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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 marvelled much at the

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

fishes of four colours, red and white, yellow and blue.

The King stood fixed to the spot in wonderment and asked his

troops and all present, "Hath any one 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 all 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

forbears 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.