approached the frying pan and upset it with



the branch and went forth by the way he came in. When he vanished from

their sight, the King inspected the fish, and finding them all charred



black as charcoal, was utterly bewildered, and said to the Wazir:

"Verily this is a matter whereanent silence cannot be kept. And as for



the fishes, assuredly some marvelous adventure connects with them." So

he bade bring the fisherman and asked him, saying: "Fie on thee,



fellow! Whence come these fishes?" And he answered, "From a tarn

between four heights lying behind this mountain which is in sight of



thy city." Quoth the King, "How many days' march?" Quoth he, "O our

Lord the Sultan, a walk of half-hour." The King wondered, and



straightway ordering his men to march and horsemen to mount, led off

the fisherman, who went before as guide, privily damning the Ifrit.



They fared on till they had climbed the mountain and descended

unto a great desert which they had never seen during all their



lives. And the Sultan and his merry men marveled much at the wold

set in the midst of four mountains, and the tarn and its fishes of



four colors, red and white, yellow and blue. The King stood fixed to

the spot in wonderment and asked his troops and an present, "Hath



anyone among you ever seen this piece of water before now?" And all

made answer, "O King of the Age, never did we set eyes upon it



during an our days." They also questioned the oldest inhabitants

they met, men well stricken in years, but they replied, each and



every, "A lakelet like this we never saw in this place." Thereupon

quoth the King, "By Allah, I will neither return to my capital nor sit



upon the throne of my forebears till I learn the truth about this tarn

and the fish therein."



He then ordered his men to dismount and bivouac all around the

mountain, which they did, and summoning his Wazir, a Minister of



much experience, sagacious, of penetrating wit and well versed in

affairs, said to him: "'Tis in my mind to do a certain thing,



whereof I will inform thee. My heart telleth me to fare forth alone

this night and root out the mystery of this tarn and its fishes. Do



thou take thy scat at my tent door, and say to the emirs and wazirs,

the nabobs and the chamberlains, in fine, to all who ask thee, 'The



Sultan is ill at ease, and he hath ordered me to refuse all

admittance.' And be careful thou let none know my design." And the



Wazir could not oppose him. Then the King changed his dress and

ornaments and, slinging his sword over his shoulder, took a path which



led up one of the mountains and marched for the rest of the night till

morning dawned, nor did he cease wayfaring till the heat was too



much for him. After his long walk he rested for a while, and then

resumed his march and fared on through the second night till dawn,



when suddenly there appeared a black point in the far distance. Hereat

he rejoiced and said to himself, "Haply someone here shall acquaint me



with the mystery of the tarn and its fishes."

Presently, drawing near the dark object, he found it a palace



built of swart stone plated with iron, and while one leaf of the

gate stood wide-open, the other was shut. The King's spirits rose high



as he stood before the gate and rapped a light rap, but hearing no

answer, he knocked a second knock and a third, yet there came no sign.



Then he knocked his loudest, but still no answer, so he said,

"Doubtless 'tis empty." There upon he mustered up resolution and



boldly walked through the main gate into the great hall, and there

cried out aloud: "Holloa, ye people of the palace! I am a stranger and



a wayfarer. Have you aught here of victual?" He repeated his cry a

second time and a third, but still there came no reply.



So, strengthening his heart and making up his mind, he stalked

through the vestibule into the very middle of the palace, and found no



man in it. Yet it was furnished with silken stuffs gold-starred, and

• protection [prə´tekʃən] n.警戒；护照；通行证 (初中英语单词)


• injury [´indʒəri] n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱 (初中英语单词)


• advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)


• fisherman [´fiʃəmən] n.渔民，渔夫，打鱼人 (初中英语单词)


• contrary [´kɔntrəri] a.相反的 n.相反 (初中英语单词)


• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)


• thereupon [,ðeərə´pɔn] ad.因此；于是 (初中英语单词)


• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)


• jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)


• wilderness [´wildənis] n.荒地，荒野 (初中英语单词)


• wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)


• damsel [´dæmzəl] n.姑娘，未婚少女 (初中英语单词)


• stress [stres] n.强调；压力 vt.强调 (初中英语单词)


• delicate [´delikət] a.精美的；微妙的 (初中英语单词)


• accordingly [ə´kɔ:diŋli] ad.因此；从而；依照 (初中英语单词)


• thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)


• constant [´kɔnstənt] a.坚定的；坚贞的 (初中英语单词)


• knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• marvelous [´mɑ:viləs] (=marvellous) a.奇异的 (初中英语单词)


• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)


• mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)


• acquaint [ə´kweint] vt.使….认识；告知 (初中英语单词)


• resolution [,rezə´lu:ʃən] n.决心；坚决；果断 (初中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• naught [nɔ:t] n.无；零 (高中英语单词)


• generosity [,dʒenə´rɔsiti] n.慷慨；慷慨的行为 (高中英语单词)


• plight [plait] n.境况；困境；苦境 (高中英语单词)


• pillar [´pilə] n.支柱 vt.用柱支持 (高中英语单词)


• hideous [´hidiəs] a.丑陋的，可怕的 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• therein [ðeə´rin] ad.在那里，在其中 (高中英语单词)


• sultan [´sʌltən] n.苏丹 (高中英语单词)


• concerning [kən´sə:niŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)


• silken [´silkən] a.丝制的；柔软光滑的 (高中英语单词)


• repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)


• charcoal [´tʃɑ:kəul] n.木炭；炭笔 (高中英语单词)


• whilst [wailst] conj.当…时候；虽然 (高中英语单词)


• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)


• finding [´faindiŋ] n.发现物；判断；结果 (高中英语单词)


• stricken [´strikən] strike的过去分词 (高中英语单词)


• throne [θrəun] n.宝座；王位 (高中英语单词)


• dismount [dis´maunt] v.(使)下马(车) (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• befallen [bi´fɔ:lən] befall的过去分词 (英语四级单词)


• covenant [´kʌvənənt] n.盟约，契约 v.订盟约 (英语四级单词)


• verily [´verili] ad.真实的；肯定地 (英语四级单词)


• sinner [´sinə] n.罪人 (英语四级单词)


• inasmuch [,inəz´mʌtʃ] conj.因为；鉴于 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• asunder [ə´sʌndə] a.分开地；零散地 (英语四级单词)


• wriggle [´rigəl] v.&n.蠕动；(使)扭动 (英语四级单词)


• exceeding [ik´si:diŋ] a.超越的，非常的 (英语四级单词)


• lastly [´lɑ:stli] ad.最后，终于 (英语四级单词)


• forsake [fə´seik] vt.遗弃，抛弃，摒绝 (英语四级单词)


• antique [æn´ti:k] a.古代的 n.古物(董) (英语四级单词)


• assuredly [ə´ʃuəridli] ad.确实地；确信地 (英语四级单词)


• whence [wens] ad.从何处；从那里 (英语四级单词)


• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• earthen [´ə:θən, -ðən] a.泥土做的；大地的 (英语六级单词)


• priceless [´praisləs] a.无价的；贵重的 (英语六级单词)


• apparition [,æpə´riʃən] n.(幽灵)出现；鬼；幻影 (英语六级单词)


• articulate [ɑ:´tikjulit] a.口齿清楚的 v.连接 (英语六级单词)


• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)