{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_65965/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_65965","id":"gutenberg_65965","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65965","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Tales -- Asia"],"text":"The Jewel Series\n\n THE DIAMOND STORY BOOK. Compiled by PENRHYN W.\n COUSSENS. Illustrations in color by Ethel\n Green.\n\n THE EMERALD STORY BOOK. _Stories of Spring,\n Nature, and Easter._ By ADA and ELEANOR\n SKINNER. Frontispiece in color by Maxfield\n Parrish.\n\n THE RUBY STORY BOOK. _Tales of Courage and\n Heroism._ Retold by PENRHYN W. COUSSENS.\n Frontispiece in color by Maxfield Parrish.\n\n THE SAPPHIRE STORY BOOK. _Tales of the Sea._\n Collected and retold by PENRHYN W.\n COUSSENS. Frontispiece in color by\n Maxfield Parrish.\n\n THE TOPAZ STORY BOOK. _Stories and Legends of\n Autumn, Hallowe\u2019en, and Thanksgiving._\n Compiled by ADA M. and ELEANOR L. SKINNER.\n Frontispiece in color by Maxfield Parrish.\n\n THE TURQUOISE STORY BOOK. _Stories and Legends\n of Summer and Nature._ By ADA M. and\n ELEANOR L. SKINNER. Frontispiece in color\n by Maxfield Parrish.\n\n THE PEARL STORY BOOK. _Stories and Legends of\n Winter, Christmas and New Year\u2019s Day._\n Compiled by ADA M. and ELEANOR L. SKINNER.\n Frontispiece in color by Maxfield Parrish.\n\n THE GARNET STORY BOOK. _Tales of Cheer both\n Old and New._ Compiled by ADA M. and\n ELEANOR L. SKINNER. Frontispiece in color\n by Dugald S. Walker.\n\n THE JADE STORY BOOK. _Stories from the\n Orient._ Compiled by PENRHYN W. COUSSENS.\n Frontispiece in color by Dugald Stewart\n Walker.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: _Drawn by Dugald Stewart Walker_]\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE\n JADE STORY BOOK\n\n _Stories from the Orient_\n\n BY\n\n PENRHYN W. COUSSENS\n\n _Author of \u201cThe Diamond Story Book,\u201d \u201cThe Ruby Story Book,\u201d \u201cThe\n Sapphire Story Book.\u201d Editor of \u201cOne Thousand Books for Children,\u201d\n \u201cA Child\u2019s Book of Stories,\u201d \u201cPoems Children Love,\u201d etc._\n\n FRONTISPIECE BY\n DUGALD STEWART WALKER\n\n [Illustration]\n\n NEW YORK\n DUFFIELD AND COMPANY\n 1922\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n Copyright, 1922, by\n DUFFIELD & COMPANY\n\n\n Printed in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TO MY\n\n DEAREST PAL\n\n MY WIFE\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\n\n _Arranged Alphabetically_\n\n\n PAGE\n\n PREFACE ix\n\n ADVENTURES OF JUAN, THE _Tagalog_ 298\n\n CRANE AND THE CRAB, THE _India_ 111\n\n DYED JACKAL, THE _India_ 244\n\n EMPRESS JANQWI AND THE MAGICIANS _China_ 260\n\n FAITHFUL RAJPOOT, THE _India_ 16\n\n FEAST OF THE LANTERNS, THE _China_ 303\n\n FOUR FRIENDS, THE _Persia_ 292\n\n FOX AND THE CRAFTY CRAB, THE _China_ 67\n\n HE WISHED TO LIVE FOREVER _Japan_ 102\n\n HOW THE BIRDS SAVED THE EMPEROR\u2019S LIFE _China_ 3\n\n IN UNION IS STRENGTH _China_ 323\n\n INGRATITUDE _India_ 70\n\n JACKAL, DEER AND THE CROW, THE _India_ 89\n\n LION AND THE HARE, THE _India_ 116\n\n LUMAWIG ON EARTH _Igorot_ 316\n\n MR. SIN, THE CARP _China_ 206\n\n MYSTERIOUS GARDEN, THE _India_ 357\n\n PAPER BAG, THE _Japan_ 77\n\n PESTLE AND MORTAR OF JADE, THE _China_ 338\n\n PIGEON-KING AND MOUSE-KING _India_ 98\n\n PRINCE AHMED _Persia_ 141\n\n PRINCE VARNA _Persia_ 250\n\n PRINCE ZEYN ALASNAM AND THE SULTAN OF THE GENII _Persia_ 218\n\n PRINCESS MOONLIGHT _Japan_ 52\n\n PUNCHKIN _India_ 30\n\n RASALU, THE FAKIR AND THE GIANTS _India_ 365\n\n RAJAH RASALU _India_ 271\n\n ROSAMOND, THE SWIFT OF FOOT _Oriental_ 84\n\n STORY OF BANTUGAN, THE _Moro_ 326\n\n STORY OF CALIPH STORK, THE _Oriental_ 119\n\n TALE OF TWO MERCHANTS, THE _Persia_ 23\n\n WHY DOGS WAG THEIR TAILS _Visayan_ 247\n\n WIDOW\u2019S SON, THE _Mindanao_ 198\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE\n\n\n\u201cThe Jade Story Book\u201d contains tales gathered from the folklore of Far\nEastern countries\u2014India, China, Japan, the Philippine Islands and\nPersia. Most of those from India are adapted from \u201cThe Hitopadesa,\u201d\nwhich is also known as \u201cThe Book of Good Counsels,\u201d and \u201cThe Criterion\nof Wisdom.\u201d It may also be called \u201cThe Father of All Fables.\u201d\n\nThese Fables were originally compiled in Sanscrit, and later, many\ncenturies later, (about the year 600 A. D.), they were rendered into\nPersic. About two hundred and fifty years afterwards they were\ntranslated into the Arabic, Hebrew and Greek languages. They are perhaps\nbest known in India today under the title of \u201cAnvari Suhaili.\u201d The\ntranslation from which these particular stories are adapted is that from\nthe original Sanscrit made by Sir Edwin Arnold.\n\nThe Igorot, Tagalog, Visayan, Mindanao and Moro stories are used by kind\npermission of A. C. McClurg & Co., publishers of \u201cPhilippine Folk\nTales,\u201d edited by Mabel Cook Cole.\n\nSeveral of the Persian stories are taken from \u201cThe Arabian Nights\u201d and\nothers, from Persia, India, China and Japan, are adapted from various\nsources, not least of which is \u201cGesta Romanorum.\u201d One of them, \u201cThe\nStory of Caliph Stork,\u201d is from the collection by Wilhelm Hauff.\n\nThe author has on other occasions seized the opportunity to emphasize\nthe fact that fairy tales and fables are really necessary to the child,\nwho, without them, is being defrauded of that which belongs to him. They\nstimulate the youthful imagination and provide a good foundation for the\nfurther development of the mind.\n\nMost fairy stories not only amuse, but their unfolding shows the child\nthat good invariably triumphs over evil, and the moral is that one who\nis kind, polite, generous, unselfish and brave wins in the end. Surely\nthis is worth while.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE JADE STORY BOOK\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n HOW THE BIRDS SAVED THE EMPEROR\u2019S LIFE\n\n\nThere was once an Emperor of China whose palace was the most wonderful\nin the world, being built entirely of priceless porcelain. In the garden\nwere the most beautiful flowers, on some of which were little golden\nbells which tinkled in the wind so that you could not help looking at\nthem.\n\nIt was a really wonderful garden, and so large that even the Head\nGardener himself did not know where it ended. If you should reach the\nend of the garden you would come to a magnificent forest in which were\ngreat trees and deep lakes. The banks sloped down to the water, which\nwas as clear as crystal. Overhanging the lakes were the boughs of some\nof the trees, which were so large that ships could sail beneath them. In\none of these trees there lived a Nightingale which sang so beautifully\nthat a poor fisherman, who had a great deal to do, even stopped his work\nto listen to the bird singing. \u201cHow beautiful it is!\u201d he said, but he\nhad to attend to his duties and then forgot about the bird. But each\nnight it was the same; the fisherman could not resist the temptation and\nhe left his work to listen to the bird.\n\nThe Emperor\u2019s palace and garden were so magnificent that many travelers\nfrom foreign countries wrote books describing their beauty; but every\nscholar who wrote said that the finest thing of all was the singing of\nthis Nightingale.\n\nThese books were read by many people all over the world, and at last\nsome of them reached the Emperor, who sat in his chair of solid jade and\nread and read and read. He was very much pleased that so many people who\nwere scholars should write so much about his palace and garden, but he\nwas surprised to find that in each book the Nightingale was spoken of as\nthe finest and most wonderful thing of all.\n\n\u201cIt is very strange,\u201d said the Emperor, \u201cI\u2019ve never heard this\nNightingale and it does seem unusual that I should know about it for the\nfirst time from reading books written by travellers.\u201d\n\nHe called his First Lord to him and said, \u201cIn all of these books there\nis mention of a very remarkable bird which is called \u2018The Nightingale.\u2019\nThe writers all say that it is the most glorious thing in my kingdom.\nHow is it that no one has ever told me about it?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, I don\u2019t know anything about it myself,\u201d said the First Lord, \u201cbut\nI will go and find it.\u201d\n\nThe First Lord didn\u2019t know where it was, so he ran all over the palace\nand asked everybody there, but none of them had ever heard of the\nNightingale. Then he returned to the Emperor and said it must be an\ninvention of those who had written the books.\n\n\u201cYour Royal Highness must know that not all that is written is true, and\nthat much of it is invented,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBut the last book I read,\u201d said the Emperor, \u201cwas sent to me by the\ngreat ruler of Japan, so that it must be true, and I insist upon your\nbringing the Nightingale here this evening; if you do not, every one in\nthis palace shall be trampled under foot.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right, your Majesty,\u201d said the First Lord; and he ran up and down\nthe stairs, through halls and corridors, and as he told the people what\nwould happen to them if the Nightingale were not brought there that\nevening they all followed him, because they had no wish to be trampled\nunder foot, and all were most curious to know about this wonderful\nNightingale which it seemed that everybody in the world knew about\nexcept those who lived in the palace.\n\nAt last they met a poor little girl in the kitchen who said, \u201cWhy, I\nknow the Nightingale, and I have often heard her sing. Every night when\nI go home to my Mother I am so tired that I sit and rest for a little\nwhile in the wood, and then I hear the Nightingale sing, and it is so\nwonderful that it always brings tears to my eyes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the First Lord, \u201clittle kitchen maid, if you can lead us to\nthis Nightingale you shall have leave to see the Emperor at dinner this\nevening, for she is invited by His Majesty to come and sing to him.\u201d\nThen they all went into the garden where the Nightingale lived, and on\nthe way they heard the mooing of a cow.\n\n\u201cOh, this must be the Nightingale! How wonderful that such a little bird\nhas such a tremendous voice!\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cThat is not a bird singing, that is a cow mooing,\u201d said the little\nkitchen maid. \u201cWe have a long way to go yet.\u201d\n\nA little farther on they heard some frogs croaking in the marsh. The\nChinese Chaplain was with them and he said, \u201cHow sublime! That is just\nlike the ringing of a church bell.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the little kitchen maid, \u201cthose are frogs croaking, but very\nsoon we shall hear her.\u201d\n\nJust then the Nightingale began to sing.\n\n\u201cHark!\u201d cried the little girl. \u201cListen!\u201d and pointing to a little bird\nsitting up in the branches, said, \u201cThere she is.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem possible that so very common looking a bird as that can\nsing,\u201d said the First Lord. \u201cIt must be that she has lost her brilliant\nplumage because there are so many distinguished people here.\u201d\n\nThen the little kitchen maid called out, \u201cLittle Nightingale, our\ngracious Emperor invites you to sing before him this evening!\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will give me great pleasure to do so,\u201d said the Nightingale; and\nthen she began to sing so gloriously that they were all entranced. The\nFirst Lord said, \u201cI have never heard anything so beautiful before. His\nMajesty will be delighted.\u201d\n\nThe Nightingale, thinking the First Lord was the Emperor, said, \u201cShall I\nsing again for your Majesty?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy dear little bird,\u201d said the First Lord, \u201cHis Most Gracious Highness\nhas sent me to invite you to his palace this evening so that he may\nlisten to your charming song.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s much better out here in the forest,\u201d replied the Nightingale, but\nwhen she heard that the Emperor wished her to go to the palace, she\ngladly offered to go with them.\n\nAt the palace everything was splendidly prepared. The many lights made\nthe porcelain walls and floors glitter, and the gorgeous tinkling\nflowers helped to make the place look very beautiful. The people moving\nback and forth caused the little golden bells to tinkle all the time. In\nthe center of the great hall, in which was the Emperor\u2019s throne, was a\ngolden perch, put there for the Nightingale. The whole court was\npresent, and the little kitchen maid, who had shown the First Lord where\nthe bird could be found, was allowed to stand behind the door where she\ncould see and hear everything. All were dressed in their best clothes\nand everyone looked toward the little bird, whom the Emperor requested\nto commence singing.\n\nAnd how the Nightingale did sing! Very soon the tears came into the\nEmperor\u2019s eyes and ran down his cheeks. At this the Nightingale sang\neven more beautifully, and the heart of everyone was touched. The\nEmperor was so delighted that he said she should wear the golden\nnecklace around her neck, but the Nightingale said that she had already\nreceived a sufficient reward, for she had brought tears to the eyes of\nthe Emperor.\n\nEven the servants, who were always most difficult to please, said that\nthey were greatly touched. This in itself proved how successful was the\nNightingale\u2019s concert.\n\nThe Emperor requested her to stay at the court, and he gave her a large\ngolden cage and allowed her to go out twice every day. He provided her\nwith twelve servants, each of whom held a silken string which was\nfastened to her leg, and you may be sure that she found but little\npleasure flying about, hampered in this way.\n\nVery soon everyone in the city was talking about the wonderful bird, and\neven the tradesmen\u2019s children were all named after her, although none of\nthem could sing a note.\n\nSome time after this the Emperor received a large parcel on which was\nwritten \u201cThe Nightingale.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis must be another book about our famous bird,\u201d said the Emperor.\n\nBut he was mistaken, for it was a mechanical toy, an artificial\nNightingale which looked something like a real bird but was covered with\njewels. When it was wound up it could sing the piece the real bird sang,\nand moved its tail up and down. Around its neck was a collar on which\nwas written: \u201cThe Nightingale of the Emperor of Japan cannot be compared\nwith that of the Emperor of China.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow wonderful!\u201d said everyone, and the man who had brought the\nclock-work bird was given the title of \u201cBringer of the Imperial First\nNightingale.\u201d\n\nThey sang together, but it did not sound well, for the real Nightingale\nsang her own song, and the clock-work bird sang waltzes.\n\n\u201cIt isn\u2019t its fault!\u201d said the bandmaster. \u201cIt keeps very good time and\nis quite after my style.\u201d\n\nThen the artificial bird had to sing alone. It was very pleasant to\nlisten to, and it was also pretty to look at, as the jewels with which\nit was covered sparkled so. It sang the same piece many times without\nbecoming tired, and then the Emperor thought that the real Nightingale\nshould sing again. But she was not to be found; the window was open and\nwithout anybody seeing her go, she had flown away to her beloved forest.\n\nThe Emperor was very angry when it was discovered that the real bird had\ngone away, and everyone agreed that it was a very ungracious thing for\nher to have done. But they all said that the bird sent by the Japanese\nruler was the better of the two, and especially did the bandmaster\npraise it. He said that one knew just what to expect from the artificial\nbird, but the real one would sing the most unusual tunes. The bird they\nhad now could be opened, and the inside shown and explained, but if this\nwere done to the other it would die.\n\nEveryone agreed that what the bandmaster said was correct, and the\nEmperor commanded that all the people of the city should be allowed to\nlisten to the bird\u2019s beautiful music on a certain day of the following\nweek.\n\nSo on the day appointed the bandmaster showed the jeweled bird to the\npeople, and after they had heard it sing everyone said that its music\nwas wonderful, that is all but the poor fisherman who had heard the real\none, and he said: \u201cThis one looks very pretty and is quite pleasant to\nlisten to, but its singing does not compare with that of the other.\u201d\n\nThe Emperor banished the real bird from the kingdom, and the artificial\none was put on a golden perch by the side of his bed, and was given the\ntitle of Imperial Nightsinger.\n\nSeveral months passed away when one evening, as the Emperor lay in bed\nlistening to it, something inside snapped, and the music stopped. The\nRoyal Physician was summoned, but could do nothing. Then the Royal\nClockmaker was called, and after examining it very carefully he took out\nthe works, which he found to be almost worn out. It took him quite a\nlong time to put these back again, but at last he got it into something\nlike order, although he said it must not be used more than once a year,\nand then only for a very short time.\n\nSome time after this the Emperor became very ill, and as the physicians\nsaid that he could not live for more than a few days, his successor was\nchosen.\n\nThe poor Emperor lay all alone in his great bed, and as everyone\nbelieved him to be dead the courtiers left him to pay their respects to\nthe new ruler. But he was only in a trance, and when he came out of this\nhe felt very lonely indeed, for there was no one to speak to him. He\nturned his head and saw the artificial bird by his bedside. A great\nlonging for music came over him, and he cried: \u201cSing, golden bird!\nPlease sing!\u201d\n\nBut there was no one to wind it up, and he was too weak to do this\nhimself. It was so quiet, and he felt so terribly lonely and sad that he\nwas sure he was going to die.\n\nSuddenly there came through the open window the sound of such beautiful\nmusic that new life came to the sick man. He raised his head, and saw,\nsitting upon the bough of a large tree, the real bird whom he had\nbanished from his kingdom.\n\n\u201cWhat divine singing!\u201d said the Emperor. \u201cYou have given me new life in\nreturn for my unkindness in banishing you from my kingdom. What can I do\nto reward you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI need no more reward than the sight of the tears which came to your\neyes when I first sang to you,\u201d said the Nightingale. \u201cThat is something\nwhich I can never forget. But now you must sleep, and to-morrow, when\nyou will feel much stronger, I can promise you such music as you would\nnot believe possible.\u201d The Emperor smiled happily, and fell at once into\na deep, calm sleep.\n\nHe was awakened in the morning by the sun, which was shining brightly.\nSo much better did he feel that he was able to get out of bed and walk\nto the open window, and there his eyes beheld a wonderful sight.\n\nUpon every bough of the tree in front of him were perched many birds,\nand in the center of them sat the poor fisherman, who held to his lips a\nreed instrument. On seeing the Emperor at the window he gave a sign, and\nthere came forth from the throats of the assembled birds such a glorious\nburst of melody that tears of thankfulness flowed from the Emperor\u2019s\neyes; he could scarcely believe that such wonderful music was possible.\n\nNo longer was he a sick man. The bird chorus had brought back to him the\nhealth and strength which all the doctors, with their medicines, had not\nbeen able to do. In his gratitude to the birds he gave them the tree for\ntheir very own, and the poor fisherman he appointed bandmaster-in-chief.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FAITHFUL RAJPOOT\n\n\nOne morning a soldier presented himself at King Sudraka\u2019s palace gate,\nand asked the porter to secure an audience for him.\n\nHaving gained admittance to the King\u2019s presence, he bowed and said:\n\n\u201cYour Highness, I am Vira-vara, a Rajpoot, who seeks employment.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat pay do you ask?\u201d inquired the King.\n\n\u201cFifty pieces of gold a day,\u201d replied the soldier.\n\n\u201cAnd what will you do in return for so much money?\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cI have two strong arms, and this sabre, which shall be devoted to your\nMajesty\u2019s service,\u201d answered the Rajpoot.\n\n\u201cYou ask too much,\u201d said the King, \u201cand I am afraid I cannot retain you,\nbut I will confer with my Ministers about you.\u201d\n\nThen the King spoke to his Ministers, who agreed that the stipend asked\nwas very large, but advised that he be given four days\u2019 pay, and to see\nwhat the soldier should do to earn it. So this was done.\n\nThe King watched very closely to see how Vira-vara spent his pay, and\nfound that half of it went towards the support of the Temple, a fourth\nwas devoted to relieving the poor, and the remaining fourth only did he\nreserve for his own sustenance. This division he made at the beginning\nof each day, and then he would stand on guard with his sabre at the\npalace gate, from whence he would retire only upon receiving the royal\npermission.\n\nOne very, very dark night King Sudraka thought he heard the sound of\nsomeone outside the palace gate sobbing as though stricken with deepest\ngrief. He called for his guard, and Vira-vara at once appeared.\n\n\u201cDid you hear a sound of weeping?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cI thought I did, your Majesty,\u201d replied the Rajpoot.\n\n\u201cThen go and find out the cause,\u201d said the King.\n\nThe soldier at once departed on his mission, but as soon as he had gone\nthe King repented him of sending him out alone into a night so dark that\na hole might be pierced in it with a needle, so he took his scimitar,\nand followed his guard beyond the city gates.\n\nVira-vara had not gone far when he almost stumbled over a woman who was\nweeping bitterly. By the dim light of a torch, which he had hurriedly\npicked up after leaving the King\u2019s presence, he could see that she was a\nvery beautiful and splendidly dressed lady.