She sat in her rooms in the Golden Palace , or walked in the Palace garden , and was truly sorry for him . Of course if he had chosen to turn his ring on his finger and call up the Djinns and the Afrits they would have magicked all those nine hundred and ninety-nine quarrelsome wives into white mules of the desert or greyhounds or pomegranate seeds ; but Suleiman-bin-Daoud thought that that would be showing off . So , when they quarrelled too much , he only walked by himself in one part of the beautiful Palace gardens and wished he had never been born . One day , when they had quarrelled for three weeks -- all nine hundred and ninety-nine wives together -- Suleiman-bin-Daoud went out for peace and quiet as usual ; and among the orange trees he met Balkis the Most Beautiful , very sorrowful because Suleiman-bin-Daoud was so worried . And she said to him , ' O my Lord and Light of my Eyes , turn the ring upon your finger and show these Queens of Egypt and Mesopotamia and Persia and China that you are the great and terrible King . ' But Suleiman-bin-Daoud shook his head and said , ' O my Lady and Delight of my Life , remember the Animal that came out of the sea and made me ashamed before all the animals in all the world because I showed off . Now , if I showed off before these Queens of Persia and Egypt and Abyssinia and China , merely because they worry me , I might be made even more ashamed than I have been . ' And Balkis the Most Beautiful said , ' O my Lord and Treasure of my Soul , what will you do ? ' And Suleiman-bin-Daoud said , ' O my Lady and Content of my Heart , I shall continue to endure my fate at the hands of these nine hundred and ninety-nine Queens who vex me with their continual quarrelling . ' So he went on between the lilies and the loquats and the roses and the cannas and the heavy-scented ginger-plants that grew in the garden , till he came to the great camphor-tree that was called the Camphor Tree of Suleiman-bin-Daoud . But Balkis hid among the tall irises and the spotted bamboos and the red lillies behind the camphor-tree , so as to be near her own true love , Suleiman-bin-Daoud . Presently two Butterflies flew under the tree , quarrelling . Suleiman-bin-Daoud heard one say to the other , ' I wonder at your presumption in talking like this to me . Do n't you know that if I stamped with my foot all Suleiman-bin-Daoud 's Palace and this garden here would immediately vanish in a clap of thunder . ' Then Suleiman-bin-Daoud forgot his nine hundred and ninety-nine bothersome wives , and laughed , till the camphor-tree shook , at the Butterfly 's boast . And he held out his finger and said , ` Little man , come here . ' The Butterfly was dreadfully frightened , but he managed to fly up to the hand of Suleiman-bin-Daoud , and clung there , fanning himself . Suleiman-bin-Daoud bent his head and whispered very softly , ` Little man , you know that all your stamping would n't bend one blade of grass . What made you tell that awful fib to your wife ? -- for doubtless she is your wife . '
The Butterfly looked at Suleiman-bin-Daoud and saw the most wise XXXXX 's eye twinkle like stars on a frosty night , and he picked up his courage with both wings , and he put his head on one side and said , ' O King , live for ever .
Afrits Balkis King Persia Queens cannas ginger-plants irises lillies pomegranate