ABSTRACT
It is related, O auspicious King, that the wazīr of the victorious Salāh al-Dīn had a young Christian boy among the number of his favourite slaves, who was so beautiful and tender that the eyes of all men loved him. One day, as the wazīr was walking with this child, he was seen by Salāh al-Dīn and commanded to approach. The Sultān, casting a delighted glance upon the boy, asked the wazīr whence he came. ‘From Allāh, my lord,’ answered the wazīr a little uncomfortably. As Salāh al-Dīn went on his way, he smiled and said: ‘Now, O our wazīr, you have found a way to control us by the beauty of a star and prison us in the enchantment of a moon.’