\n\n\u201cWhy do you thus lament?\u201d asked he.\n\n\u201cI am the Fortune of the King Sudraka,\u201d answered she. \u201cFor a long while\nI lived happily in the shadow of his arm, but on the third day he will\ndie, and therefore do I shed these bitter tears.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan anything be done, dear lady, that will prolong your stay here?\u201d\nasked the Rajpoot.\n\n\u201cOnly one thing,\u201d replied the Spirit, \u201cbut that I do not like to tell\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me what it is, and I swear to do it, out of loyalty to my kind\nMaster,\u201d said the faithful guard.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the Spirit Lady, \u201cif you will cut off the head of your\nfirstborn son, who has on his body the marks of greatness, and offer his\nhead as a sacrifice to the all-helpful Goddess Durga, then shall I\ncontinue to be the guardian angel of the Rajah, even though he should\nlive another hundred years.\u201d\n\nHaving said this, she disappeared, and Vira-vara went to his own house\nand awoke his wife and son.\n\nThese two listened attentively while he repeated to them the words of\nthe vision and then the son said: \u201cI feel honored in that I may be the\nmeans of saving the King\u2019s life; kill me quickly, for it is well that I\ncan give my life to such a good cause.\u201d\n\nTo this the Mother agreed, saying, \u201cIt is well, and worthy of our blood;\nhow else should we deserve the King\u2019s pay?\u201d\n\nThen they went to the temple of the Goddess Durga, and having paid their\ndevotions and asked the favor of the deity on behalf of the King,\nVira-vara struck off the head of his son, and laid it as an offering\nupon the shrine.\n\nBut the task had been too great for the Rajpoot. \u201cLife without my boy is\nsomething I cannot bear to think of,\u201d said he; \u201cmy service to the King\nis now ended.\u201d Thereupon he plunged his sword into his own breast, and\nfell dead.\n\nThe sight of her husband and son, both lying dead at her feet, was too\nmuch for the grief-stricken mother, so she seized the blood-stained\nweapon, and with it slew herself.\n\nNow all this was seen and heard by King Sudraka, who was just entering\nthe gate of the temple, but so quickly did it happen, that he was unable\nto stop it. He hastened to where the bodies lay, and exclaimed: \u201cWoe is\nme!\u201d\n\n Kings may come, and kings may go;\n What was I to bring these low?\n Souls so noble, slain for me,\n Were not, and will never be!\n\nSorrowful indeed was he as he gazed upon the remains of his three\nfaithful subjects. \u201cHaving lost these,\u201d he said, \u201cwhat do I care for\nmyself or my kingdom.\u201d Then he drew his scimitar, intending to take his\nown life.\n\nBut at that moment there appeared to him the Goddess, who is mistress of\nall men\u2019s fortunes. She stayed his uplifted hand, and said:\n\n\u201cSon, forbear, do not this rash deed; think of your kingdom.\u201d\n\nThe Rajah prostrated himself before her, and cried: \u201cO Goddess! I am\nfinished with life and wealth and country! Have pity on me, and let my\ndeath restore these faithful ones to life; I must follow in their path.\u201d\n\n\u201cYour affection finds favor in my sight, and is pleasing to me, Son,\u201d\nsaid the Goddess. \u201cAs a reward the Rajpoot, his wife and son shall be\nrestored to life, and many years shall they live in your service.\u201d\n\nWith this assurance the King returned to his palace, and very soon he\nsaw Vira-vara return and take up his station at the palace gate.\n\nThe Rajah sent for him and asked if he had discovered the cause of the\nweeping.\n\nNow:\n\n He is brave whose tongue is silent on the trophies of his sword;\n He is great whose quiet bearing marks his greatness well assured.\n\nSo the Rajpoot merely said: \u201cIt was a woman weeping, your Highness, and\nshe disappeared on my approach.\u201d\n\nThe next day the King summoned his ministers and told them all that had\nhappened, and he made the faithful guard his Grand Vizir.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE TALE OF TWO MERCHANTS OF EGYPT AND BAGDAD\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were two wealthy merchants, one of whom lived in\nEgypt and the other in Bagdad. Although they had never yet seen one\nanother they had transacted much business together by means of\nmessengers, who passed frequently between them. Both were men of honor\nand good repute, and each came to think of the other as a real friend.\nIf anything unusual should happen in the land of Egypt, the merchant of\nthat country would send word of it to the other in Bagdad, who, in like\nmanner, would in turn send news of events in his own land. So, without\neither of them having seen the other, much kindness was shown on both\nsides.\n\nOne night, as the merchant of Bagdad lay upon his bed, he said to\nhimself: \u201cMy correspondent in Egypt has shown much friendship toward me,\nand as I have never seen him I will pay him a visit.\u201d So he hired a ship\nand went to Egypt, where his friend met him, and received him with great\npleasure.\n\nAt the house of the Egyptian the merchant of Bagdad met a girl of\nwondrous beauty, and so smitten was he with her charms that he fell sick\nand pined away.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d said the other, \u201cWhat is the matter with you that you\nneither eat nor drink?\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is a woman of your household upon whom my heart has fixed\nitself,\u201d returned his comrade, \u201cand unless I may marry her, I shall\ndie.\u201d Thereupon the Egyptian summoned all the household before him, save\nonly the girl in question, but the man from Bagdad said: \u201cI care little\nfor any of these; she whom I love is not among them.\u201d Then this girl was\nbrought before him, and he said that to her alone must he owe his life.\n\n\u201cMy friend,\u201d said the other, \u201cI brought up this girl with the intention\nof making her my wife, and through her I shall obtain much wealth. But,\nso great is my friendship for you that I give her to you with all the\nriches which would have fallen to my share.\u201d\n\nSo the sick merchant, overjoyed at his good fortune, received both the\nlady and her wealth, and returned with her to Bagdad.\n\nAfter a while ill-fortune came to the merchant of Egypt, and he was\nwithout home or money. Then said he: \u201cI will go to my friend of Bagdad,\nfrom whom I am sure to receive aid.\u201d\n\nSo he went to Bagdad, and as he reached that city during the night, he\ndid not like to awaken his friend, thinking that, poorly dressed,\ndesolate and destitute as he was, he might not know him, so he decided\nto wait until the next day. Happening to look toward a burial-ground, he\nsaw that the doors of the mosque there were open, so here he determined\nto remain for the night.\n\nHe had not been in the mosque long before two men entered. They were\nquarrelling, and soon began to fight, and in the end one killed the\nother, and fled.\n\nThe alarm was spread, and went through the whole city. \u201cWhere is the\nmurderer?\u201d was the general cry.\n\nThe thought came to the Egyptian that to die would bring an end to his\ntroubles, and so he said to the searchers: \u201cI am he.\u201d Then they laid\nhands on him, and led him away to prison. In the morning he was taken\nbefore the judge, who sentenced him to death.\n\nNow among those who went to witness the execution was the merchant whom\nhe had befriended, and who knew him at once. He was horrified at the sad\nplight of his friend.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d cried he, \u201cShall he be done to death while I live?\u201d Then he\nraised his voice and shouted: \u201cHold! Do not destroy an innocent man. I\nam the murderer, and not he.\u201d\n\nHe was at once arrested, and both were taken to the place of execution.\nThe sentence was about to be carried out when there came another\ninterruption, this time from the real murderer, who happened to be\npresent.\n\nSeeing these two men about to die for a crime which he had committed, he\nwas filled with remorse. He said to himself: \u201cI will not permit innocent\nblood to be shed; if I do, the vengeance of God will sooner or later\novertake me, and it is better to suffer a short pain in this world than\nto be in everlasting torment in the next.\u201d\n\nSo he cried out, \u201cSlay not the guiltless, for neither of these men has\ndone murder. I only am the criminal; let them go.\u201d\n\nThe people were filled with amazement, and the three men were at once\ntaken to the judge, who was much astonished at this unusual occurrence.\nThe matter was explained to him, and then, addressing the Egyptian, he\nsaid:\n\n\u201cFriend, why did you confess yourself the murderer?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d answered he, \u201cI will tell you the reason. In my own land I\nwas, until recently, a man of wealth, and had all that riches could buy,\nbut through no fault of mine I lost all this, and am now destitute. I\nwas ashamed at my condition, and saw, in this confession, an end to my\nmisfortunes. I am willing to die, and beseech you to order my death.\u201d\n\nThe judge then turned to the merchant of Bagdad and said: \u201cAnd you, my\nfriend; why did you acknowledge yourself to be the murderer?\u201d\n\nThe merchant replied: \u201cMy lord, this man is my benefactor. I have\nenjoyed his hospitality, and while at his home he bestowed upon me a\nwife, whom he had educated for his own, and who possessed great wealth.\nWhen, therefore, I saw my friend being led to his death, I proclaimed\nmyself the murderer, hoping thus to take his place. For his love I would\nwillingly perish.\u201d\n\nIt was now the turn of the third man, who was the real criminal. The\njudge asked him what he had to say for himself, and he answered:\n\n\u201cWhen I confessed, I told the truth. The burden which would have been\nmine had I allowed these two innocent men to suffer death for a crime\nthat was my own would have been too heavy for me to bear, and I\npreferred to pay the penalty.\u201d\n\nFor some time the judge considered the stories of the three men, then he\nsaid to the last one to speak:\n\n\u201cAs you have declared the truth and thereby saved the lives of two\ninnocent men, I pardon you. Study to amend your future life, and go in\npeace.\u201d\n\nThe decision of the judge was praised by all the people, who were quick\nto acknowledge the generosity of the merchant who would have given his\nlife to save his friend, and the honorable manner in which the guilty\nperson had rescued from death the two who were innocent.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PUNCHKIN\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a Rajah who had seven daughters. They were\nall good, beautiful and clever girls, but especially so was the\nyoungest, whose name was Balna. The Rajah\u2019s wife died when they were\nvery little children, so these seven Princesses grew up without having a\nloving mother to watch over and care for them.\n\nAs soon as they were old enough, the Rajah\u2019s daughters took turns every\nday to cook their father\u2019s dinner, while he was busily engaged with his\nministers in directing the affairs of his country.\n\nAbout this time the Prime Minister died, leaving a widow and one\ndaughter, and every day, when the Princesses were getting the Rajah\u2019s\ndinner ready, the widow and her daughter would come and beg for some\nfire from the hearth. Balna would say to her sisters: \u201cLet us send that\nwoman away; why does she want our fire, when she has her own house? If\nwe continue to allow her to come here, we shall some day be sorry for\nit.\u201d\n\nBut the other sisters rebuked her, and so the widow continued to take\nsome fire from the hearth, but while no one was looking, she would throw\nsome mud into the dishes which were being prepared for the Rajah\u2019s\ndinner.\n\nOne of the reasons that the daughters always prepared the food for their\nfather was that there should be no danger of his being poisoned by his\nenemies, so when he found the mud mixed with his dinner he thought it\nwas because they were careless; he knew they would not do such a thing\non purpose. He loved them all very much, and hadn\u2019t the heart to reprove\nthem, even though his meals were spoiled for several days.\n\nThis happened so often that it puzzled him, and so he made up his mind\none day to hide, and watch his daughters cooking; so, going into the\nroom next to the kitchen, he saw everything through a hole in the wall.\n\nHis daughters carefully washed the rice and prepared the curry, and when\nthese were ready, they put each dish on the fire. Very soon the widow\ncame to the door, and begged for a few sticks from the fire with which\nto cook her own dinner. Balna was angry with her, as usual, and said:\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you keep fuel in your own house, instead of coming here every\nday and taking ours? Sisters, don\u2019t give her any more wood; let her use\nher own.\u201d\n\nBut the others said: \u201cThe poor woman is doing us no harm, so let her\ntake a little wood and fire.\u201d Balna replied, \u201cPerhaps some day she will\ndo us harm, and then we shall all be sorry for it.\u201d\n\nThen the Rajah saw the Prime Minister\u2019s widow go to the hearth, and as\nshe took the wood, throw some mud into each of the dishes.\n\nThis made him very angry, and he ordered that the woman be brought\nbefore him.\n\nThis was done, but the widow spoke to him so very cleverly, saying that\nshe had done this thing only that she might gain an audience with him,\nand so cunningly did she speak that she actually pleased him well with\nher words, and instead of punishing her, the Rajah married her; so she\nand her daughter came to the palace to live.\n\nThe new Ranee hated the seven poor Princesses, and wanted to get rid of\nthem, so that her daughter might have all their riches. She was very\nunkind to them, and made them as miserable as she could, giving them\nonly bread to eat and water to drink, and very little of either. This\nwas very hard for the seven poor Princesses, who had always been used to\nthe best of everything, and each day they would sit by their dead\nmother\u2019s tomb, and say:\n\n\u201cOh, mother, cannot you see how unhappy and miserable your poor children\nare, and how our cruel stepmother is starving us?\u201d\n\nOne day, while they were thus engaged, a beautiful pomelo tree grew up\nout of the grave, covered with fresh ripe pomelos, and the children\ncertainly enjoyed the delicious fruit. And each day after this, instead\nof eating the poor food their stepmother provided for them, they would\ngo to their mother\u2019s grave and eat the pomelos which grew there on the\ntree.\n\nThe stepmother was astonished that the seven girls should eat nothing\nand yet be well, so she told her daughter to watch them.\n\nNext day the Prime Minister\u2019s daughter followed them, and saw the\nPrincesses gather and eat the pomelos.\n\nBalna saw the girl watching them, and said to her sisters: \u201cLet us drive\nthat girl away, or else she will tell her mother all about it, and then\nwe shall be worse off than ever.\u201d\n\nBut they said: \u201cDo not be unkind, Balna. The girl would never be so\ncruel as to tell her mother. Let us instead ask her to come and have\nsome of the fruit.\u201d So they called to her, and gave her some of the\npomelos.\n\nAs soon as she could, however, she left the Princesses, and went to her\nmother, and told her all about the pomelo tree. She said she had eaten\nsome, and they were the nicest she had ever tasted.\n\nThis made the cruel Ranee very angry, and the next day she told the\nRajah that she had a very bad headache, and would have to stay in bed.\n\nThe Rajah was much upset, and asked what he could do for her.\n\nShe replied that there was only one thing that would cure her, and that\nwas to boil a fine pomelo tree, root and branch, that grew on his dead\nwife\u2019s grave, and to put some of the water in which it had been boiled\non her forehead. So the Raja did as the Ranee desired, and then she\ndeclared that she was quite well.\n\nNext day the Princesses went as usual to their mother\u2019s grave, and when\nthey found that the pomelo tree had disappeared, they wept bitterly.\n\nAs they sat there crying they saw by the tomb a small tank filled with a\nrich cream-like substance, which hardened into a thick white cake. They\nate some of this, and liked it. Next day the same thing happened, and so\nit went on for many days.\n\nThe cruel stepmother said to her daughter: \u201cI don\u2019t understand this; I\nhave had the pomelo tree destroyed, and yet the Princesses are as well\nas ever, although they never eat the dinner I give them. You must watch\nthem again.\u201d\n\nNext day, while the Princesses were eating the cream-cake, along came\ntheir stepmother\u2019s daughter. Balna saw her first, and said: \u201cHere comes\nthat girl again. Let us sit around the edge of the tank and not allow\nher to see it, for if we give her some of the cake she will go and tell\nher mother, and that will be very unfortunate for us.\u201d\n\nBut instead of following her advice the other sisters gave the girl some\nof the cake, and she went straight home and told her mother all about\nit.\n\nThis made the Ranee more angry than before, and she sent her servants to\npull down the tomb and fill the little tank with the ruins. The next day\nshe pretended to be very ill indeed, and told the rajah that she was at\nthe point of death.\n\nThis grieved him greatly, and he asked her if there were any remedy he\ncould get for her. She replied that only one thing could save her life,\nbut this she knew he would not do. He said that whatever it was, he\nwould do it.\n\nThen she told him that if he would save her life, he must kill his seven\ndaughters, and put some of their blood on her forehead and on the palms\nof her hands; that their death would be her life.\n\nThis made the Rajah very sad, but he had promised, and feared to break\nhis word, so with a heavy heart he went to seek his daughters, whom he\nfound crying by the ruins of their mother\u2019s grave.\n\nKnowing that he could not kill them he spoke kindly to them, and told\nthem to come out into the jungle with him. There he made a fire, and\ncooked some rice, which they ate.\n\nIt was a hot afternoon and all the Princesses fell asleep, and then the\nRajah stole away and left them, saying to himself, \u201cIt is better that my\npoor daughters die here rather than be killed by their stepmother.\u201d\n\nThen he shot a deer, and returning home, put some of its blood on the\nforehead and hands of the Ranee, who thought that he had really killed\nhis daughters, and said she felt quite well.\n\nWhen the seven Princesses awoke and found themselves all alone in the\nthick jungle, they were frightened, and called out as loud as they\ncould, hoping to make their father hear; but he was too far away by that\ntime.\n\nIt so happened that this very day the seven young sons of a neighboring\nRajah chanced to be hunting in the same jungle, and as they were\nreturning home, after the day\u2019s sport was over, the youngest Prince said\nto his brothers: \u201cStop, I think I hear someone crying and calling out.\nLet us go in the direction of the sound, and find out what it is.\u201d\n\nSo the seven Princes rode through the wood until they came to the place\nwhere the seven Princesses sat crying and wringing their hands. At the\nsight of them the young Princes were very much astonished, and still\nmore so on learning their story. They then decided that each should take\none of the unfortunate young ladies home with him and marry her.\n\nThe eldest Prince took the eldest Princess home with him and married\nher.\n\nThe second took the second; the third took the third; the fourth took\nthe fourth; the fifth took the fifth; the sixth took the sixth, and the\nseventh, the handsomest of all the Princes, took the beautiful and\nclever Balna.\n\nThere was great rejoicing throughout the kingdom when the seven young\nPrinces married the seven beautiful Princesses.\n\nAbout a year later Balna had a little son, and his uncles and aunts were\nso fond of him that he was in great danger of being spoiled. None of the\nother Princesses had any children, so Balna\u2019s son was acknowledged their\nheir by all of them.\n\nThey lived very happily for some time, when one day Balna\u2019s husband\ndecided to go out hunting, and away he went. They waited a long time for\nhis return, but he never came back.\n\nHis six brothers went in search of him, but none of them returned. And\nthe seven Princesses grieved greatly, for they feared that their kind\nhusbands had been killed.\n\nOne day, not long after this, as Balna was rocking her baby\u2019s cradle,\nand whilst her sisters were working in the room below, there came to the\npalace door a man in a long black cloak, who said he was a Fakir, and\nhad come to beg. The servants would not let him enter the palace, saying\nthat the Rajah\u2019s sons had all gone away, and they feared that they were\ndead, and their widows must not be interrupted by his begging. But he\nsaid, \u201cI am a holy man and you must let me in.\u201d Then the stupid servants\nlet him walk through the palace; they did not know that he was no Fakir,\nbut a wicked Magician named Punchkin.\n\nHe wandered through the palace, looking at the beautiful things there,\nand at length reached the room where Balna sat singing to her little\nboy. The Magician thought her more beautiful than all the other\nbeautiful things he had seen, and he asked her to go home with him and\nto marry him. But she said: \u201cI fear my husband is dead, but my little\nboy is still very young; I will stay here and teach him to grow up to be\na clever man, and when he is old enough he shall go out into the world\nand seek news of his father. Heaven forbid that I should ever leave him,\nor marry you.\u201d\n\nThis made the Magician very angry, so he turned her into a little black\ndog, and led her away, saying, \u201cSince you will not come with me of your\nown free will, I will make you.\u201d So the poor Princess was dragged away,\nunable to escape or to let her sisters know what had become of her.\n\nAs Punchkin went through the palace gate the servants asked him where he\ngot that pretty little dog, and he replied that one of the Princesses\nhad given it to him, so they allowed him to depart.