WHEN the sun was sunk into the west, and the moon shone bright, Khojisteh went weeping to the parrot, and said, “I come to you every night for leave, and not for the purpose of hearing you relate tales.” The parrot answered, “No injury can happen to you from my admonition, but you will speedily derive advantage:—Go to-night to meet your lover; and if any enemy of yours should come there, I will set on foot a stratagem, as did the syagoash.” Khojisteh asked, “What is the story of the syagoash?”

The parrot said, “In a desert dwelt a lion, who had a monkey for his favourite. It happened that the lion went a journey to some place; previous to his departure, he delivered over his dwelling to the charge of the monkey. During the absence of the lion, a syagoash took possession of his dwell-ing-place, because it was a good spot, and chose it for his habitation. The monkey said to the syagoash, This is the lion's residence, how can you presume to take up your abode here without his permission? The syagoash replied, I have dis-covered that this place is my paternal inheritance: What news have you? The monkey was silent. The female syagoash said to the male, It is not ad-viseable to continue here; for, to oppose a lion, is to sport with one's own blood. The male replied, Aye, mistress, when the lion comes, I will drive him away from hence by stratagem. In short, after some days, intelligence arrived that the lion was coming. The monkey went out to meet the lion, and told him all the circumstances about the sya-goash, and said, I remonstrated, when he answered, I have discovered that this place is part of my pa-trimony. The lion said to the monkey, It cannot be a syagoash, how could such an animal usurp my place? It should seem that it is some beast who is stronger than myself. The monkey an-swered, He is not stronger than you. The lion said, How you talk! there are many animals who exceed me in strength. The lion, terrified, set out for his own home, and arrived near the spot. Be-fore the lion's arrival, the syagoash thus instructed his female: when the lion comes near the dwell-ing, make your young ones cry; and if I should ask, Why do the cubs cry? you must say, They want fresh lion's flesh to-day, and will not eat that of last night.—In short, the lion approached the dwelling, and the young ones began to cry. The syagoash asked, Why do the cubs cry? The dam answered, Because they are hungry. The syagoash proceeded, What! is there nothing remaining of that quantity of lion's and human flesh which was given them yesterday? The female said, They will not eat stale meat; they want some that is fresh. The syagoash said to the whelps, Make your minds easy, and have a little patience, I have heard that our lion will be here to-day; and if this intelligence is true, then, please God, you shall have plenty of fresh meat to devour. The lion was alarmed at hearing those words of the syagoash, not knowing him to be a syagoash. He then fled from the spot, and asked the monkey, Did I not tell you that some mighty animal is in my dwelling? The monkey said, Be not afraid, for this animal is very diminutive, and he speaks those words in order to deceive. The lion once more approached his home, and the female syagoash again made her cubs cry. The syagoash called out to the female, Do you quiet the young ones; to-day I shall find lion's flesh, because the monkey, who is my friend, has bound himself by an oath to deceive the lion and bring him hither this day; do you wait a lit-tle, and silence the cubs—suffer them not to make a noise; if he should discover my voice, he will not come here. When the lion heard these words, he immediately seized the monkey, and having torn him in pieces, took to flight, and never returned to that place again.”

The parrot, having concluded the tale of the sya-goash, said to Khojisteh, “Arise and go to your lover.” Khojisteh wanted to have gone; at the very time the morning birds made a noise, and the day appearing, her departure was put off.