' 'How can we avail to do this thing,' answered they, 'and
whence shall we get the chrysolites and rubies and pearls whereof
thou speakest?' Quoth he, 'Know ye not that all the kings of the
word are under my hand and that none that is therein dare gainsay
my commandment?' 'Yes,' answered they; 'we know that.' 'Get ye
then,' rejoined he, 'to the mines of chrysolites and rubies and
gold and silver and to the pearl-fisheries and gather together
all that is in the world of jewels and metals of price and leave
nought; and take also for me such of these things as be in men's
hands and let nothing escape you: be diligent and beware of
disobedience.'
Then he wrote letters to all the [chief] kings of the world (now
the number of kings then reigning [in chief] over the earth was
three hundred and threescore kings) and bade them gather together
all of these things that were in their subjects' hands and get
them to the mines of precious stones and metals and bring forth
all that was therein, even from the abysses of the seas. This
they accomplished in the space of twenty years, and Sheddad then
assembled from all lands and countries builders and men of art
and labourers and handicraftsmen, who dispersed over the world
and explored all the wastes and deserts thereof, till they came
to a vast and fair open plain, clear of hills and mountains, with
springs welling and rivers running, and said, 'This is even such
a place as the King commanded us to find.
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