\n\nVery soon the six elder Princesses heard their nephew cry, and when they\nwent upstairs were much surprised to find him all alone, and Balna\nnowhere to be seen. They questioned the servants, and when they heard of\nthe Fakir and the little black dog they guessed what had happened and\nsent in every direction, but neither the Fakir nor the dog was to be\nfound. They could do nothing, and gave up all hopes of ever seeing their\nkind husbands and their sister and her husband again, and so devoted\nthemselves to the care and teaching of their little nephew.\n\nTime went on, and Balna\u2019s son was fourteen years old. Then his aunts\ntold him the whole story. No sooner had he heard this than he was seized\nwith a great desire to go in search of his father and mother and uncles,\nand if he could find them alive to bring them home again. On learning\nhis determination his aunts were much alarmed, saying, \u201cWe have lost our\nhusbands and our sister and her husband and you are now our only hope;\nif you go away, what shall we do?\u201d But he replied, \u201cDo not be\ndiscouraged; I will soon return, and if it is possible will bring my\nmother and father and uncles with me.\u201d So he set out on his travels, but\nfor several months could learn nothing that would help him in his\nsearch.\n\nAfter journeying many hundreds of weary miles, and having become almost\nhopeless of hearing anything further of his parents and uncles, he\nreached a country that was full of rocks and stones and trees, and there\nhe saw a large palace with a high tower, near which was a Malee\u2019s little\nhouse.\n\nAs he was looking about the Malee\u2019s wife saw him, and ran out of the\nhouse and said: \u201cMy dear boy, who are you that dare venture to this\ndangerous place?\u201d\n\nHe answered, \u201cI am a Rajah\u2019s son, and I am in search of my father and\nmother and my uncles, whom a wicked enchanter bewitched.\u201d\n\nThen said the Malee\u2019s wife: \u201cThis country and this palace belong to a\ngreat Magician, who is all-powerful, and if anyone displeases him he\nturns them into stones and trees. All the rocks and trees you see here\nwere once living people, and the enchanter turned them into what they\nnow are. Some time ago a Rajah\u2019s son came here, and soon afterwards came\nhis six brothers, and all of them were turned into stones and trees; and\nthese are not the only unfortunate ones, for up in that tower lives a\nbeautiful Princess whom the Magician has kept prisoner there for twelve\nyears, because she hates him and will not marry him.\u201d\n\nThe young Prince said to himself, \u201cAt last I have found what I seek;\nthese must be my parents and uncles.\u201d So he told his story to the\nMalee\u2019s wife, and begged her to help him. This she agreed to do, and\nadvised him to disguise himself, lest the Magician should see him and\nturn him into stone. So she dressed him up in a saree, and pretended\nthat he was her daughter.\n\nOne day, not long after this, as the Magician was walking in his garden\nhe saw a little girl (as he thought) playing about, and asked her who\nshe was. She told him she was the Malee\u2019s daughter, and the Magician\nsaid, \u201cYou are a very pretty little girl, and to-morrow you shall take a\npresent of flowers from me to the beautiful lady who lives in the\ntower.\u201d\n\nThis delighted the young Prince, who went immediately to inform the\nMalee\u2019s wife.\n\nNow it happened that when Balna was married her husband had given her a\nsmall gold ring on which her name was engraved, and she had put it on\nher little son\u2019s finger when he was a baby, and later on it was\nenlarged, so that he was still able to wear it. The Malee\u2019s wife advised\nhim to fasten this ring to the bouquet he was to present to his mother,\nand she would surely recognize it.\n\nThis the young Prince did the next day when he took the flowers to the\nimprisoned Princess. Balna knew the ring at once, and believed the story\nher son told her of his long search. She told him how the Magician had\nkept her shut up in the tower for twelve long years because she refused\nto marry him, and had kept her so closely guarded that there was no hope\nof release. She begged him to advise her what to do, and at the same\ntime refused to allow him to endanger his own life by attempting to\nrescue her.\n\nBalna\u2019s son was a very clever boy, and he said: \u201cDear mother, have no\nfear; the first thing to do is to find out how far the Magician\u2019s power\nextends, in order that we may be able to free my father and uncles. You\nhave been angry with him for twelve long years, now speak kindly to him.\nSay that you have given up all hopes of seeing your husband again, and\nthat you are willing to marry him. Then try to find out where his power\nlies, and if it is possible to put him to death.\u201d\n\nSo the next day Balna sent for Punchkin, and spoke to him as her son had\nsuggested. The Magician was overwhelmed with joy at this change, and\nasked that the wedding take place as soon as possible.\n\nBut she said that before she married him she must learn to know him\nbetter, they having been enemies for so long, and a closer acquaintance\nwith him was necessary in order to strengthen their friendship. \u201cAnd do\ntell me,\u201d she said, \u201cif you are quite immortal. Can death never come to\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cBecause,\u201d she replied, \u201cif I am to be your wife, I want to know all\nabout you, so that if any calamity threatens you, I may help to\novercome, or perhaps avert it.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly I am not as others,\u201d said he. \u201cFar, far away, thousands of\nmiles from here, is a desolate country covered with heavy jungles, in\nthe midst of which grows a circle of palm trees, in the center of which\nstand six jugs full of water, piled one above the other, and below the\nsixth is a cage which contains a little green parrot. On this parrot my\nlife depends, for if this parrot is killed I must die. But it is\nimpossible that the parrot should come to any harm, both because of the\ninaccessibility of the country, and because I have many thousands of\ngenii surrounding the palm trees, who kill anyone attempting to approach\nthe place.\u201d\n\nAll this Balna told her son, at the same time imploring him to make no\nattempt to kill the parrot.\n\nBut the young Prince replied: \u201cDear Mother, if I do not find that\nparrot, neither you nor my uncles can be liberated. Do not fear; I shall\nreturn in good season. In the meantime, keep the Magician in good humor,\nand put off the marriage with him in any way you can. Before he finds\nout the reason for the delay I will return.\u201d With this he went away.\n\nHe travelled many weary miles through a very desolate country, and at\nlast came to a thick jungle. Being very tired, he sat down under a tree\nand fell asleep. Suddenly he was awakened by a rustling sound, and\nlooking about him, saw a large serpent making its way to an eagle\u2019s nest\nwhich was in the tree beneath which he was, and in the nest were two\nyoung eagles. He at once drew his sword and killed the serpent. At this\nmoment a rushing sound was heard in the air, and the two old eagles, who\nhad been hunting food for their little ones, returned. They saw the dead\nserpent and the young Prince standing over it, and the mother eagle said\nto him: \u201cFor many years our young ones have been devoured by that cruel\nserpent, and you have now saved the lives of our children; whenever you\nmay need our help, send to us, and as for these little eagles, take\nthem, and let them be your servants.\u201d\n\nThen was the Prince glad. He told them of the spot he wished to reach,\nand so the two eaglets crossed their wings, on which he mounted, and\nthey carried him far away over the thick jungles until he reached the\ncircle of palm trees, in the midst of which stood the six jugs full of\nwater. It was the hottest part of the day, and all round the trees the\ngenii were fast asleep. There were many thousands of them, so that it\nwould have been impossible for anyone to walk through their ranks, but\nthey had not thought that an attempt to reach the spot could be made\nfrom above. Down swooped the strong-winged eaglets, and down jumped the\nPrince. In the twinkling of an eye he had overthrown the six jugs full\nof water, seized the little parrot, which he rolled up in his cloak, and\nmounted again into the air. Of course, this awoke the genii, who filled\nthe air with their howls and screeches when they found the treasure\ngone.\n\nAway flew the eaglets, and when they had reached their home in the tree\nthe Prince said to the old eagles, \u201cHere are your little ones, who have\ndone me good service. If I ever need your help again I will not fail to\nask you for it.\u201d He then continued his journey on foot until he arrived\nat the Magician\u2019s palace, at the door of which he sat down and began\nplaying with the parrot.\n\nPunchkin saw him, and came to him at once, and said: \u201cMy boy, where did\nyou get that parrot? I pray you, give it to me.\u201d\n\nThe Prince answered, \u201cThis parrot is a great pet of mine, and I cannot\ngive it away.\u201d\n\nThen the Magician asked him to sell it to him if he would not give it,\nbut this the Prince said he would not do.\n\nThen was Punchkin filled with fear, and said he would give him anything\nhe might ask for it.\n\nThe Prince answered, \u201cLiberate at once the Rajah\u2019s seven sons whom you\nturned into rocks and stones.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do it at once,\u201d said the Magician. And with a wave of his wand\nBalna\u2019s husband and his brothers resumed their natural shapes.\n\n\u201cNow give me the parrot,\u201d implored Punchkin.\n\n\u201cJust wait a minute,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cYou will first restore to life\nall whom you have thus imprisoned.\u201d\n\nThis the Magician did immediately, and then, in a trembling voice,\ncried, \u201cGive me my parrot.\u201d\n\nAnd now the whole garden was alive with people. Where there had been\nrocks and stones now stood Rajahs, Punts, Sirdars, men on horseback,\npages and servants.\n\n\u201cGive me my parrot!\u201d cried Punchkin. But the only reply the boy made was\nto break off one of its wings, and as he did so the Magician\u2019s right arm\nfell off.\n\nWith his left arm outstretched Punchkin cried, \u201cGive me my parrot!\u201d Off\ncame the second wing, and the Magician\u2019s left arm fell to the ground.\n\nOn his knees he begged, \u201cGive me my parrot!\u201d Then the Prince pulled off\nthe right leg, and the Magician\u2019s right leg fell off. The parrot\u2019s left\nleg came off, and at once Punchkin\u2019s left leg fell down.\n\nAnd now there remained only the Magician\u2019s body and head, but still he\ncried, \u201cGive me my parrot!\u201d\n\n\u201cTake your parrot, then,\u201d said the boy, and with this he wrung the\nbird\u2019s neck and threw it at what was left of the Magician. As the\nparrot\u2019s neck was wrung, Punchkin\u2019s head twisted around, and with a\ngroan, he fell dead.\n\nThen they released Balna from the tower, and all of them returned to\ntheir own palace; and it can be imagined with what joy the seven\nhusbands and seven wives and their nephew met again.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PRINCESS MOONLIGHT\n\n\nMany years ago there lived a poor old bamboo-cutter, whose great sorrow\nit was that Heaven had sent no child to cheer his wife and himself in\ntheir old age. Every morning he went into the woods in search of the\nlithe bamboo, which he would split lengthwise or cut into joints, and\nthese he would take home with him, and his wife would turn them into\nuseful or ornamental articles for the household, and sell them.\n\nWhile working at his task one day in a small grove of the slender trees\nthat he had discovered, he was surprised by a soft, bright light which\nsuddenly flooded the spot in which he was, and he was astonished to see\nthat all this brilliance came from one bamboo.\n\nMarvelling at the beautiful sight, he went to this bamboo stem, in the\nhollow of which was a tiny, but exceedingly beautiful, little girl,\nabout three inches in height.\n\n\u201cAs I have found you here where lies my daily work,\u201d said the old man,\n\u201cI must look upon you as a child sent from Heaven.\u201d So, very carefully\nhe took the exquisite little creature home to his wife, and both of them\nwere filled with joy because there was now a child, come to them in a\nmost marvelous manner, upon whom they could devote the love of their old\nage.\n\nAnd with the child came good fortune, for from this time the old man\nfound gold and precious stones in the notches of the bamboos when he cut\nthem up, so that before long he was rich enough to retire, and he built\na fine house in which they all lived very happily.\n\nThe bamboo child was no ordinary child, for in a very few months she was\nquite grown-up, and so beautiful was she that the old people treated her\nlike a princess, and allowed no one to see her or wait upon her but\nthemselves. Her very presence made them happy, and no trace of sorrow\ncould exist where she was. And wherever she might be a beautiful, soft\nlight made the place radiant. And so they called her Princess Moonlight,\nbecause they thought that only a daughter of the Moon God could give\nforth such a soft, bright light.\n\nOf course, the fame of so lovely a Princess spread far and wide, and\nmany were the suitors who sought to win her hand. Not only from that\ncountry, but from foreign lands did they come, and the house was\nconstantly surrounded by those who hoped to catch even a glimpse of her\nthrough the windows, or as she walked in the garden. But to none of them\nwould the old man grant permission to address his adopted daughter, and\nat last all but five of them lost hope, and departed to their homes.\n\nThese five were very determined knights, whose ardor became the greater\nas their quest became the more difficult. They stood outside the garden\nwalls in sunshine and rain, eating only such food as was brought to\nthem. They wrote letters and verses to the Princess, telling her of the\ngreat love for her which prevented them from returning to their own\nhomes, and even from taking rest and sleep. But no word did they receive\nfrom the Princess.\n\nWinter and Spring passed, and Summer came, and still the knights watched\nand waited. They besought the old man to intercede for them, but he\nanswered that he was not her real father, and that he could not order\nher to obey him, and also that he would not ask her to do anything she\ndid not wish to do.\n\nAt length the five knights returned to their homes, where they tried to\nforget Princess Moonlight, but this they could not do, so they again\ncame to the bamboo-cutter\u2019s house. This time they asked the old man to\ntell them if the Princess was determined to never see any men. They\nbegged him to say that their love for her was boundless, and ask for an\nopportunity to plead their cause.\n\nNow, the old man would gladly have seen his lovely foster-daughter\nmarried to one of these suitors, and he felt sorry for them, so he said\nto the Princess:\n\n\u201cDear one, you know that I love you quite as much as though you were my\nreal child, and that there is nothing I would not do to make you happy.\nI cannot live many more years, for I am already old, and it would be a\ngreat satisfaction for me to know that you are happily married before\nthe time comes for me to die. Will you not consent to see these five\nbrave knights, one at a time, and make up your mind which of them you\nwill marry?\u201d\n\nThe Princess replied that she could not love her own father any more\nthan she loved him, and that her greatest wish was to please him. Still,\nshe did not feel that she could see the five knights, even though\nassured that they were worthy, but would make one more trial of their\nlove, and if they were successful in this, then would she grant their\nrequest. Each of them was to prove his love by bringing to her from a\ndistant country something that she wished to possess.\n\nThe bamboo-cutter then went out to the five knights, and told them what\nthe Princess had said, and all of them were satisfied, because the test\ngiven to each one would prevent jealousy between them.\n\nSo the next day Princess Moonlight sent word to the first knight that\nshe wished him to bring her the stone bowl which had belonged to Buddha\nin India.\n\nThe second knight was to go to the Mountain of Horai, in the Eastern\nSea, and to bring her a branch of the wonderful jewel-tree that grew on\nits topmost height.\n\nThe third knight was to search through China for the fire-rat, and to\nbring her its skin.\n\nThe fourth knight was to find the dragon whose right eye was a\nmany-colored stone, and to bring the eye to her.\n\nThe fifth knight was to find the swallow which carried a shell in its\nstomach, and which lived in the Aegean Sea, and to bring her the shell.\n\nThese tasks seemed to the old man to be so impossible of accomplishment\nthat he didn\u2019t like to take the messages, but the Princess refused to\nmake any change in them, so he gave them to the knights word for word.\n\nThe knights were so disheartened by the tests given them, that they\nreturned to their homes, resolved to forget the beautiful Princess, but\neach found himself unable to do this, so before long they had all sent\nword that they were starting out on their respective quests.\n\nNow travel in those days was not easy, but full of danger and\ndifficulty, and the first knight lacked the courage to go to India. So\nhe went to a temple in one of the large cities of Japan, and bribed the\nhead priest to let him take away a stone bowl which was on the altar\nthere. He wrapped this up very carefully, and after waiting for two\nyears, took it to the old bamboo-cutter.\n\nThe Princess received the package, and unwrapped it, but saw at once\nthat it was a sham, and not the bowl of Buddha, because it did not shine\nas the true one would have done. So she returned it to the knight, and\nrefused to see him.\n\nThe second knight, with twelve skilled jewelers, went to an island he\nknew of, and there they designed a gold and silver branch which he was\nsure would satisfy the Princess. To hold this branch he had his\ngoldsmiths make a beautiful box, and when sufficient time had elapsed he\ntook it to the bamboo-cutter, asking him to tell the Princess that here\nwas the branch of the wonderful jewel-tree that grew on the topmost\nheight of Mount Horai.\n\nPrincess Moonlight opened the box and took out the jeweled branch, but\nshe saw at once that it was not what the knight stated it to be. And\neven as she was looking at it, the old man was summoned to the door by\nthe twelve jewelers who had designed and made the beautiful thing, but\nwho had not been paid for their work. The Princess overheard their\nconversation with her foster-father, and then directed that they be well\npaid for what they had done. They then went away, after thanking the\nPrincess for her kindness. But the knight returned to his home, a sadly\ndisappointed man.\n\nThe task of the third knight was to get the skin of the fire-rat, whose\nvirtue was that no fire could harm it. Now he had a friend who lived in\nChina, and to him he wrote, offering him a very large sum of money if he\nwould procure that which he desired.\n\nThis friend was very willing to accept the knight\u2019s money, but wished to\nearn it without putting himself to any more trouble than was necessary,\nso he waited for quite a while, and then sent him the skin of an\nordinary rat, also a message which told him of the hardships he had\nundergone in order to procure it.\n\nThis skin the third knight took to the bamboo-cutter, saying that he\nwould wait outside the gate for the Princess\u2019s answer.\n\nThe Princess took the package from the old man, and said she would test\nthe skin by putting it in the fire before consenting to see the knight.\nThis she did, and of course the skin just crackled and burned up at\nonce, so she knew it was a fraud.\n\nThus the third knight failed to see her.\n\nThe task of the fourth knight was to find the dragon whose right eye was\na many-colored stone, but instead of seeking it himself he called\nseveral of his retainers together, and ordered them to search through\nChina and Japan, and not to return unless they brought it with them.\n\nBut they, having no idea of obeying what they considered to be an\nimpossible order, merely used this as an excuse for taking a pleasant\nholiday.\n\nThe knight waited a year and no word came to him, so he decided to go\nhimself. Taking five servants with him, he hired a ship, and started for\nChina.\n\nWhen but a few days out they ran into a fearful storm, and before this\nabated, the ship was driven on shore.\n\nThe knight now blamed the Princess for the disaster, and his love turned\nto anger. It seemed to him that she had sent him on a mission of great\ndanger, knowing it to be impossible to accomplish the task which she had\nset him. So he determined to give up all thought of winning the Princess\nMoonlight.\n\nThe fifth knight was no more successful than was the fourth, so he, too,\ngave up the attempt.\n\nReports of the wondrous beauty of the Princess Moonlight had reached the\nEmperor, so he sent a messenger to her, summoning her to the royal\npalace. But the messenger was no more successful in seeing her than the\nfive knights had been, in spite of the fact that it was the Emperor\u2019s\norder. The Princess told the bamboo-cutter that she would vanish from\nthe earth rather than go to the palace.\n\nSo the messenger at last returned, and when the Emperor heard that she\nwould disappear from sight in preference to obeying his order, he made\nup his mind to go and see her himself. He therefore sent word to the\nbamboo-cutter of his intention, forbidding him to say anything about his\nvisit to his foster-daughter.\n\nThe next day he set out with his retinue, which he left at a certain\nspot, and rode on alone. He reached the house and the bamboo-cutter\nopened the door for him.\n\nThe Emperor went straight to the apartment of the Princess, and never\nhad he even imagined such wondrous beauty as he saw when his eyes beheld\nthe Moon Daughter. He at once fell madly in love with her, and begged\nher to come to the Court, and share his throne.\n\nBut she refused, and said that if he attempted to force her to go to the\nPalace, she would turn into a shadow, and this she did, even as he\nlooked at her. This filled him with fear, and he promised to leave her\nfree if she would resume her former shape, to which she then returned.