Therewith the Vizier nudged him once and twice and thrice， and every time he began， "I ask of thee…" Quoth the Sultan， "Ask and be speedy." So he said， "I beseech thee to make me captain of the scavengers in Jerusalem or Damascus." Then all those who were present laughed， till they fell backward， and the Vizier beat him. So he turned to the Vizier and said to him， "What art thou that thou shouldst beat me？ It is no fault of mine： didst thou not bid me ask some considerable thing？ Let me go to my own country." With this， the Sultan knew that he was jesting and took patience with him awhile； then turned to him and said， "O my brother， ask of me some considerable thing， befitting our dignity." So the stoker said， "O King of the age， I ask first of God and then of thee， that thou make me Viceroy of Damascus in the room of thy brother." "God granteth thee this，" answered the King. So the stoker kissed the ground before him， and he bade set him a chair in his rank and put on him a viceroy"s habit. Then he wrote him a patent of investiture and sealing it with his own seal， said to the Vizier， "None shall go with him but thou； and when thou returnest， do thou bring with thee my brother"s daughter， Kuzia Fekan." "I hear and obey，" answered the Vizier and taking the stoker， went down with him and made ready for the journey. Then the King appointed the stoker servants and officers and gave him a new litter and princely equipage and said to the amirs， "Whoso loves me， let him honour this man and give him a handsome present." So they brought him every one his gift，according to his competence； and the King named him Ziblcan，[FN#150] and conferred on him the surname of honour of El Mujahid.[FN#151] As soon as the new Viceroy"s gear was ready， he went up with the Vizier to the King， to take leave of him and ask his permission to depart. The King rose to him and embracing him，exhorted him to do justice among his subjects and deal fairly with them and bade him make ready for war against the infidels after two years Then they took leave of each other and King Ziblcan， surnamed El Mujahid， set out on his journey， after the amirs had brought him slaves and servants， even to five thousand in number， who rode after him. The Grand Chamberlain also took horse， as did Behram， captain of the Medes， and Rustem， captain of the Persians， and Terkash， captain of the Arabs， and rode with him three days" journey， to do him honour and take their leaves of him. Then they returned to Baghdad and the Sultan Ziblcan and the Vizier Dendan fared on， with their company， till they drew near Damascus. Now news was come upon the wings of birds， to the notables of Damascus that King Zoulmekan had made Sultan over Damascus a Sultan called Ziblcan el Mujahid； so when he reached the city， he found it decorated in his honour， and all the folk came out to gaze on him. He entered Damascus in great state and went up to the citadel， where he sat down upon his chair of estate， whilst the Vizier Dendan stood in attendance on him， to acquaint him with the ranks and stations of the amirs. Then the grandees came in to him and kissed hands and called down blessings on him. He received them graciously and bestowed on them gifts and dresses of honour； after which he opened the treasuries and gave largesse to the troops， great and small. Then he governed and did justice and proceeded to equip the lady Kuzia Fekan， daughter of King Sherkan， appointing her a litter of silken stuff. Moreover， he furnished the Vizier Dendan also for the return journey and would have made him a gift of money， but he refused， saying， "Thou art near the time of the tryst with the King， and haply thou wilt have need of money， or we may send to seek of thee funds for the Holy War or what not." When the Vizier was ready， the Viceroy brought Kuzia Fekan to him and made her mount the litter， giving her ten damsels to do her service.
Moreover， he mounted， to bid the Vizier farewell， and they set forward， whilst Ziblcan returned to Damascus and busied himself in ordering the affairs of his government and ****** ready his harness of war， against such time as King Zoulmekan should send to him there for. Meanwhile the Vizier and his company fared forward by easy stages， till they came， after a month"s travel，to Ruhbeh[FN#152] and thence pushed on， till they drew near Baghdad. Then he despatched messengers， to inform King Zoulmekan of his arrival； and he， when he heard this， took horse and rode out to meet him. The Vizier would have dismounted to receive him，but the King conjured him not to do so and spurred his steed，till he came up to him. Then he questioned him of Ziblcan，whereto the Vizier replied that he was well and that he had brought with him his brother"s daughter， Kuzia Fekan. At this the King rejoiced and said to Dendan， "Go thou and rest thee of the fatigue of the journey， and after three days come to me again."
"With all my heart，" replied the Vizier and betook himself to his own house， whilst the King went up to his palace and went in to his brother"s daughter， who was then a girl of eight years old.
