text:  "Brr!" cried the Commander of the Faithful in the same harsh grunting voice as before; "and you call that pastime that which we have seen a thousand and one times? By the beard of the Prophet vizier " he continued in a louder tone "if I have no sleep to-day nor appetite to-morrow there is the bowstring for you and the stake for your Almas!" At this terrible threat the vizier stood speechless with horror while the mouth of the alarmed emir gaped to an unnatural extent: the dancers paused as though suddenly turned to stone in the very same posture in which the menace of the Caliph had surprised them