\n\nThen the Emperor left, but night and day he thought only of the\nbeautiful Princess Moonlight.\n\nSoon after this the bamboo-cutter and his wife noticed that the Princess\nwould sit on her balcony and gaze ardently at the moon, after which she\nwould burst into tears. They asked her the reason for this, and she told\nthem that she did not belong to this world, but came from the moon. And\non the fifteenth day of this very month her real parents would send for\nher and she would have to go. It was the thought of leaving her kind\nfoster-parents, and the home in which she had been so happy, that made\nher weep. This made the old people and the Princess\u2019s attendants very\nsad, for they all loved her, and the thought of losing her was a great\nblow to them.\n\nThe news soon reached the Emperor, who at once made plans to keep the\nPrincess Moonlight on earth. When the fifteenth day of the month came,\nhe had a guard of many thousands of warriors stationed all around the\nhouse, and also on the roof, for it was his intention to make prisoners\nof the envoys of the moon, and to prevent the taking away of the\nPrincess, whom the bamboo-cutter and his wife had hidden in an inner\nroom.\n\nOrders were given that no one should sleep, and the strictest watch was\nto be kept. But the Princess said that all of these measures were\nuseless, for nothing could prevent her people from carrying out their\npurpose. She told the bamboo-cutter and his wife how very sorry she\nwould be to leave them, and that it was not her wish to leave them. It\nmade her sad to think that she would not be able to make a return for\nall the love and kindness they had shown her.\n\nThe harvest moon arose, and flooded the earth with her beautiful golden\nlight, and still nothing happened. The darkness of night had begun to\nmake way for the gray dawn, and hope came to the anxious watchers; hope\nthat the Princess would not be taken away after all. Then suddenly a\ndark cloud seemed to leave the moon, and soon the sky was entirely\nobscured. It kept on its downward course until it reached within a few\nfeet of the roof, and then stopped. Then did the watchers see a\nbrilliant chariot, in which were beings who radiated light, as did the\nPrincess.\n\nFrom the chariot stepped one who had the look of a king, and who trod\nthe air as easily and as gracefully as though he were on hard ground.\n\nIn a voice so clear that it was distinctly heard by every one of the\nawed watchers, he said:\n\n\u201cPrincess Moonlight, many moons ago you committed a grave fault, and for\npunishment were sent down to earth to live for a time. The bamboo-cutter\nand his wife have taken good care of you, and to them we have given\nwealth. The time has come for you to return to your own people, so come\nat once from this lowly dwelling.\u201d\n\nThen, through the walls of the house was the Princess seen, shining,\nbright and of wonderful beauty. She kissed the old man and his wife, and\nspoke words of comfort to them, saying that her heart was full of love\nfor them, and that she was leaving them against her own will. The\nEmperor also she bade good-by. Then she was transported through the air\nto the chariot, which mounted, swiftly towards the moon.\n\nAnd now came the morning light, and no trace of the moon-chariot was\nleft to those who gazed upwards with tearful eyes, and with a full heart\nthe Emperor ordered his warriors to return.\n\nSorrowful as were the old bamboo-cutter and his wife, yet were they full\nof gratitude for having known the love of a daughter, who, while not\nwith them in the body, would always dwell with them in spirit.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FOX AND THE CRAFTY CRAB\n\n\nA fox was one day walking along the bank of a river when he met a Crab.\n\u201cGood morning, Mr. Crab,\u201d said he. \u201cDon\u2019t you ever get tired of creeping\nover the ground?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied the Crab, \u201cbecause it is as natural for me to crawl as it\nis for you to run; and I can cover the ground very quickly, too, when it\nis necessary.\u201d\n\nThe Fox laughed at him, and said, sneeringly: \u201cI think you are very slow\nand very stupid. I have only four legs, while you have twice as many,\nand yet I can run ten times as fast and as far as you can.\u201d\n\nThen the Crab said: \u201cBut see how much bigger you are; if you were as\nsmall as I am, you would probably not travel any more quickly than I do.\nPerhaps I am very slow and very stupid, but if you will allow me to hang\na weight on that fine tail of yours, to hold it down, I challenge you to\nas long a race as you care to run.\u201d\n\nThe Fox thought he might just as well teach the stupid Crab a lesson,\nso, in a voice filled with contempt, he said: \u201cWhen you ask me to race\nwith you, even with any handicap you like, you show how little\nunderstanding you have. You have many legs and no sense, while I have\nfour legs and am known to be the wisest inhabitant of the forest. Even\nhuman beings refer to me as the slyest of the sly.\u201d\n\nBut again the Crab offered to race with him if he would but allow him to\nhang a weight on his tail, so that it would stay down. The Fox laughed\nat him, saying that he was foolish to think that he could win a race\nbetween them under any conditions; but as the Crab repeated the offer,\nthe Fox at last consented.\n\nSo the Crab said: \u201cWhen I have secured it to your tail, I will say\n\u2018Ready!\u2019 and that will be the signal to start, then go as fast as you\nlike.\u201d\n\nWith this the Crab went behind the Fox, and firmly gripped his tail with\nhis pincers. Then he called out, \u201cReady!\u201d\n\nThe Fox began to run; he ran until he was tired, and then stopped to\nrest. To his surprise he heard the Crab say: \u201cWell, Mr. Fox, with all\nyour boasting, you haven\u2019t beaten me yet!\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is very strange,\u201d said the Fox to himself, \u201cbut if I am tired, I\nknow the Crab must be a great deal more so.\u201d He started off again, and\nran until he was almost out of breath. Feeling sure that the Crab was\nnow far behind, he lay down on the ground, panting.\n\nIf he had been surprised to hear the Crab\u2019s voice when he stopped\nbefore, how much more so was he now, when the Crab said: \u201cHa, ha! Mr.\nBraggart, you seem to be winded. Come, let us go on with the race.\u201d He\ngot upon his feet, and the Crab, who had released his grip from the\nFox\u2019s tail, crawled up in front of him, looking just as fresh as when\nthey began the race.\n\nThe Fox looked at him, and then, without a word, slunk away, his head\nbowed in shame.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n INGRATITUDE\n\n\nOnce upon a time a certain king had as his Chief Counsellor a man who\nwas proud and oppressive to those under him.\n\nNot far from the royal palace, in which this man dwelt, was a forest\nwell stocked with game. By his order various pits were dug there, and\ncovered with leaves, for the purpose of catching wild beasts.\n\nOne day, while riding in the forest, he was so overcome by the thought\nof his own greatness, that he exclaimed aloud: \u201cThere is no man in all\nthis empire more powerful than I am.\u201d\n\nScarcely had the braggart spoken than he fell into one of the pitfalls\nthat he had ordered to be made and he immediately disappeared from view.\n\nWhen his eyes became accustomed to the dim light of the hole, he was\nhorrified to find that he had as fellow prisoners a lion, a monkey, and\na serpent. He was stricken with terror, and cried out at the top of his\nvoice.\n\nNot far from the pit was lying asleep a poor man called Guido, who had\ncome with his ass to the forest to gather firewood, by the sale of which\nhe made a poor living. The noise made by the great man awakened him, and\nhe hastened to give what aid he could to whoever might be in trouble.\n\nThe cries guided him to the mouth of the pit and there he was promised a\ngreat sum of money by the Prime Minister if he would rescue him from his\nperilous position.\n\nGuido told him that his living depended upon the collecting of faggots,\nand if he neglected this for a single day, he would be thrown into great\ndifficulties. The captive again promised him a large reward, so Guido\nwent back to the city, and returned with a long cord, which he let down\ninto the pit, telling the great man to bind it around his waist, and he\nwould then pull him out.\n\nBut before he could do this, the lion leaped forward, and seizing upon\nthe cord, was drawn up in his stead, and showing signs of the greatest\npleasure, ran off into the wood.\n\nGuido again let down the rope, and this time the monkey, who had noted\nthe lion\u2019s success, jumped over the man\u2019s head and, shaking the cord,\nwas in like manner set at liberty, and hastened to his own haunts.\n\nA third time Guido lowered the rope, and this time the serpent, twining\naround it, was drawn up, and showing signs of gratitude to the peasant,\nescaped.\n\n\u201cOh, my good friend,\u201d exclaimed the Counsellor, \u201cthe beasts are gone,\nnow draw me up quickly, I beseech you.\u201d This Guido did, and afterwards\nsucceeded in pulling up his horse, which had fallen into the pit with\nhim. Then without another word, the man who had been saved mounted his\nhorse, and rode back to the palace.\n\nWhen Guido returned to his home his wife saw that he had come without\nwood, and inquired the cause. He told her all that had happened, and the\ngreat reward he was to receive, and then his wife\u2019s countenance\nbrightened.\n\nEarly the next morning Guido went to the palace, but to his surprise the\nPrime Minister not only denied all knowledge of him, but had him beaten\nfor his presumption, and this so severely that the porter who carried\nout his orders left him half dead.\n\nAs soon as Guido\u2019s wife heard of this she saddled their ass, and going\nto the palace, carefully placed her husband upon its back, and took him\nhome, where he lay sick for a long time. This illness took all of their\nsavings, but as soon as he was able he returned to his usual occupation\nin the forest.\n\nOne day, while thus employed, he saw afar off ten asses laden with\npacks, and a lion following close on them. They were coming towards him,\nand when close enough Guido noticed that the beast was the same which he\nhad freed from the pit.\n\nThe lion signified with his foot that Guido should take the loaded\nasses, and go home. This he did, and the lion followed. Having reached\nhis own door, the noble beast fawned upon him, and wagging his tail as\nif in triumph, ran back into the woods.\n\nGuido was very honest, and even though he was poor he made no attempt to\nopen the packages until he had caused notice to be given throughout the\ncity that if any asses had been lost, the owners should come to him.\n\nHe waited for some time, but as no one came to demand them be undid the\npacks, and to his great joy found them to be full of money.\n\nThe next time Guido went to the forest he forgot to take the axe with\nwhich to chop the wood, but there appeared before him the monkey he had\nliberated, and the grateful animal, with his teeth and nails, cut the\nwood for him.\n\nThe following day he went to collect firewood as usual, and as the head\nof his axe had become loose, he sat down to tighten it. While thus\nengaged he saw the serpent, whose escape he had aided, gliding towards\nhim, carrying in its mouth a stone of three colors, white, black, and\nred. It opened its mouth, dropped the stone into Guido\u2019s lap, and\ndeparted.\n\nGuido took the stone to a well-known dealer in jewels, who at once\noffered him a considerable sum of money for it, but this he refused. He\nkept the stone and through its magic qualities gained wealth and\nmilitary command.\n\nIn time the fame of this wonderful stone reached the Emperor, who\ndesired to see it. Guido accordingly took it to the palace, and his\nMajesty was so struck by its beauty that he wished to purchase it.\n\nGuido had no desire to part with the stone, and the Emperor, noticing\nhis unwillingness to sell it, threatened him with banishment from the\nkingdom if he refused.\n\nThen Guido said: \u201cMy lord, I will sell the stone; but let me say one\nthing\u2014if the price be not given, it shall be returned to me.\u201d He then\nnamed a price so high that he hoped the Emperor would not give it. But\nthe ruler was determined to have it at any cost, and so the stone\nchanged hands.\n\nFull of admiration, the Emperor exclaimed: \u201cTell me where you procured\nthis beautiful stone.\u201d\n\nThen Guido narrated from the beginning the Prime Minister\u2019s accident and\nlater ingratitude. He told how severely he had been injured by his\norder, and the benefits he had received from the lion, the monkey, and\nthe serpent.\n\nThe Emperor was greatly touched by the story, and sending for his Chief\nCounsellor, asked him if what Guido said was true.\n\nThe Prime Minister was unable to reply, and the Emperor said: \u201cYou\nwretched monster of ingratitude! Guido saved you from great danger, and\nin return you nearly destroyed him. Even the beasts of the forest\nrendered him good for the help he gave them, but you returned only evil\nfor good. For this I will strip you of all your wealth and dignities,\nand bestow them upon your benefactor, and you shall be cast into\nprison.\u201d\n\nThe Prime Minister was so hated by the people for his cruelty and\noppression that there was general rejoicing in the land at this judgment\nof the Emperor.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThis story was used by King Richard the Lion Hearted of England in\nreproving such nobles and princes as refused to engage in the Crusades,\nthus showing their ingratitude to God.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PAPER BAG\n\n\nThere were once two brothers, the elder of whom, named Musai, was honest\nand kind, but poor. He was just the opposite of his younger brother,\ncalled Ch\u00f4, who was cruel, stingy, dishonest and rich.\n\nMusai was in need of seed-rice and silkworms\u2019 eggs. The past season had\nbeen an unfortunate one for him, and it was necessary for him to have\nthese. Knowing that his brother had an abundance of good rice-seed and\nsplendid eggs, he begged him to lend him some.\n\nNow, Ch\u00f4 hated to lend anyone anything, but he didn\u2019t see how he could\nvery well refuse his brother\u2019s request, so he picked out some musty\nrice-seed and dead eggs, and gave them to him, feeling sure that they\nwere worthless.\n\nMusai thanked him for his kindness, and took them home. He put plenty of\nmulberry leaves with the eggs, so that the silkworms should have plenty\nof food when they should arrive. And strange to say the worms came, and\nthrove splendidly, much to Ch\u00f4\u2019s disappointment, because he was too mean\nto wish good-fortune to visit anyone but himself.\n\nHe took it as a personal insult that the dead eggs he had let his\nbrother have should hatch so well, so one day, when Musai was out, he\nwent to his home, and cut every silkworm in two.\n\nWhen Musai returned, he was filled with dismay on seeing all of his\nsilkworms killed, but he didn\u2019t think of suspecting his own brother. He\nhad placed a good supply of mulberry leaves for them only the day\nbefore, and each piece of worm came to life, and throve.\n\nNow he had twice as many silkworms as before, and they spun double the\namount of silk that he had expected; so his brother Ch\u00f4 had really done\nhim a good turn when he tried to ruin him.\n\nMusai began to prosper, much to the disgust of Ch\u00f4, who proceeded to cut\nall of his own silkworms in half, thinking that of course the same good\nfortune would be his. But instead of coming to life again the worms\ndied, which meant the loss of much money for him. This made him very\njealous of his brother.\n\nThe musty rice-seed which he had given his brother, and which Musai had\nplanted, also turned out well, for it flourished better than any of his\nown had done. This only added to his jealousy.\n\nThe time to cut and harvest the rice approached, when clouds of birds\ncame and devoured it. Musai hastened to drive them away, and this he did\nagain and again, but each time they returned.\n\nChasing them away was very tiring work, so he finally pursued them to a\ndistant field, and then they disappeared. Here he lay down to rest, and\nsoon fell asleep.\n\nThere came to him a dream in which he was surrounded by a band of merry\nchildren. They danced and sang and played games.\n\nIn the last of these the eldest of the children lifted up a stone which\nlay near Musai\u2019s head and from beneath it drew a paper bag. With this in\nhis hand he went to the center of the ring, and asked each child in\nturn, \u201cWhat would you like to have out of the bag?\u201d\n\nOne child answered, \u201cA kite.\u201d The bag was shaken, and out came a\nbeautiful kite, string, tail and all. The next one said she would like a\ndoll. The bag was again shaken and there was one, beautifully dressed,\nready for her to hold in her arms.\n\nEach child in turn was asked what he or she desired, and the bag granted\nevery wish. At last they went home, but before leaving the field the boy\nwho had taken the magic bag from beneath the stone carefully replaced\nit.\n\nSoon Musai awoke, and so clear was the dream to him that he turned\naround to look for the stone, and there it was, close by his head. \u201cHow\nvery strange,\u201d he thought. Then, without really expecting to find\nanything, he raised the stone, and underneath it was the paper bag.\n\nHolding this carefully in his hand, he returned to his home, and there\nhe did as he had seen the children do in his dream. He called out\n\u201cGold,\u201d or \u201cSilver,\u201d or whatever he thought of, shook the bag, and out\ncame that which he had named.\n\nMusai now became rich and prosperous. He told his brother how this good\nfortune had come to him in a dream, and this made Ch\u00f4 more jealous of\nhim than before.\n\nCh\u00f4 made up his mind to get another such paper bag for himself, so he\ntook some of Musai\u2019s rice-seed, planted it, and waited impatiently for\nit to grow.\n\nIn due time it ripened, and now he waited for the birds to come and eat\nthe rice. To his delight they came, and he lost no time in driving them\naway, pursuing them to the field where Musai had slept and dreamed.\n\nHe lay down, intending to follow his brother\u2019s example, but found that\nhe could not go to sleep, try as hard as he might. He had not been there\nlong before a group of children came to the field and began to play and\nenjoy themselves. After a while they all sat down in a ring, and Ch\u00f4,\nwho pretended to be asleep, watched carefully out of one half-opened eye\nto see what they would do next.\n\nHe saw the eldest one come to the stone close to his head and lift it\nup, but there was no paper bag beneath it.\n\nThe boy was surprised, and said: \u201cI believe this lazy old farmer has\ntaken our bag,\u201d and then he seized Ch\u00f4\u2019s nose, and gave it a good pull.\n\nCh\u00f4 then jumped up, and the boy repeated what he had said. The children\nwouldn\u2019t believe him when he declared that he had touched neither the\nstone nor the bag, and they shouted and jeered at him.\n\nBut this was not the hardest thing that happened to him; for his nose,\nwhich the boy had pulled, began to grow. Larger and larger it became,\nuntil at last it reached the ground.\n\nIn his anger he struck right and left at the children, and ran from the\nfield, holding his nose from the ground as well as he could.\n\nHe went to his brother\u2019s house and told him what had occurred. Then a\nchange came over him, and he felt ashamed of himself. He remembered how\njealous he had been of Musai, and how he had tried to ruin him by\nkilling his silkworms. He was humble, confessed everything, and asked\nhis brother to forgive him.\n\nMusai spoke kindly to him, and said that this punishment had come to him\non account of his envy and jealousy, which bring happiness to no one.\n\nThen he took the paper bag, and gently rubbed Ch\u00f4\u2019s nose with it.\nGradually this became shorter and shorter, until at last it resumed its\nformer shape.\n\nThis was a lesson that Ch\u00f4 was not allowed to forget, because whenever\nafter this he attempted to do anything mean or dishonest, his nose would\nbecome sore, and in his terror lest it should grow again, he trained\nhimself to live as a kindly, well-disposed man should do.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n ROSAMOND, THE SWIFT OF FOOT\n\n\nA certain king had an only daughter, who, while yet a child, was famed\nfor her marvellous beauty and dignity of bearing. Her name was Rosamond,\nand in addition to her charm of face and figure, she excelled all others\nat athletic games. When only ten years of age so swift a runner was she\nthat her equal at this sport could not be found.\n\nWhen she became of marriageable age her father issued a proclamation\nthat whoever could surpass her in speed should marry her, and become\nheir to the throne; but if he were to fail in the race, his life would\nbe forfeit.\n\nThe penalty for lack of speed in the race was heavy, but many were those\nwho made the attempt, hoping that they might succeed, only to perish as\na result.\n\nNow there was a poor man called Abibas, a wanderer with no place he\ncould call home, who heard of the king\u2019s proclamation, and he said to\nhimself: \u201cI am poor and have but little to lose; if I may overcome this\nprincess and marry her I shall not only enrich myself, but will be able\nto assist my relatives and what friends I have.\u201d So he resolved to\naccept the challenge.\n\nBut this man was wiser than the others, for he took the three following\nprecautions: First, he framed a curious garland of roses, of which he\ndiscovered the princess was very fond. Then he procured a piece of the\nfinest silk, knowing that this would attract the attention of most young\nwomen. And, lastly, he secured a silken bag in which he placed a gilded\nball on which was written: \u201cWhosoever plays with me shall never tire of\nplay.\u201d With these three things hidden within his blouse he went to the\npalace gate and declared his desire to enter the race for the hand of\nthe princess.\n\nIt happened that the maiden herself was standing at a window close by\nand heard Abibas express his wish to run against her. Seeing that he was\npoor, with clothes threadbare and torn, she despised him, and said,\n\u201cWhat poor wretch is this with whom I have to contend?