'
'You see,' said the fairy, 'that the pavilion is larger than your
father may have occasion for; but you are to observe that it
becomes larger or smaller, according to the army it is to cover,
without being touched.'
The treasurer took down the tent again, reduced it to its first
size, and brought it and put it into the prince's hands. He took
it, and next day mounted his horse and went with the usual
attendants to the sultan his father.
The sultan, who was persuaded that such a tent as he asked for was
beyond all possibility, was in great surprise at the prince's
diligence. He took the tent and admired its smallness. But when he
had set it up in the great plain, and found it large enough to
shelter an army twice as large as he could bring into the field,
his amazement was so great that he could not recover himself. As he
thought this might be troublesome in use, Prince Ahmed told him
that its size would always be proportionate to his army.
To outward appearance the sultan expressed great obligation to the
prince his son for so noble a present, desiring him to return his
thanks to the fairy Pari Banou; and to show what a value he set on
it, he ordered it to be carefully laid up in his treasury.
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