He waited patiently for some days till the dates were nearly ripe , and then he called his six sons , and said : ` One of you must watch the date tree till the dates are ripe , for if it is not watched the slaves will steal them , and I shall not have any for another year . ' And the eldest son answered , ' I will go , father , ' and he went . The first thing the youth did was to summon his slaves , and bid them beat drums all night under the date tree , for he feared to fall asleep . So the slaves beat the drums , and the young man danced till four o'clock , and then it grew so cold he could dance no longer , and one of the slaves said to him : ` It is getting light ; the tree is safe ; lie down , master , and go to sleep . ' So he lay down and slept , and his slaves slept likewise . A few minutes went by , and a bird flew down from a neighbouring thicket , and ate all the dates , without leaving a single one . And when the tree was stripped bare , the bird went as it had come . Soon after , one of the slaves woke up and looked for the dates , but there were no dates to see . Then he ran to the young man and shook him , saying : ` Your father set you to watch the tree , and you have not watched , and the dates have all been eaten by a bird . ' The lad jumped up and ran to the tree to see for himself , but there was not a date anywhere . And he cried aloud , ` What am I to say to my father ? Shall I tell him that the dates have been stolen , or that a great rain fell and a great storm blew ? But he will send me to gather them up and bring them to him , and there are none to bring ! Shall I tell him that Bedouins drove me away , and when I returned there were no dates ? And he will answer , `` You had slaves , did they not fight with the Bedouins ? '' It is the truth that will be best , and that will I tell him . ' Then he went straight to his father , and found him sitting in his verandah with his five sons round him ; and the lad bowed his head . ` Give me the news from the garden , ' said the sultan . And the youth answered , ` The dates have all been eaten by some bird : there is not one left . ' The sultan was silent for a moment : then he asked , ` Where were you when the bird came ? '
The lad answered : ' I watched the date tree XXXXX the cocks were crowing and it was getting light ; then I lay down for a little , and I slept .
after as by for from in of that till without