\u201d However, the\nking had to stand by the words of his proclamation, so preparations for\nthe race were made.\n\nAbibas soon saw that unless he should be able to take the attention of\nthe princess away from the race he would be defeated. She was in the\nlead, so he took the garland of roses, which he had hidden, and\nskillfully threw it in front of her.\n\nAs he had foreseen, the maiden stopped to pick it up and put it on her\nhead. The roses were indeed beautiful and gave forth a delightful\nperfume. She was charmed by their fragrance, and paused to admire them.\n\nAbibas took advantage of this, and increasing his speed, rapidly passed\nher. This caused her to cry out in anger: \u201cNever shall the daughter of a\nking be wed to such a clown as you.\u201d She threw the garland from her and\nrushed onward like a whirlwind.\n\nIt was not long before she caught up with him, and extending her hand,\nshe struck him upon the shoulder, saying: \u201cStop, foolish one, do you\nhope to marry a princess?\u201d\n\nAs she was on the point of passing him Abibas drew forth the piece of\nsilk, and threw it at her feet.\n\nRosamond was attracted by the beautiful color and texture of the\nmaterial, and could not resist the temptation to stop and pick it up.\nThen she tied it round her waist, and by this time her adversary was\nconsiderably in advance of her.\n\nShe saw the consequence of her foolishness, and throwing away the piece\nof silk, flew on at such a pace that she soon overtook Abibas, whom she\nstruck upon the arm, at the same time saying, \u201cFool, you shall _not_\nmarry me.\u201d\n\nThey were not far from the goal, and in a few seconds the race would be\nover. The princess had almost won when Abibas threw at her feet the bag\ncontaining the gilded ball.\n\nRosamond could not help stopping to pick it up, and it was impossible\nfor her not to open the bag to see what was inside. This she did, and\nthen she read the inscription, \u201cWho plays with me shall never tire of\nplaying.\u201d\n\nThe wise Abibas came first to the goal, and by the terms of the king\u2019s\nproclamation he married the princess.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE JACKAL, DEER, AND CROW\n\n\nIn a forest called Champak-Grove[1] lived two friends, a Deer and a\nCrow. The Deer was roaming among the trees one day, when he was observed\nby a Jackal.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The Champak is a bushy tree bearing a profusion of blossoms\nwhich resemble stars. It gives forth a delightful perfume.]\n\n\n\u201cHo! Ho!\u201d said the Jackal to himself, \u201cIf I can only win the confidence\nof this Deer, it may be that he will make a very fine meal for me.\u201d So\nhe approached the Deer, and wished him a very good morning.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d said the Deer.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m Small-wit, the Jackal,\u201d replied the other. \u201cI live here all alone\nin the wood, and it is very lonely without anyone to talk to. It makes\nme very happy to know you, and I hope you will look upon me as your\nfriend.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Deer, so off they went together.\n\nIt was beginning to grow dark when the Crow, whose name was Sharp-sense,\nsaw the two coming home together. He asked the Deer who his companion\nwas.\n\n\u201cIt is a Jackal who wishes to know us,\u201d answered the Deer.\n\n\u201cYou must be careful with whom you become friendly,\u201d said Sharp-sense.\n\u201cYou know\u2014\u2014\n\n \u2018To folks by no one known house-room deny:\u2014\n The Vulture housed the Cat, and thence did die.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cHow was that?\u201d asked the Deer and the Jackal.\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d replied the Crow.\n\n\u201cOn the banks of the River Ganges is a cliff called Vulture-Crag, upon\nwhich was a large fig-tree. It was hollow, and inside it dwelt an old\nVulture who had lost both eyes and talons, and who was kept alive with\nfood given him by the friendly birds that roosted in the tree.\n\n\u201cOne day, when the parent birds were away, a Cat came, thinking to make\na meal of the young birds, of which there were several. The nestlings\nwere so much afraid of the Cat that they made noise enough to arouse the\nVulture.\n\n\u201c\u2018Who is there?\u2019 croaked he.\n\n\u201cThe Cat, seeing the Vulture, thought his end was surely come. He knew\nhe couldn\u2019t get away, so had to use his wits. Drawing nearer, he said:\n\n\u201c\u2018Honored sir, I wish you a very good morning.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Who are you?\u2019 asked the Vulture.\n\n\u201c\u2018I am a Cat.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Go away at once, Cat, or I will kill you,\u2019 said the Vulture.\n\n\u201cThe Cat then begged the Vulture to listen to what he had to say, and\nafterward decide whether he should live or die.\n\n\u201cTo this the Vulture consented, and so the Cat began:\n\n\u201c\u2018I live near the River Ganges, eating no flesh and doing many things by\nway of penance. The birds that often visit me have said so much in your\npraise that I have come here, hoping to learn wisdom from you. It is not\npossible that you, who must know the law of strangers, could think of\nslaying me. Without doubt you know what the book says about the\nhouseholder:\u2014\n\n Bar not thy door to the stranger, be he friend or be he foe,\n For the tree will shade the woodman while his axe doth lay it low.\n\n\u201cAlso:\u2014\n\n Greeting fair, and room to rest in; fire, and water from the well\u2014\n Honor him for thine own honor\u2014better is he than the best.\n\n\u201cThen there is the rebuke:\u2014\n\n Pity them that ask thy pity; who art thou to stint thy hoard,\n When the beauteous moon shines equal on the lowly and the lord!\n\n\u201cTo all of which the Vulture said: \u2018Your words have much weight, but\ncats are very fond of meat, and as there are young birds here I told you\nto go.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen the Cat bowed his head to the ground, showing his humility. \u2018Sir,\u2019\nsaid he, \u2018I have overcome temptation, practised penance, and know the\nScriptures. Always do I keep away from injuring others, for\u2014\u2014\n\n He who does and thinks no wrong\u2014\n He who suffers, being strong\u2014\n He whose harmlessness men know\u2014\n Unto Heaven such doth go.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt length he won the old Vulture\u2019s confidence, and went with him into\nthe hollow tree and lived there. And day after day he stole some of the\nnestlings, and devoured them.\n\n\u201cThe parent birds missed their young ones and sought everywhere for\nthem, and the Cat soon saw that he would have to leave, so he slipped\naway from the hollow, and escaped.\n\n\u201cA little later the birds found the bones of the nestlings in the\ndwelling-place of the Vulture, and of course concluded that it was he\nwhom they had helped who had so basely rewarded them. So they called a\nmeeting of all the birds of the forest, told them what had happened, and\nthe poor old Vulture was sentenced to death, and accordingly was\nexecuted.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow you have my story,\u201d said Sharp-sense, the Crow, \u201cand this is why I\nwarn you not to become friendly with people about whom you know\nnothing.\u201d\n\nThen said the Jackal, \u201cWhen you first met the Deer neither of you knew\nanything about the other; how is it, then, that you are such friends\nnow? I know I am only Small-wit, the Jackal, but the Deer is my friend,\nand I hope you will be also.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t let us talk so much,\u201d said the Deer, \u201clet us all be friends and\nlive happily together.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll right,\u201d said Sharp-sense, \u201cjust as you say.\u201d\n\nIn the morning each of them started early for his own feeding-ground,\nreturning in the evening, as was their custom. One day the Jackal said\nto the Deer, \u201cCome with me, and I will show you where there is a field\nfull of sweet young wheat.\u201d\n\nThe Deer went with him, and he certainly enjoyed the feast which he\nfound ready. But the owner of the field saw him, set a snare, and the\nnext day the Deer was caught in it.\n\nVery soon Small-wit (who had been watching all the time) came along, and\nsaid to himself, \u201cOho! my scheme worked well. The Deer will furnish me\nwith some very fine meals.\u201d\n\nJust then the Deer saw him and called out, \u201cFriend, please gnaw the\nstrings and set me free.\u201d\n\nBut Small-wit only walked around the snare, examining it carefully. \u201cIt\ncertainly will hold,\u201d said he to himself.\n\nTo the Deer he said, \u201cThese strings are very strong, and this is a fast\nday for me, so I cannot bite them. To-morrow I will do what I can for\nyou.\u201d With this he went away.\n\nVery soon the Crow, who had been looking for his friend, came along, and\nseeing his sorry plight, asked him how this all happened.\n\nThe Deer replied that this came through disregarding the advice of a\nfriend.\n\n\u201cWhere is that rascally Jackal?\u201d asked the Crow.\n\n\u201cHe is waiting somewhere to taste my flesh,\u201d answered the Deer.\n\nWith a deep sigh the Crow exclaimed, \u201cYou smooth-tongued, traitor\nJackal, what an ill deed you have done!\u201d\n\nThe Crow stayed through the night with his poor friend, trying to think\nof some way to free him, and at last he hit upon a plan which proved to\nbe successful.\n\nEarly in the morning the master of the field, carrying a club in his\nhand, came to see if the snare had caught the Deer. Sharp-sense, as soon\nas he saw him approaching, said to his friend, \u201cLook as though you were\ndead; stiffen out your legs and lie very still. I will make believe that\nI am pecking your eyes out. When I utter a loud croak you jump up\nquickly and run away as fast as you can.\u201d\n\nThe Deer did as he was told, and when the farmer reached the snare, with\nthe Deer in it quite dead, as he thought, he pulled up the net, and so\nreleased the captive. Then the Crow uttered a loud croak; up sprang the\nDeer and made off.\n\nThe husbandman was in a great rage at thus being outwitted, and threw\nhis club at the fleeing Deer with all his might. But instead of hitting\nthe Deer, it struck Small-wit, the Jackal, who was hiding close by, and\nkilled him.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PIGEON-KING AND MOUSE-KING\n\n\nA fowler, seeking to snare some birds, set a trap with which he might\ncatch them. He fixed a net, scattered grains of rice about, and then hid\nhimself in a place where he could watch.\n\nVery soon \u201cSpeckle-neck,\u201d King of the Pigeons, accompanied by his\nfollowers, flew that way. Of course he saw the rice-grains, and thought\nit very unusual that they should be lying on the ground in so lonely a\nspot as this was. He did not like the look of it, and so decided to take\ncounsel with his followers before permitting them to eat the rice.\n\nThey were all hungry, and the younger ones did not wish to wait while\nthe older and wiser pigeons took counsel together, but this they had to\ndo. At length one of them laughed at the others, and taunted them with\nbeing afraid without any reason, and dared them to at once eat the rice\nwhich they all wanted. At this they all settled on the ground, and soon\nwere caught in the net.\n\nThey then began to abuse the pigeon who had dared them, saying that it\nwas through him they were all caught. But King Speckle-neck said they\nwere all to blame, and the thing to do now was to find some way of\nescape, and not to waste precious time by quarreling. He thought\ncarefully for a few moments, and then said.\n\n\u201cMany small things added together make a large one. Let us all rise\nunder the net at the same instant and between us we will fly off with\nit.\u201d\n\nThey decided to try this means of escape, and it happened just as the\nKing said. They rose together, and flew away with the net. The fowler,\nwho had hidden himself at some distance, saw the pigeons flying away\nwith his net and hastened to stop them, but was too late, and soon they\nwere out of sight.\n\nThe pigeons, seeing that they were safely away from the fowler, asked\nthe King what they should do next.\n\nSpeckle-neck said, \u201cA friend of mine named \u2018Golden-skin,\u2019 King of the\nMice, lives near by. We will go to him, and he will cut these bonds.\u201d\nThey accordingly directed their flight to the hole of Golden-skin.\n\nThey soon arrived at the home of the Mouse-king, and Speckle-neck called\nto his friend to come out. Golden-skin came to the entrance, and told\nhis friend how pleased he was to see him. \u201cBut what does this mean?\u201d he\nexclaimed, looking at the pigeons all tangled up in the net.\n\nSpeckle-neck told him what had happened to them, and without a word the\nMouse-king began to gnaw at the strings which held his friend. But the\nworthy Pigeon-king bade him to release the others first, and leave him\nuntil the last.\n\nTo this Golden-skin objected, but King Speckle-neck said that he could\nnot bear to see those who depended upon him in such distress. Such\nheroism made the Mouse-king\u2019s fur bristle up for pure pleasure.\n\n\u201cNobly spoken!\u201d said he. \u201cSuch tenderness for those who are dependent\nupon you makes me proud to be your friend.\u201d With this, he set himself to\nthe great task of cutting all their bonds, and in time all were free.\n\nThe Mouse-king then entertained them as hospitably as he could. The\nPigeon-king and his followers thanked him for his great kindness, and\nGolden-skin embraced them all, after which he returned to his hole and\nthe pigeons departed.\n\nYou may be sure that the young pigeons decided that the older ones were\nwiser in counsel than they, and to be more careful when \u201cdaring\u201d their\nfellows.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n HE WISHED TO LIVE FOREVER\n\n\nA long time ago there lived in Japan a man named Opulo who was quite\nrich. There was really nothing about which he need worry, but one day\nthe thought came to him that he might fall sick and die. Probably the\nonly reason for this was because he didn\u2019t have to earn his living, and\nso had very little to occupy his time.\n\n\u201cIt seems to me,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cthat a man ought to live a much\nlonger life than he does. I am very comfortable here, with all I want to\neat and drink, and plenty of money to spend, so why should I not enjoy\nlife for hundreds of years without sickness or worry?\u201d\n\nHe had heard of men in times gone by who had lived as long as that, and\nrecalled the story of a certain Princess who had reached the age of five\nhundred years. Then he thought of that powerful Chinese King, Shiko, who\nbuilt the great wall of China and many wonderful palaces, but who, in\nspite of his greatness and the luxury in which he lived, was never happy\nbecause he knew that some time he must die and give it all up.\n\nThis great ruler had heard that in a country called Horazai, far away\nacross the seas, there lived certain hermits who possessed the secret of\nthe \u201cDraught of Life,\u201d and that whoever should drink of this wonderful\nelixir would never die. So he ordered Jofuku, a courtier in whom he\nplaced great confidence, to set out for the land of Horazai, and to\nbring back with him a phial of this magic fluid.\n\nThe Emperor had his finest junk made ready for a long voyage, and loaded\nit with rich gifts for the hermits. The courtier sailed away, but was\nnever heard of again. Mount Fuji was supposed to be Horazai, and ever\nsince then Jofuku has been worshipped as their god.\n\nThe story of the Emperor Shiko made such an impression on Opulo that he\nmade up his mind to seek the hermits who held the secret of this\nmarvelous water of life, and if possible to become one of them; so he\nstarted out on his quest.\n\nHe traveled, and traveled, climbing to the peaks of the highest\nmountains, and wandering through unknown regions, but meeting with no\nsuccess.\n\nAt last it seemed to him that he was wasting time, so he decided to go\nstraight to the shrine of Jofuku, to whom he would pray for assistance\nin his search.\n\nHe went to the temple devoted to this deity, and every day for a month\nhe knelt there, and made his entreaty.\n\nAt the end of this time, while kneeling before the shrine, he was\nsuddenly enveloped in a cloud, and when this cleared away he saw Jofuku\nhimself standing before him.\n\nOpulo bowed his head to the ground, and Jofuku said to him, \u201cYour\nrequest is selfish and therefore hard to grant. You imagine that you\nwould like to become a hermit such as those you seek, and so partake of\nthe Elixir of Life. A hermit\u2019s life is a hard one and not suited to an\nidle man who is used to enjoy every possible comfort. To be a hermit one\nmust obey strict rules; he must eat only fruit and berries, and cut\nhimself off from the ways of the world, so that he may become pure and\nfree from unworthy desire.\n\n\u201cYou, Opulo, have always been a lazy man, and have been too fond of good\nliving. Do you think you could go barefoot and wear only one thin dress\nduring the cold of winter? No, the life of a hermit is not for you!\n\n\u201cBut there is something else I will do for you, and that is to send you\nto the Island of Continual Life, where death is unknown.\u201d\n\nThen Jofuku gave Opulo a small bird made of paper, and told him to sit\nupon it.\n\nThis the wondering Opulo did, and the bird began to grow. Soon it was\nlarge enough for him to ride on comfortably. With wings outspread it\nrose high up in the air, and away it flew.\n\nThe flight through the air was swift; on and on they went for hundreds\nand hundreds of miles without a stop, until at last they came to an\nisland, and there the bird alighted.\n\nOpulo stepped to the ground and the bird grew smaller and smaller. At\nlast it became the same size as when Jofuku gave it to him, so he folded\nit up and put it in his pocket.\n\nHe walked on until he came to a town, where he found a place to lodge.\nEverything, of course, was strange to him; the streets and buildings\nwere different from what he had been used to, and all the people looked\nprosperous.\n\nOpulo told the owner of the house in which he obtained lodgings that he\nintended to live there permanently, so the worthy man kindly promised to\nhelp him all he could. He found a suitable house for him, and servants\nto attend to his comfort, so Opulo took up his residence in the land of\nContinual Life.\n\nIt was a strange country indeed in which he now lived. No one ever died\nthere, nor even became sick, so doctors were unknown. But the people\nwere not happy and contented; they had heard of a place called Paradise,\nbut it was only a legend to them. They knew that one could not reach\nthis wonderful land without dying, and death was something they longed\nfor, but which never came to them.\n\nOrdinary people have a dread of death, but these were very different,\nfor they looked upon it as something very much to be desired. How they\nwished it could come to them, so that they could enter the happy land of\nParadise!\n\nTo Opulo everything seemed to be upside down. He had come here hoping to\nlive forever, and found the inhabitants wishing more than anything else\nthat they could die. They had tried everything they could think of to\nbring this about, but without success. No one could even make himself\nill, try as hard as he might; he couldn\u2019t even raise a corn on his toe.\n\nBut Opulo was happy, for he had found what he sought. He assured himself\nthat he would never tire of living, and was the only contented man on\nthe island.\n\nHe changed from his former mode of living, and instead of doing nothing,\nhe set himself up in business. And now that he had something to do, time\npassed very quickly.\n\nStrange to say, after having lived there for two hundred years life\nbegan to be somewhat dull and monotonous. He wanted a change, for it was\nthe same thing day after day, and year after year. He began to think\nthat perhaps the other people were not so foolish when they wanted to\ndie!\n\nIt would be fine if he could see his own country again; things would\nnever be any different where he was now, and how wearisome it was\ngetting to be!\n\nNow he wanted to die, but couldn\u2019t, and it was no use trying to.\n\nOne day he happened to think that his prayers to Jofuku had resulted in\nbringing him to this country. He would pray to Jofuku to take him away\nfrom it. Why did he not think of this before?\n\nSo he prayed, and to his surprise the paper bird came into his hand. It\ngrew and grew as it had done before in the temple of Jofuku, and soon it\nwas large enough for him to mount. It spread its wings, and they went\nflying through the air.\n\nOn and on they flew, stopping neither for rest nor food, and at length\nthey reached the Japan Sea. Then he suddenly thought of the valuable\nbusiness he had left behind. Why hadn\u2019t he sold it, and taken the\nproceeds with him?\n\nAs soon as this thought came to him a storm came on. It rained hard, and\nof course the paper bird became wet, and being paper, it crumpled up and\nfell into the sea.\n\nNow he was in danger of being drowned, and he was afraid. Not long ago\nhe would have welcomed death. He called aloud to Jofuku to save him, but\nthere was no reply.\n\nHe swam and swam, doing his best to keep from sinking. Then right in\nfront of him he saw a huge fish, its mouth wide open, ready to devour\nhim.\n\nIn his fright he screamed so loudly for Jofuku to save him that he\nawakened himself. For, behold, he had fallen asleep during his long\nprayers before the shrine, and all of this had come to him in a dream.\n\nThen he heard a voice, and before him stood a messenger, who said:\n\n\u201cAs you have prayed, so has Jofuku permitted you in a dream to see the\nland of Continual Life. You were not contented there and wished to\nreturn to your own country that you might die. And even your desire for\ndeath was not real, for when the fish was there to swallow you, you\ncalled on Jofuku to save you. There is only one thing for you to do;\nreturn to your home and live an industrious life, be helpful to yourself\nand to others, and thus will you be happy and live to a good old age.\nAnd be sure that any selfish desire you may have, even if it be granted,\nwill never bring you happiness.