"Ho thou who grovellest low before the great * Nor over fording lesser men dost blench Who gildest dross by dirham gathering, * No otter scent disguises carrion stench!
And now to return to the story of her stratagem and the woes of her working. Presently she departed, taking the chief Nazarenes with their hosts, and turned towards the army of the Moslems. Whereupon King Hardub went in to King Afridun and said to him, "O King, we have no need of the Chief Patriarch nor of his prayers, but will consult my mother's counsel and observe what she will do with her craft unending against the Moslem hosts; for these are marching with all their power, they will soon be upon us and they will encircle us on all sides." When King Afridun heard this, terror took hold upon his heart and he wrote letter