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE CRANE AND THE CRAB\n\n\nThere was a small lake in Malwa called Lily-Water, and on its bank one\nday stood a Crane who seemed to be lost in thought.\n\nIt was the dry season and the water was low in the pond, in which were a\ngood many fish. Now the Crane was very fond of fish, and he was trying\nto figure out a plan whereby he could satisfy his appetite.\n\nAt last he went to the water\u2019s edge, and there he sat down. He assumed a\nmost dejected look, and appeared to be so miserable that a Crab, who had\nbeen watching him, asked him why he was so down-hearted.\n\n\u201cIt is because I am thinking of all who live in this pond that I am so\nsad,\u201d said the Crane.\n\n\u201cWhy should that be the reason?\u201d asked the Crab.\n\n\u201cI will tell you,\u201d said the Crane. \u201cThis morning I heard the fishermen\nwho live near here say that they meant to catch every fish that swims in\nthis water. Now I love a dish of fish myself, and the few that I should\ntake would make but little difference among so many. And although if the\nfish in this pond are all captured there would be none left for me to\nsubsist upon, it breaks my heart to think of the fate that is in store\nfor them. Therefore am I so sad.\u201d\n\nNow some of the fishes overheard what the Crane said to the Crab, and\nthey at once called a general meeting. One of them said: \u201cIn this case\nthe Crane\u2019s interests are the same as ours, because, while we furnish\nthe food which keeps him alive there are many of us left, but when the\nfishermen capture us we shall die. Let us therefore confer with the\nCrane.\u201d\n\nThis they decided to do, and so they went to him in a body.\n\n\u201cGood Crane,\u201d they said, \u201cwhat course is there for safety?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe only thing to do is to go elsewhere,\u201d said the Crane. \u201cThis can\neasily be done, for if you wish I will carry you one by one to another\npool.\u201d\n\nThis the trembling fishes begged him to do, that is, all but one of\nthem, who said:\n\n\u201cIt is most unusual that a crane should take any thought for fishes, and\nI think that you mean to eat us, one by one.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I do not,\u201d said the Crane. \u201cIf you do not believe what I say, send\none of your number with me, and he shall come back and tell you that I\nam to be trusted.\u201d\n\nThey thought this was all right, and so selected their sharpest fish,\none whom they considered could not be outwitted, and handed him over to\nthe Crane.\n\nThe Crane took him in his bill and let him go in the other pool, and he\nshowed the fish all over it. Then he carried him back to the others who\nwere entirely satisfied, and said they were ready to go with him.\n\nThen the Crane took them, one after another, and having eaten them,\nreturned to report that he had safely deposited each in the pond.\n\nAt last only the Crab was left, and he asked to be taken, too. Now the\nCrane coveted the tender flesh of the Crab, and perhaps the latter saw a\ngreedy look in his eyes. At any rate, when the Crane went to take hold\nof him with his beak, he said: \u201cYou cannot carry me like that, for I\nshould certainly fall.\u201d\n\nThe Crane told him not to fear, that he would be perfectly safe. But the\nCrab thought to himself: \u201cIf he once got hold of a fish, I doubt very\nmuch if he would really let it go into the pond. He shall carry me, but\nin such a way that I shall be safe.\u201d So he said:\n\n\u201cFriend Crane, you cannot hold me tight enough in your bill, so I will\nhold on to you with my claws, and you can carry me that way.\u201d\n\nThe Crane thought that would be all right, and so the other held on to\nhis neck with his claws, and off they went.\n\nThey soon reached the spot where the Crane had eaten the fish, and the\nCrab saw that it was covered with fishbones.\n\n\u201cThis is not the pond,\u201d said the Crab; \u201cplease take me to it at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will never see another pond,\u201d replied the Crane, who thought that\nit would be the easiest thing in the world to shake the Crab from his\nneck. \u201cI am now going to eat you, just as I have eaten every one of the\nfish, whose bones you can see if you look.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you think I am as stupid as those fish?\u201d asked the Crab. Then he\ngave the Crane\u2019s neck such a squeeze with his claws that the Crane\nalmost died.\n\n\u201cThat is just to remind you of what will happen if you don\u2019t take me to\nthe pond at once,\u201d said the Crab.\n\nThe Crane now trembled with fear, and flew at once to the edge of the\npond, and there, before entering the water the Crab tightened his grip\nso that the Crane\u2019s neck was cut clear through.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE LION AND THE HARE\n\n\nIn a large forest there lived a Lion who was very fierce. Such terror\ndid he inspire among the other animals of the jungle, and so many of\nthem did he kill for his daily food, that they held a public meeting to\nsee what could be done about it.\n\nAfter much parleying they drew up a respectful petition to the Lion in\nthese words:\n\n\u201cYour Majesty, why do you thus create havoc among us? If it please you,\nwe will ourselves furnish you daily with a beast for your Majesty\u2019s\nmeal.\u201d\n\nThis petition they duly presented to the Lion, who said: \u201cIf this\narrangement is more agreeable to you, I will be satisfied.\u201d So, from\nthat time a beast was allotted to him each day, they casting lots among\nthemselves to see who should be selected.\n\nThus it became the turn of a wily old Hare to supply the royal table,\nand as he walked slowly along to keep his appointment he said to\nhimself, \u201cIf I have to die I will take my time, and will go to my death\nas leisurely as possible.\u201d\n\nNow that day the Lion was very hungry, and he became very angry at being\nkept waiting for his meal, so when he saw the Hare walking along as\nthough he had all day to spare he roared at him, \u201cHow dare you so delay\nyour coming?\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d replied the Hare, \u201cIt is not my fault that I am late. On the way\nhere I was detained by another lion, who made me promise to return to\nhim when I shall have told your Majesty that he awaits you.\u201d\n\nOf course, such insolence on the part of another lion made this one more\nangry than before, as the old Hare had intended it should, and he\nexclaimed in a rage, \u201cShow me instantly where this impertinent villain\nof a lion lives.\u201d\n\nThen the Hare led the way until he came to a deep well, when he stopped\nand said, \u201cNow, my Lord, come here and see him.\u201d\n\nSo the Lion approached, and saw his own reflection in the water.\nThinking that he was looking at the other lion, he flung himself\nfuriously upon his own image, and so was drowned. You may be sure the\nold Hare lost no time in spreading the news of their enemy\u2019s end to his\nfriends of the jungle.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE STORY OF CALIPH STORK\n\n\n I.\n\nCaliph Chasid, of Bagdad, was resting comfortably on his divan one fine\nafternoon. He was smoking a long pipe, and from time to time he sipped a\nlittle coffee which a slave handed to him, and after each sip he stroked\nhis long beard with an air of enjoyment. In short, anyone could see that\nthe Caliph was in an excellent humor. This was, in fact, the best time\nof day in which to approach him, for just now he was pretty sure to be\nboth affable and in good spirits, and for this reason the Grand Vizier\nMansor always chose this hour in which to pay his daily visit.\n\nHe arrived as usual this afternoon, but, contrary to his usual custom,\nwith an anxious face. The Caliph withdrew his pipe for a moment from his\nlips and asked, \u201cWhy do you look so anxious, Grand Vizier?\u201d\n\nThe Grand Vizier crossed his arms on his breast and bent low before his\nmaster as he answered:\n\n\u201cOh, my lord! Whether my countenance be anxious or not I know not, but\ndown below in the court of the palace is a pedler with such beautiful\nthings that I cannot help feeling annoyed at having so little money to\nspare.\u201d\n\nThe Caliph, who had wished for some time past to give his Grand Vizier a\npresent, ordered his black slave to bring the pedler before him at once.\nThe slave soon returned, followed by the pedler, a short, stout man with\na swarthy face, and dressed in very ragged clothes. He carried a box\ncontaining all manner of wares\u2014strings of pearls, rings, richly mounted\npistols, goblets, and combs. The Caliph and his Vizier inspected\neverything, and the Caliph chose some handsome pistols for himself and\nMansor, and a jeweled comb for the Vizier\u2019s wife. Just as the pedler was\nabout to close his box, the Caliph noticed a small drawer, and asked if\nthere was anything else in it for sale. The pedler opened the drawer and\nshowed them a box containing a black powder, and a scroll written in\nstrange characters, which neither the Caliph nor Mansor could read.\n\n\u201cI got these two articles from a merchant who had picked them up in the\nstreet at Mecca,\u201d said the pedler. \u201cI do not know what they may contain,\nbut as they are of no use to me, you are welcome to have them for a\ntrifle.\u201d\n\nThe Caliph, who liked to have old manuscripts in his library, even\nthough he could not read them, purchased the scroll and the box, and\ndismissed the pedler. Then, being anxious to know what might be the\ncontents of the scroll, he asked the Vizier if he did not know of anyone\nwho might be able to decipher it.\n\n\u201cMost gracious lord and master,\u201d replied the Vizier, \u201cnear the great\nMosque lives a man called Selim the learned, who knows every language\nunder the sun. Send for him; it may be that he will be able to interpret\nthose mysterious characters.\u201d\n\nThe learned Selim was summoned immediately.\n\n\u201cSelim,\u201d said the Caliph, \u201cI hear you are a scholar. Look well at this\nscroll and see whether you can read it. If you can, I will give you a\nrobe of honor; but if you fail, I will order you to receive twelve\nstrokes on your cheeks, and five-and-twenty on the soles of your feet,\nbecause you have been falsely called Selim the learned.\u201d\n\nSelim prostrated himself and said, \u201cBe it according to your will, oh\nmaster!\u201d Then he gazed long at the scroll. Suddenly he exclaimed: \u201cMay I\ndie, oh, my Lord, if this isn\u2019t Latin!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the Caliph, \u201cif it is Latin, let us hear what it means.\u201d\n\nSo Selim began to translate: \u201cThou who mayest find this, praise Allah\nfor his mercy. Whoever shall snuff the powder in this box, and at the\nsame time pronounce the word \u2018Mutabor!\u2019 can transform himself into any\ncreature he likes, and will understand the language of all animals. When\nhe wishes to resume the human form, he has only to look three times\ntoward the east, and to repeat the same word. Be careful, however, when\nwearing the shape of some beast or bird, not to laugh, or thou wilt\ncertainly forget the magic word and remain an animal forever.\u201d\n\nWhen Selim the learned had read this the Caliph was delighted. He made\nthe wise man swear not to tell the matter to anyone, gave him a splendid\nrobe, and dismissed him. Then he said to the Vizier, \u201cThat\u2019s what I call\na good bargain, Mansor. I am longing for the moment when I can become\nsome animal. To-morrow morning I shall expect you early; we will go into\nthe country, take some snuff from my box, and then hear what is being\nsaid in air, earth, and water.\u201d\n\n\n II.\n\nNext morning Caliph Chasid had barely finished dressing and breakfasting\nwhen the Grand Vizier arrived, according to orders, to accompany him on\nhis expedition. The Caliph stuck the snuff-box in his girdle, and,\nhaving desired his servants to remain at home, started off with the\nGrand Vizier only in attendance. First they walked through the palace\ngardens, but they looked in vain for some creature which would tempt\nthem to try their magic powder. At length the Vizier suggested going\nfurther on to a pond which lay beyond the town, and where he had often\nseen a variety of creatures, especially storks, whose grave, dignified\nappearance and constant chatter had often attracted his attention.\n\nThe Caliph consented, and they went straight to the pond. As soon as\nthey arrived they remarked a stork strutting up and down with a stately\nair, hunting for frogs, and now and then muttering something to itself.\nAt the same time they saw another stork far above in the sky flying\ntoward the same spot.\n\n\u201cI would wager my beard, most gracious master,\u201d said the Grand Vizier,\n\u201cthat these two long-legs will have a good chat together. How would it\nbe if we turned ourselves into storks?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell said,\u201d replied the Caliph; \u201cbut first let us remember carefully\nhow we are to become men once more. Bow three times toward the east and\nsay \u2018Mutabor!\u2019 and I shall be Caliph and you my Grand Vizier again. But\nfor Heaven\u2019s sake don\u2019t laugh or we are lost.\u201d\n\nAs the Caliph spoke he saw the second stork circling round his head and\ngradually flying towards the earth. Quickly he drew the box from his\ngirdle, took a good pinch of the snuff, and offered one to Mansor, who\nalso took one, and both cried together \u201cMutabor!\u201d\n\nInstantly their legs shriveled up and grew thin and red; their smart\nyellow slippers turned to clumsy stork\u2019s feet. Their arms to wings;\ntheir necks began to sprout from between their shoulders and grew a yard\nlong; their beards disappeared, and their bodies were covered with\nfeathers.\n\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got a fine long bill, Sir Vizier,\u201d cried the Caliph, after\nstanding for some time lost in astonishment. \u201cBy the beard of the\nProphet I never saw such a thing in all my life!\u201d\n\n\u201cMy very humble thanks,\u201d replied the Grand Vizier, as he bent his long\nneck; \u201cbut if I may venture to say so, your Highness is even handsomer\nas a stork than as a Caliph. But come, if it so pleases you, let us go\nnear our comrades there and find out whether we really do understand the\nlanguage of storks.\u201d\n\nMeantime the second stork had reached the ground. It first scraped its\nbill with its claw, stroked down its feathers, and then advanced towards\nthe first stork. The two newly made storks lost no time in drawing near,\nand to their amazement overheard the following conversation:\n\n\u201cGood-morning, Dame Longlegs. You are out early this morning!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed, dear Chatterbill! I am getting myself a morsel of\nbreakfast. May I offer you a joint of lizard or a frog\u2019s thigh?\u201d\n\n\u201cA thousand thanks, but I have really no appetite this morning. I am\nhere for a very different purpose. I am to dance to-day before my\nfather\u2019s guests, and I have come to the meadow for a little quiet\npractice.\u201d\n\nThereupon the young stork began to move about with the most wonderful\nsteps. The Caliph and Mansor looked on with surprise for some time; but\nwhen at last she balanced herself in a picturesque attitude on one leg,\nand flapped her wings gracefully up and down, they could hold out no\nlonger; a prolonged peal burst from each of their bills, and it was some\ntime before they could recover their composure. The Caliph was the first\nto collect himself. \u201cThat was the best joke,\u201d said he, \u201cI\u2019ve ever seen.\nIt\u2019s a pity the stupid creatures were scared away by our laughter, or no\ndoubt they would have sung next!\u201d\n\nSuddenly, however, the Vizier remembered how strictly they had been\nwarned not to laugh during their transformation. He at once communicated\nhis fears to the Caliph, who exclaimed, \u201cBy Mecca and Medina! It would\nindeed prove but a poor joke if I had to remain a stork for the\nremainder of my days! Do just try and remember the stupid word, for it\nhas slipped my memory.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe must bow three times eastwards and say \u2018Mu\u2014mu\u2014mu\u2014\u2014\u2019\u201d\n\nThey turned to the east and fell to bowing till their bills touched the\nground, but, oh, horror\u2014the magic word was quite forgotten, and however\noften the Caliph bowed and however touchingly his Vizier cried \u201cMu\u2014mu\u2014\u2014\u201d\nthey could not recall it, and the unhappy Chasid and Mansor remained\nstorks as they were.\n\n\n III.\n\nThe two enchanted birds wandered sadly on through the meadows. In their\nmisery they could not think what to do next. They could not rid\nthemselves of their new forms; there was no use in returning to the town\nand saying who they were; for who would believe a stork who announced\nthat he was a Caliph; and even if they did believe him, would the people\nof Bagdad consent to let a stork rule over them?\n\nSo they lounged about for several days, supporting themselves on fruits,\nwhich, however, they found some difficulty in eating with their long\nbills. They did not much care to eat frogs or lizards. Their one comfort\nin their sad plight was the power of flying, and accordingly they often\nflew over the roofs of Bagdad to see what was going on there.\n\nDuring the first few days they noticed signs of much disturbance and\ndistress in the streets, but about the fourth day, as they sat on the\nroof of the palace, they perceived a splendid procession passing below\nthem along the street. Drums and trumpets sounded; a man in a scarlet\nmantle, embroidered in gold, sat on a splendidly caparisoned horse\nsurrounded by richly dressed slaves; half Bagdad crowded after him, and\nthey all shouted, \u201cHail, Mirza, the Lord of Bagdad!\u201d\n\nThe two storks on the palace roof looked at each other, and the Caliph\nChasid said, \u201cCan you guess now, Grand Vizier, why I have been\nenchanted? This Mirza is the son of my deadly enemy, the mighty magician\nKaschnur, who in an evil moment vowed vengeance on me. Still I will not\ndespair! Come with me, my faithful friend; we will go to the grave of\nthe Prophet, and perhaps at that sacred spot the spell may be loosed.\u201d\n\nThey rose from the palace roof, and spread their wings toward Medina.\n\nBut flying was not an easy matter, for the two storks had had but little\npractice as yet.\n\n\u201cOh, my Lord!\u201d gasped the Vizier, after a couple of hours, \u201cI can go on\nno longer; you really fly too quick for me. Besides, it is nearly\nevening, and we shall do well to find some place in which to spend the\nnight.\u201d\n\nChasid listened with favor to his servant\u2019s suggestion, and perceiving\nin the valley beneath them a ruin which seemed to promise shelter, they\nflew toward it. The building in which they proposed to pass the night\nhad apparently been formerly a castle. Some handsome pillars still stood\namongst the heaps of ruins, and several rooms, which yet remained in\nfair preservation, gave evidence of former splendor. Chasid and his\ncompanion wandered along the passages seeking a dry spot, when suddenly\nMansor stood still.\n\n\u201cMy lord and master,\u201d he whispered, \u201cif it were not absurd for a Grand\nVizier, and still more for a stork, to be afraid of ghosts, I should\nfeel quite nervous, for someone, or something close by me, has sighed\nand moaned quite audibly.\u201d\n\nThe Caliph stood still and distinctly heard a low weeping sound, which\nseemed to proceed from a human being rather than from any animal. Full\nof curiosity, he was about to rush toward the spot from which the sounds\nof woe came, when the Vizier caught him by the wing with his bill, and\nimplored him not to expose himself to fresh and unknown dangers. The\nCaliph, however, under whose stork\u2019s breast a brave heart beat, tore\nhimself away with the loss of a few feathers, and hurried down a dark\npassage. He saw a door which stood ajar, and through which he distinctly\nheard sighs, mingled with sobs. He pushed open the door with his bill,\nbut remained on the threshold, astonished at the sight which met his\neyes. On the floor of the ruined chamber\u2014which was but scantily lighted\nby a small barred window\u2014sat a large screech owl. Big tears rolled from\nits large, round eyes, and in a hoarse voice it uttered its complaints\nthrough its crooked beak. As soon as it saw the Caliph and his\nVizier\u2014who had crept up meanwhile\u2014it gave vent to a joyful cry. It\ngently wiped the tears from its eyes with its spotted brown wings, and\nto the great amazement of the two visitors, addressed them in good human\nArabic.\n\n\u201cWelcome, ye storks! You are a good sign of my deliverance, for it was\nforetold me that a piece of good fortune should befall me through a\nstork.\u201d\n\nWhen Caliph had recovered from his surprise, he drew up his feet into a\ngraceful position, bent his long neck, and said: \u201cO, screech owl! From\nyour words I am led to believe that we see in you a companion in\nmisfortune. But, alas! Your hope that you may attain your deliverance\nthrough us is but a vain one. You will know our helplessness when you\nhave heard our story.\u201d\n\nThe screech owl begged him to relate it, and the Caliph accordingly told\nhim what we already know.\n\n\n IV.\n\nWhen the Caliph had ended, the owl thanked him and said: \u201cYou must hear\nmy story, and own that I am no less unfortunate than yourselves. My\nfather is the King of the Indies. I, his only daughter, am named Lusa.\nThat magician, Kaschnur, who enchanted you, has been the cause of my\nmisfortunes, too. He came one day to my father and demanded my hand for\nhis son Mirza. My father\u2014who is rather hasty\u2014ordered him to be thrown\ndownstairs. The wretch not long after managed to approach me under\nanother form; one day when I was in the garden I asked for some\nrefreshment, and he brought me\u2014in the disguise of a slave\u2014a draught\nwhich changed me at once to this horrid shape. Whilst I was fainting\nwith terror he transported me here, and cried to me with his awful\nvoice: \u2018There shall you remain, lonely and hideous, despised even by the\nbrutes, till the end of your days, or till someone of his own free will\nasks you to be his wife. Thus do I avenge myself on you and your proud\nfather.\u2019\n\n\u201cSince then many months have passed away. Sad and lonely do I live like\nany hermit within these walls, avoided by the world and a terror even to\nanimals; the beauties of nature are hidden from me, for I am blind by\nday, and it is only when the moon sheds her pale light on this spot that\nthe veil falls from my eyes and I can see.\u201d The owl paused, and once\nmore wiped her eyes with her wing, for the recital of her woes had drawn\nfresh tears from her.\n\nThe Caliph fell into deep thought on hearing this story of the Princess.\n\u201cIf I am not much mistaken,\u201d said he, \u201cthere is some mysterious\nconnection between our misfortunes, but how to find the key to the\nriddle is the question.\u201d\n\nThe owl answered: \u201cOh, my Lord! I too feel sure of this, for in my\nearliest youth a wise woman foretold that a stork would bring me some\ngreat happiness, and I think I could tell you how we might save\nourselves.\u201d The Caliph was much surprised, and asked her what she meant.\n\n\u201cThe magician who has made us both miserable,\u201d said she, \u201ccomes once a\nmonth to these ruins. Not far from this room is a large hall where he is\nin the habit of feasting with his companions. I have often watched them.\nThey tell each other all about their evil deeds, and possibly the magic\nword which you have forgotten may be mentioned.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, dearest Princess!\u201d exclaimed the Caliph. \u201cSay, when does he come,\nand where is the hall?\u201d\n\nThe owl paused a moment and then said: \u201cDo not think me unkind, but I\ncan only grant your request on one condition.\u201d\n\n\u201cSpeak, speak!\u201d cried Chasid; \u201ccommand, I will gladly do whatever you\nwish!\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied the owl, \u201cyou see I should like to be free too; but this\ncan only be if one of you will offer me his hand in marriage.\u201d\n\nThe storks seemed rather taken back by this suggestion, and the Caliph\nbeckoned to his Vizier to retire and consult with him.\n\nWhen they were outside the door the Caliph said: \u201cGrand Vizier, this is\na tiresome business. However, you can take her.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed!\u201d said the Vizier; \u201cso that when I go home my wife may scratch\nmy eyes out! Besides, I am an old man, and your Highness is still young\nand unmarried, and a far more suitable match for a young and lovely\nprincess.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s just where it is,\u201d sighed the Caliph, whose wings drooped in a\ndejected manner; \u201chow do I know she is young and lovely? I call it\nbuying a pig in a poke.\u201d\n\nThey argued on for some time, but at length, when the Caliph saw plainly\nthat his Vizier would rather remain a stork to the end of his days than\nmarry the owl, he determined to fulfill the condition himself. The owl\nwas delighted. She owned that they could not have arrived at a better\ntime, as most probably the magicians would meet that very night.\n\nShe then proceeded to lead the two storks to the chamber. They passed\nthrough a long dark passage till at length a bright ray of light shone\nbefore them through the chinks of a half-ruined wall. When they reached\nit the owl advised them to keep very quiet. Through the gap near which\nthey stood they could with ease survey the whole of the large hall. It\nwas adorned with splendid carved pillars; a number of colored lamps\nreplaced the light of day. In the middle of the hall stood a round table\ncovered with a variety of dishes, and about the table was a divan on\nwhich eight men were seated. In one of these bad men the two recognized\nthe pedler who had sold the magic powder. The man next him begged him to\nrelate all his latest doings, and amongst them he told the story of the\nCaliph and his Vizier.\n\n\u201cAnd what kind of word did you give them?\u201d asked another old sorcerer.\n\n\u201cA very difficult Latin word; it is \u2018Mutabor.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n V.\n\nAs soon as the storks heard this they were nearly beside themselves with\njoy. They ran at such a pace to the door of the ruined castle that the\nowl could scarcely keep up with them. When they reached it the Caliph\nturned to the owl, and said with much feeling: \u201cDeliverer of my friend\nand myself, as a proof of my eternal gratitude, accept me as your\nhusband.\u201d Then he turned towards the east. Three times the storks bowed\ntheir long necks to the sun, which was just rising over the mountains.\n\u201cMutabor!\u201d they both cried, and in an instant they were once more\ntransformed. In the rapture of their newly given lives master and\nservant fell laughing and weeping into each other\u2019s arms. Who shall\ndescribe their surprise when they at last turned round and beheld\nstanding before them a beautiful lady exquisitely dressed!\n\nWith a smile she held out her hand to the Caliph, and asked: \u201cDo you not\nrecognize your screech owl?\u201d\n\nIt was she! The Caliph was so enchanted by her grace and beauty that he\ndeclared being turned into a stork had been the best piece of luck which\nhad ever befallen him. The three set out at once for Bagdad.\nFortunately, the Caliph found not only the box with the magic powder,\nbut also his purse in his girdle; he was, therefore, able to buy in the\nnearest village all they required for their journey, and so at last they\nreached the gates of Bagdad.\n\nHere the Caliph\u2019s arrival created the greatest sensation. He had been\nquite given up for dead, and the people were greatly rejoiced to see\ntheir beloved ruler again.\n\nTheir rage with the usurper Mirza, however, was great in proportion.\nThey marched in force to the palace and took the old magician and his\nson prisoners. The Caliph sent the magician to the room where the\nprincess had lived as an owl, and there had him hanged. As the son,\nhowever, knew nothing of his father\u2019s acts, the Caliph gave him his\nchoice between death and a pinch of the magic snuff. When he chose the\nlatter the Grand Vizier handed him the box. One good pinch, and the\nmagic word transformed him to a stork. The Caliph ordered him to be\nconfined in an iron cage, and placed in the palace gardens.\n\nCaliph Chasid lived long and happily with his wife, the princess. His\nmerriest time was when the Grand Vizier visited him in the afternoon;\nand when the Caliph was in particularly high spirits he would condescend\nto mimic the Vizier\u2019s appearance when he was a stork. He would strut\ngravely, and with well-stiffened legs, up and down the room, chattering,\nand showing how he had vainly bowed to the east and cried \u201cMu\u2014mu\u2014\u2014\u201d The\nCaliphess and her children were always much entertained by this\nperformance; when the Caliph went on nodding and bowing, and calling\n\u201cMu\u2014mu\u2014\u2014\u201d too long, the Vizier would threaten laughingly to tell the\nCaliphess the subject of the discussion carried on one night outside the\ndoor of Princess Screech Owl.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PRINCE AHMED\n\n\nThere was a sultan of India, who, after a long reign, had reached a good\nold age. He had three sons and one niece, the chief ornaments of his\ncourt. The eldest son was called Houssain, the second Ali, the youngest\nAhmed. The name of his niece, their cousin, was Nouronnihar. This niece,\nthe daughter of a favorite brother who had died young, had been brought\nup in the palace from her childhood, and was remarkable for her wit and\nbeauty. The sultan, on her arriving at the proper age, was consulting\nabout a neighboring prince with whom she might form an alliance, when he\nfound that all the three princes, his sons, loved their cousin, and\nwished to marry her. This discovery caused him great grief\u2014not from any\ndisappointment of his own plans for his niece, but from the discord\nwhich this mutual passion for their cousin would cause to his sons.\n\nHe spoke to each of them apart, and showed the impossibility of one\nprincess being the wife of three brothers, and the troubles they would\ncreate if they persisted in their purpose. He did all he could to\npersuade them to abide by a declaration of the princess in favor of one\nof them; or that all should agree to resign their claims to her hand,\nthat she might marry a stranger. But as he found them equally obstinate,\nhe sent for them all together, and said, \u201cMy sons, since I have not been\nable to persuade you in this matter, and as I have no wish to use my\nauthority to give the princess your cousin to one in preference of\nanother, I have thought of a plan which will please you all, and\npreserve harmony among you, if you will but hear me and follow my\nadvice. I think it would not be amiss if you were to travel separately\ninto different countries, so that you might not meet each other; and I\npromise my niece in marriage to him who shall bring me the most\nextraordinary rarity. I will give each of you a sum suited to your rank,\nand for the purchase of the rarity you shall search after.\u201d\n\nThe three princes cheerfully consented to this proposal, as each\nflattered himself fortune might prove favorable to him, and give him\npossession of the Princess Nouronnihar. The sultan gave them the money\nhe promised, and issued orders for the preparations for their travels.\nEarly next morning they all went out at the same gate of the city, each\ndressed like a merchant, attended by a trusty officer habited as a\nslave, and all well mounted and equipped. They proceeded the first day\u2019s\njourney together; and at night when they were at supper, they agreed to\ntravel for a twelvemonth, and that day a year later to meet again at the\nkhan where they were stopping; so that as they had all three taken leave\ntogether of the sultan, they might return in company. The next morning\nby break of day, after they had embraced and wished each other good\nsuccess, they mounted their horses and each took a different road.\n\nPrince Houssain, the eldest brother, who had heard of the extent, power,\nriches, and splendor of the kingdom of Bisnagar, bent his course towards\nthe Indian coast; and after three months\u2019 travelling with different\ncaravans, sometimes over deserts and barren mountains, and sometimes\nthrough populous and fertile countries, arrived at Bisnagar, the capital\nof the kingdom of that name, and the residence of its king. He lodged at\na khan appointed for foreign merchants, and soon learned that there were\nfour principal bazaars where merchants of all sorts kept their shops, on\na large extent of ground, in the centre of the city.\n\nPrince Houssain went to one of these bazaars on the next day. It was\nlarge, divided into several vaulted avenues, and shaded from the sun,\nbut yet very light. The shops were of the same size and proportion; and\nall who dealt in the same sort of goods lived in one avenue.\n\nThe number of shops stocked with all kinds of merchandise\u2014as the finest\nlinens from several parts of India; silks and brocades from Persia;\nporcelain from Japan\u2014surprised him very much; but when he came to the\nshops of the goldsmiths and jewellers, he was in a kind of ecstasy at\nbeholding such quantities of wrought gold and silver, and was dazzled by\nthe lustre of the pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious\nstones exposed for sale.\n\nAfter Prince Houssain had passed through that quarter, street by street,\na merchant, perceiving him go by much fatigued, invited him to sit down\nin front of his shop. He had not been seated long before a crier\nappeared, with a piece of carpet on his arm, about six feet square, and\noffered it at forty purses. The prince called to the crier, and when he\nhad examined the carpet, told him that he could not comprehend how so\nsmall a piece of carpet, and of so indifferent an appearance, could be\nheld at so high a price unless it had something very extraordinary in it\nwhich he knew nothing of.\n\n\u201cYou have guessed right, sir,\u201d replied the crier; \u201cwhoever sits on this\npiece of carpet may be transported in an instant wherever he desires to\nbe.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the carpet,\u201d said he to the crier, \u201chas the virtue you attribute to\nit, I shall not think forty purses too much.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d replied the crier, \u201cI have told you the truth, and with the leave\nof the master of this shop we will go into the back warehouse, where I\nwill spread the carpet, and when we have both sat down, and you have\nformed the wish to be transported into your apartment at the khan, if we\nare not conveyed thither, it shall be no bargain.\u201d\n\nOn this proposal they went into the merchant\u2019s back-shop, where they\nboth sat down on the carpet; and as soon as the prince had formed his\nwish to be transported into his apartment at the khan, he in an instant\nfound himself and the crier there. After this convincing proof of the\nvirtue of the carpet, he counted to the crier forty purses of gold, and\ngave him twenty pieces for himself.\n\nIn this manner Prince Houssain became the possessor of the carpet, and\nwas overjoyed that at his arrival at Bisnagar he had found so rare a\ncuriosity, which he never doubted must of course gain him the possession\nof Nouronnihar, as his younger brothers could not meet with anything to\nbe compared with it. By sitting on this carpet, it was in his power to\nbe at the place of meeting that very day; but as he would be obliged to\nwait there for his brothers until the time they had agreed on, he chose\nto make a longer abode in this capital.\n\nWhen Prince Houssain had seen all the wonders of the city, he wished to\nbe nearer his dear Princess Nouronnihar, and having paid all the\ncharges, and returned the key of his apartment to the owner of the khan,\nhe spread the carpet, and as soon as he had formed his wish he and the\nofficer whom he had brought with him were transported to the inn at\nwhich he and his brothers were to meet, and where he passed for a\nmerchant till their arrival.\n\nPrince Ali, the second brother, who had designed to travel into Persia,\nafter he had parted with his brothers, joined a caravan, and in four\nmonths arrived at Shiraz, the capital of that empire.\n\nOn the next morning after his arrival, while the merchants opened their\nbales of merchandise, Prince Ali took a walk into that quarter of the\ntown where is the bazaar of the jewellers, in which they sold precious\nstones, gold and silver works, and other choice and valuable articles,\nfor which Shiraz was celebrated.\n\nAmong the criers who passed backwards and forwards with samples of\nseveral sorts of goods, he was not a little surprised to see one who\nheld in his hand an ivory tube, about a foot in length, and about an\ninch thick, which he cried at forty purses. At first he thought the\ncrier mad, and asked him what he meant by asking forty purses for that\ntube which seemed to be a thing of no value.\n\nThe crier replied, \u201cSir, you are not the only person that takes me for a\nmadman on account of this tube; you shall judge yourself whether I am or\nnot, when I have told you its peculiar power. By looking through this\ntube, you will see whatever object you wish to behold.\u201d\n\nThe crier presented him the tube, and he looked through, wishing at the\nsame time to see the sultan his father, whom he immediately beheld in\nperfect health, sitting on his throne, in the midst of his council.\nNext, as there was nothing in the world so dear to him, after the\nsultan, as the Princess Nouronnihar, he wished to see her; and instantly\nbeheld her laughing, and in a gay humor, with her women about her.\n\nPrince Ali wanted no other proof to persuade him that this tube was the\nmost valuable article, not only in the city of Shiraz, but in all the\nworld; and believed that if he should neglect to purchase it, he would\nnever meet with an equally wonderful curiosity. He said to the crier, \u201cI\nam very sorry that I have entertained so wrong an opinion of you, but I\nhope to make amends by buying the tube, and I will give you the price\nyou ask.\u201d\n\nOn this the prince took the crier to the khan where he lodged, counted\nhim out the money, and received the tube.\n\nPrince Ali was overjoyed at his purchase; he persuaded himself that, as\nhis brothers would not be able to meet with anything so rare and\nadmirable, the Princess Nouronnihar must be the recompense of his\nfatigue and travels. He now thought only of visiting the court of\nPersia, and of seeing whatever was curious in Shiraz, and when the\ncaravan took its departure he joined the party of merchants with whom he\nhad travelled, and arrived happily without any accident or trouble at\nthe place appointed, where he found Prince Houssain, and both waited for\nPrince Ahmed.\n\nPrince Ahmed took the road to Samarcand, and the day after his arrival,\nwent as his brothers had done, into the market, where he had not walked\nlong before he heard a crier, who had an artificial apple in his hand,\noffer it at forty purses. He stopped the crier, and said to him, \u201cLet me\nsee that apple, and tell me what virtue it possesses, to be valued at so\nhigh a rate.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d replied the crier, giving it into his hand, \u201cif you look at the\nmere outside of this apple, it is not very remarkable; but if you\nconsider its properties, you will say it is invaluable, and that he who\npossesses it is master of a great treasure. It cures all sick persons of\nevery disease, and even if the patient is dying, it will help him\nimmediately, and restore him to perfect health; and this merely by the\npatient\u2019s smelling it.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf one may believe you,\u201d replied Prince Ahmed, \u201cthe virtues of this\napple are wonderful, and it is indeed invaluable; but how am I to know\nthat there is no error in the high praises you bestow on it?\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d replied the crier, \u201cthe truth is known by the whole city of\nSamarcand. Ask all these merchants you see here, and hear what they say.\nYou will find several of them will tell you they had not been alive this\nday had they not made use of this excellent remedy.\u201d\n\nWhile the crier was detailing to Prince Ahmed the virtues of the\nartificial apple, many persons gathered round them, and confirmed what\nhe declared; and one amongst the rest said he had a friend dangerously\nill, whose life was despaired of, which was a favorable opportunity to\nshow the apple\u2019s power; on which Prince Ahmed told the crier he would\ngive him forty purses for the apple if it cured the sick person by\nsmelling it.\n\n\u201cCome sir,\u201d said the crier to Prince Ahmed, \u201clet us go and make the\nexperiment, and the apple shall be yours.\u201d\n\nThe experiment succeeded; and the prince, after he had counted out to\nthe crier forty purses, received the apple. He then spent his time in\nseeing all that was curious at and about Samarcand; and having joined\nthe first caravan that set out for the Indies, he arrived in perfect\nhealth at the inn, where the Princes Houssain and Ali waited for him.\n\nWhen Prince Ahmed joined his brothers they embraced with tenderness, and\ncomplimented each other on the happiness of meeting together in safety\nat the same place they had set out from. Houssain, as the eldest\nbrother, then said: \u201cBrothers, we shall have time enough hereafter to\ndescribe our travels. Let us come to that which is of the greatest\nimportance for us to know, and not conceal from each other the\ncuriosities we have brought, but show them, that we may ourselves judge\nto which of us the sultan our father may give the preference. I will\ntell you that the rarity which I have brought from the kingdom of\nBisnagar is the carpet on which I sit. It looks but ordinary, and makes\nno show, but its virtues are wonderful. Whoever sits on it, and desires\nto be transported to any place, be it ever so far distant, is\nimmediately carried thither. On my return here I made use of no other\nconveyance than this wonderful carpet, for which I paid forty purses. I\nexpect now that you should tell me whether what you have brought is to\nbe compared with this carpet.\u201d\n\nPrince Ali next spoke. \u201cI acknowledge, brother,\u201d said he, \u201cthat your\ncarpet is a most surprising curiosity. But you must allow that there may\nbe other rarities at least as wonderful. Here is an ivory tube, which\nappears to the eye no more a prodigy than your carpet. It cost me forty\npurses, and I am as well satisfied with my purchase as you can be with\nyours; for on looking at one end of this tube you can see whatever\nobject you wish to behold. I would not have you take my word,\u201d added\nPrince Ali, presenting the tube to him. \u201cTake it, and make a trial of it\nyourself.\u201d\n\nHoussain took the ivory tube, and wished to see the Princess\nNouronnihar, when Ali and Prince Ahmed, who kept their eyes fixed on\nhim, were extremely surprised to see his countenance suddenly express\nextraordinary alarm and affliction. Prince Houssain did not give them\ntime to ask what was the matter, but cried out, \u201cAlas! princes, to what\npurpose have we undertaken such long and fatiguing journeys, with the\nhopes of being recompensed by the hand of the charming Nouronnihar, when\nin a few moments that lovely princess will breathe her last! I saw her\nin bed, surrounded by her women, all weeping and seeming to expect her\ndeath. Take the tube, behold yourselves the miserable state she is in,\nand mingle your tears with mine.\u201d\n\nPrince Ali took the tube out of Houssain\u2019s hand, and after he had seen\nthe same object with the deepest grief presented it to Ahmed, who also\nbeheld the sad sight which so much concerned them all.\n\nWhen Prince Ahmed had taken the tube out of Ali\u2019s hands, and saw that\nthe Princess Nouronnihar\u2019s end was so near, he addressed himself to his\ntwo companions, and said, \u201cBrothers, the Princess Nouronnihar, whom we\nall equally loved, is indeed just at death\u2019s door; but provided we make\nhaste and lose no time, we may preserve her life. This apple which you\nsee cost the same sum as the carpet and the tube; but it has this\nsurprising power\u2014its smell will restore to life a sick person, whatever\nbe the malady. I have made the experiment, and can show you its\nwonderful effect on the person of the Princess Nouronnihar if we hasten\nto assist her.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf that be all,\u201d replied Prince Houssain, \u201cwe cannot make more despatch\nthan by transporting ourselves instantly into her chamber by means of my\ncarpet. Come, lose no time, sit down, it is large enough to hold us\nall.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the order was given, the Princes Ali and Ahmed sat down by\nHoussain, and as their interest was the same, they all framed the same\nwish, and were transported instantaneously into the Princess\nNouronnihar\u2019s chamber.\n\nThe presence of the three princes, who were so little expected, alarmed\nthe princess\u2019s women and guards, who could not comprehend by what\nenchantment three men should be among them; for they did not know them\nat first; and the guards were ready to fall on them, as people who had\ngot into a part of the palace where they were not allowed to come; but\nthey quickly found out their mistake.\n\nPrince Ahmed no sooner saw himself in Nouronnihar\u2019s chamber than he rose\noff the carpet, and went to the bedside, and put the apple to her\nnostrils. The princess instantly opened her eyes, and sitting up, asked\nto be dressed, as if she had awakened out of a sound sleep. Her women\npresently informed her that she was obliged to the three princes, her\ncousins, and particularly to Prince Ahmed, for the sudden recovery of\nher health. She immediately expressed her joy at seeing them, and\nthanked them all together, but afterwards Prince Ahmed in particular. As\nshe desired to dress, the princes contented themselves with telling her\nhow great a pleasure it was to them to have come soon enough to\ncontribute each in any degree towards relieving her from the imminent\ndanger she was in, and what ardent prayers they had offered for the\ncontinuance of her life; after which they retired.\n\nWhile the princess was dressing, the princes went to throw themselves at\nthe sultan their father\u2019s feet; but when they came to him, they found he\nhad been previously informed of their unexpected arrival by the chief of\nthe princess\u2019s guards, and by what means the princess had been so\nsuddenly cured. The sultan received and embraced them with the greatest\njoy, both for their return and the wonderful recovery of the princess,\nhis niece, whom he loved as if she had been his own daughter. After the\nusual compliments the princes each presented the rarity which he had\nbrought: Prince Houssain his carpet, Prince Ali his ivory tube, and\nPrince Ahmed the artificial apple; and after each had commended his\npresent, as he put it into the sultan\u2019s hands, they begged of him to\npronounce their fate, and declare to which of them he would give the\nPrincess Nouronnihar, according to his promise.\n\nThe Sultan of the Indies having heard all that the princes had to say in\nfavor of their rarities remained some time silent, considering what\nanswer he should make. At last he broke silence, and said to them in\nterms full of wisdom, \u201cI would declare for one of you, my sons, if I\ncould do it with justice. It is true, Ahmed, the princess, my niece, is\nobliged to your artificial apple for her cure; but let me ask you,\nwhether you could have contrived to cure her if you had not known by\nAli\u2019s tube the danger she was in, and if Houssain\u2019s carpet had not\nbrought you to her so soon? Your tube, Ali, revealed to you and your\nbrothers the illness of your cousin; but you must grant that the\nknowledge of her illness would have been of no service without the\nartificial apple and the carpet. And as for you, Houssain, your carpet\nwas an essential instrument in effecting her cure; but consider, it\nwould have been of little use if you had not been acquainted with her\nillness by Ali\u2019s tube, or if Ahmed had not applied his artificial apple.\nTherefore, as the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple have\nno preference over each other, but on the contrary as each had an equal\nshare in her cure, I cannot grant the princess to any one of you; and\nthe only fruit you have reaped from your travels is the happiness of\nhaving equally contributed to restore her to health.\n\n\u201cAs this is the case,\u201d added the sultan, \u201cI must resort to other means\nto determine the choice I ought to make; and as there is time enough\nbetween now and night, I will do it to-day. Go and procure each of you a\nbow and arrow, and repair to the plain where the horses are exercised. I\nwill soon join you, and will give the Princess Nouronnihar to him who\nshoots the farthest.\u201d\n\nThe three princes had nothing to object to the decision of the sultan.\nWhen they were dismissed from his presence, they each provided\nthemselves with a bow and arrow, and went to the plain appointed,\nfollowed by a great concourse of people.\n\nAs soon as the sultan arrived, Prince Houssain, as the eldest, took his\nbow and arrow, and shot first. Prince Ali shot next, and much beyond\nhim, and Prince Ahmed last of all; but it so happened that nobody saw\nwhere his arrow fell; and notwithstanding all the search made by himself\nand the spectators, it was not to be found. So the sultan determined in\nfavor of Prince Ali, and gave orders for preparations to be made for the\nwedding of him and Nouronnihar, which was celebrated a few days after\nwith great magnificence.\n\nPrince Houssain would not honor the feast with his presence. His love\nfor the princess was so sincere and ardent that he could scarcely\nsupport with patience the mortification of seeing her marry Prince Ali,\nwho, he said, did not deserve her better nor love her more than himself.\nIn short, his grief was so great that he left the court, and renounced\nall right of succession to the crown, to turn dervish, and put himself\nunder the discipline of a famous holy man, who had gained great\nreputation for his holy life.\n\nPrince Ahmed, from the same motive, did not assist at Prince Ali and the\nPrincess Nouronnihar\u2019s nuptials any more than his brother Houssain, yet\ndid not renounce the world as he had done. But as he could not imagine\nwhat had become of his arrow, he resolved to search for it. With this\nintent he went to the place where the Princes Houssain\u2019s and Ali\u2019s were\npicked up, and proceeding straightforward thence, looked carefully on\nboth sides as he advanced. He went so far that at last he began to think\nhis labor was in vain; yet he felt compelled to proceed, till he came to\nsome steep craggy rocks, which completely prevented any further\nprogress.\n\nAt the very foot of these rocks he perceived an arrow, which, to his\ngreat astonishment, he found to be the same he had shot. \u201cCertainly,\u201d\nsaid he to himself, \u201cneither I nor any man living could shoot an arrow\nso far. There must be come mystery in this; and perhaps fortune, to make\namends for depriving me of what I thought the greatest happiness of my\nlife, may have reserved a greater blessing for my comfort.\u201d\n\nOn looking about, the prince beheld an iron door, which seemed to be\nlocked; but on his pushing against it, it opened, and revealed a\nstaircase, which he walked down with his arrow in his hand. At first he\nthought he was going into a dark place, but presently he was surrounded\nby light, and beheld a splendid palace, the admirable structure of which\nhe had not time to look at; for at the same instant a lady of majestic\nair, and of a beauty heightened by the richness of the jewels which\nadorned her person, advanced, attended by a troop of ladies, who were\nscarcely less magnificently dressed than their mistress.\n\nAs soon as Ahmed perceived the lady, he hastened to pay his respects;\nbut the lady, addressing him first, said, \u201cEnter, Prince Ahmed, you are\nwelcome.\u201d\n\nAfter these words the lady led Prince Ahmed into a grand hall. She then\nsat down on a sofa; and when the prince, at her entreaty, had seated\nhimself by her, she continued, \u201cYou know that the world is inhabited by\ngenii as well as men; I am Perie Banou, the daughter of one of the most\npowerful of these genii. I am no stranger to your loves or your travels.\nThe artificial apple which you bought at Samarcand, the carpet which\nPrince Houssain purchased at Bisnagar, and the tube which Prince Ali\nbrought from Shiraz were of my contrivance. You seemed to me worthy of a\nbetter fate than to marry the Princess Nouronnihar; and that you might\nattain to it, I caused your arrow to fly out of sight, and to strike\nagainst the rocks near which you found it. It is in your power to avail\nyourself of the favorable opportunity which presents itself to make you\nhappy.\u201d\n\nAs the fairy Perie Banou pronounced the last words with a different\ntone, and after looking tenderly at the prince, sat with downcast eyes\nand a modest blush on her cheeks, it was not difficult for him to\ncomprehend what happiness she meant; and he replied, \u201cCould I have the\npleasure of making you the partner of my life, I should think myself the\nhappiest of men.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you shall be my husband,\u201d answered the fairy, \u201cand I will be your\nwife. Our fairy marriages are contracted with no other ceremonies than a\nmutual consent. I will give orders for the preparation of our wedding\nfeast this evening; and in the meanwhile I will show you my palace.\u201d\n\nThe fairy led Ahmed through the apartments of the palace, where he saw\ndiamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of fine jewels intermixed with\npearls, agate, jasper, and the most precious marbles, together with the\nrichest furniture disposed in the most elegant profusion. At last he\nentered the hall where the cloth was laid for the feast. It was adorned\nwith an infinite number of wax candles perfumed with amber. A concert\naccompanied the feast, formed of the most harmonious instruments that\nwere ever heard. After the dessert, which consisted of the choicest\nfruits and sweetmeats, the fairy Perie Banou and Prince Ahmed rose and\nrepaired to a dais, provided with cushions of fine silk, curiously\nembroidered. Presently a great number of genii and fairies danced before\nthem, and at last divided themselves into two rows, through which the\nprince and Perie Banou passed toward their chambers and, after bowing,\nretired.\n\nEvery day spent with the fairy Perie was a continual feast, for every\nday she provided new delicacies, new concerts, new dances, new shows,\nand new diversions, which were all so gratifying to the senses that\nAhmed, if he had lived a thousand years among men, could not have\nexperienced equal enjoyment.\n\nThe fairy\u2019s intention was not only to give the prince convincing proofs\nof her love, but to let him see that he could meet with nothing at his\nfather\u2019s court comparable to the happiness he enjoyed with her. She\nhoped by those means to attach Prince Ahmed entirely to herself.\n\nAt the end of six months, Prince Ahmed felt a great desire to visit the\nsultan his father, and know how he was. He mentioned his wish to Perie\nBanou, who was much alarmed lest this was only an excuse to leave her,\nand entreated him to forego his intention.\n\n\u201cMy queen,\u201d replied the prince, \u201cI did not make the request with any\nintention of displeasing you, but from a motive of respect towards my\nfather, who, as I have reason to presume, believes that I am dead. But\nsince you do not consent that I should go and comfort him by the\nassurance of my life, I will deny myself the pleasure, as there is\nnothing to which I would not submit to please you.\u201d\n\nThe fairy heard the prince say this with extreme satisfaction.\n\nMeanwhile the Sultan of the Indies, in the midst of the rejoicings on\naccount of the nuptials of Prince Ali and the Princess Nouronnihar, was\ndeeply afflicted at the absence of the other two princes his sons. He\nwas soon informed of the resolution Prince Houssain had taken to forsake\nthe world, and as he knew that he was alive and well, he supported his\nabsence more patiently. He made the most diligent search after Ahmed,\nand despatched messengers to all the provinces of his kingdom, with\norders to the governors to stop him, and oblige him to return to court;\nbut all the pains he took had not the desired success; and his\naffliction, instead of diminishing, increased. \u201cVizier,\u201d he one day\nsaid, \u201cthou knowest I always loved Ahmed the most of all my sons. My\ngrief is so heavy at his strange absence that I shall sink under it. If\nthou hast any regard for my life I beg thee to assist me, and find out\nwhere he is.\u201d\n\nThe grand vizier, anxious to give his king some ease, proposed to send\nfor and consult a sorceress, of whom he had heard many wonders. The\nsultan consented, and the grand vizier, on her arrival, introduced her\ninto the presence of the ruler.\n\nThe sultan said to the sorceress, \u201cCanst thou tell me by thy art and\nskill what is become of Prince Ahmed my son? If he be alive, where is\nhe? What is he doing? May I hope ever to see him again?\u201d\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d replied the sorceress, \u201cif you will allow me till to-morrow, I\nwill endeavor to satisfy you.\u201d\n\nThe sultan granted her the time, and promised to recompense her richly.\n\nThe sorceress returned the next day and said to the sultan, \u201cSire, I\nhave not been able to discover anything more than that Prince Ahmed is\nalive, but as to where he is I cannot tell.\u201d\n\nThe Sultan of the Indies was obliged to remain satisfied with this\nanswer, which in a small degree relieved his anxiety about the prince.\n\nPrince Ahmed still adhered to his resolution not again to ask permission\nto leave the fairy Perie Banou, but he frequently talked about his\nfather, and she perceived that he retained his wish to see him. At\nlength, being assured of the sincerity of his affection for herself, she\nresolved to grant him the permission which he so ardently desired. One\nday she said to him, \u201cPrince, as I am now fully convinced that I can\ndepend on the fidelity of your love, I grant you leave to visit the\nsultan your father, on condition that your absence shall not be long.\nYou can go when you please; but first let me give you some advice how\nyou shall conduct yourself. Do not inform your father of our marriage,\nneither of my quality, nor the place of our residence. Beg of him to be\nsatisfied with knowing that you are happy, and that the sole end of your\nvisit is to make him easy respecting your fate.\u201d\n\nAfter Prince Ahmed had expressed to Perie Banou his sincere gratitude,\nthe fairy summoned twenty horsemen, well mounted and equipped, to attend\nhim. When all was ready, Prince Ahmed took his leave of the fairy. A\ncharger, which was most richly caparisoned, and as beautiful a creature\nas any in the sultan\u2019s stables, was brought to him, and he set forward\non his journey.\n\nAs it was no great distance, Prince Ahmed soon arrived at his father\u2019s\ncapital. The people received him with shouts and followed him in crowds\nto the palace. The sultan embraced him with great joy, complaining at\nthe same time, with a fatherly tenderness, of the affliction his long\nabsence had occasioned.\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d replied Prince Ahmed, \u201cI could not bear to resign the Princess\nNouronnihar to my brother Ali, and I felt that my arrow, though it could\nnot be found, had gone beyond his. The loss of my arrow dwelt\ncontinually on my mind, and I resolved to find it. I therefore returned\nalone to look for it, and I sought all about the plain where Houssain\u2019s\nand Ali\u2019s arrows were found, and where I imagined mine must have fallen,\nbut all my labor was in vain. I had gone in the same direction about a\nleague, a distance that the strongest archers could not reach with their\narrows, and was about to abandon my search and return home, when I found\nmyself drawn forward against my will. After having gone four leagues, to\nthe end of the plain, where it is bounded by rocks, I perceived an\narrow. I ran, took it up, and knew it to be the same which I had shot.\nFar from blaming your majesty for declaring in favor of my brother Ali,\nI never doubted but there was a mystery in what had happened to my\nadvantage. But as to the revealing of this mystery, I beg you will not\nbe offended if I remain silent, and that you will be satisfied to know\nfrom my own mouth that I am happy and content with my fate. To tell you\nthis, and to relieve your anxiety, was the motive which brought me\nhither. I must now return, and the only favor I ask is your leave to\ncome occasionally to pay you my duty, and to inquire after your health.\u201d\n\n\u201cSon,\u201d answered the Sultan of the Indies, \u201cI wish to penetrate no\nfurther into your secrets. I can only tell you that your presence has\nrestored to me the joy I have not felt for a long time. You shall always\nbe welcome when you can come to visit me.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahmed stayed but three days at his father\u2019s court and on the\nfourth returned to the fairy Perie Banou, who received him with the\ngreater joy, as she did not expect him so soon. At the end of a month\nafter the prince\u2019s return, the fairy, no longer doubting his love for\nher, proposed herself that he should pay his respects to the sultan. \u201cIt\nis a month,\u201d she said, \u201csince you have seen the sultan your father. I\nthink you should not be longer in renewing your visits. Go to him\nto-morrow, and after that visit him once a month, without speaking to me\nor waiting for my permission. I readily consent to such an arrangement.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahmed went the next morning with the same attendants as before,\nbut much more magnificently mounted, equipped, and dressed, and was\nreceived by the sultan with the same joy and satisfaction. For several\nmonths he constantly made these visits, and always in a richer and more\nbrilliant equipage.\n\nAt last the sultan\u2019s counsellors, who judged of Prince Ahmed\u2019s power by\nthe splendor of his appearance, sought to make the sultan jealous of his\nson. They represented that it was but common prudence to discover where\nthe prince had retired, and how he could afford to live so\nmagnificently, since he had no revenue assigned for his expenses; that\nhe seemed to come to court only to insult him, by affecting a more\nsplendid display than himself; and that it was to be feared he might\ncourt the people\u2019s favor and dethrone him. They represented the danger\nto be greater, as the prince could not reside far from the capital, for\non every visit his attendants were different, their habits new, and\ntheir arms clean and bright, as if just come from the maker\u2019s hands; and\ntheir horses looked as if they had only been walked out. \u201cThese are\nsufficient proofs,\u201d they said, \u201cthat Prince Ahmed does not travel far,\nso that we should think ourselves wanting in our duty did we not make\nour humble remonstrances, in order that, for your own preservation and\nthe good of your people, your majesty may take such measures as you\nshall think advisable.\u201d\n\nWhen the courtiers had concluded these insinuations, the sultan said, \u201cI\ndo not believe my son Ahmed would act as you would persuade me; however,\nI am obliged to you for your advice, and do not doubt that it proceeds\nfrom your loyalty to my person.\u201d\n\nThe Sultan of the Indies said this that his courtiers might not know the\nimpression their words had made on his mind. He was, however, so much\nalarmed by them, that he resolved to have Prince Ahmed watched. For this\nend he sent privately for the sorceress, who was introduced by a secret\ndoor into his study. \u201cYou told me the truth,\u201d said he, \u201cwhen you assured\nme my son Ahmed was alive. He now comes to my court every month, but I\ncannot learn from him where he resides. I believe you are capable of\ndiscovering his secret. He is at this time with me, and will depart in\nthe morning, without taking leave of me or any of my court. I require\nyou to watch him so as to find out where he retires, and bring me\ninformation.\u201d\n\nThe sorceress left the sultan, and learning by her art the place where\nPrince Ahmed had found his arrow, went immediately thither, and\nconcealed herself near the rocks so as not to be seen.\n\nThe next morning Prince Ahmed set out by daybreak, without taking leave\neither of the sultan or any of his court, according to custom. The\nsorceress saw him coming, and watched him and his attendants till she\nsuddenly lost sight of them in the rocks. The steepness of the rocks\nformed a strong barrier to men, whether on horseback or on foot, so that\nthe sorceress judged that the prince and his retinue had suddenly\nretired either into some cavern or some underground place, the abode of\ngenii or fairies. When she thought the prince and his attendants must\nhave advanced far into whatever concealment they inhabited, she came out\nof the place where she had hidden herself, and explored the spot where\nshe had lost sight of them, but could perceive nothing. The sorceress\nwas obliged to be satisfied with the insufficient discovery she had\nmade, and returned to communicate it to the sultan; but at the same time\ninformed him that she did not despair of obtaining the information he\nwished.\n\nThe sultan was much pleased, and to encourage her presented her with a\ndiamond of great value, telling her it was only a forerunner of the\nample recompense she should receive when she had performed the important\nservice which he left to her management. The sorceress, knowing the time\nwhen Prince Ahmed would again visit his father, went shortly before that\ntime to the foot of the rock where she had lost sight of him and his\nattendants, and waited there to execute the project she had formed.\n\nThe next morning as Prince Ahmed went out as usual at the iron door,\nwith his attendants, on his journey to the capital, he saw a woman lying\nwith her head on a rock, and complaining as if she was in great pain. He\npitied her, turned his horse, and said, \u201cGood woman, I will assist you,\nand convey you where you shall not only have all possible care taken of\nyou, but where you will find a speedy cure. Rise, and let one of my\npeople take you behind him.\u201d\n\nAt these words the sorceress made many feigned efforts to rise,\npretending that the violence of her illness prevented her. At the same\ntime two of the prince\u2019s attendants, alighting, helped her up, and\nplaced her behind one of their companions. They mounted their horses\nagain, and followed the prince, who turned back to the iron gate, which\nwas opened by one of his followers. When he came into the outward court\nof the fairy\u2019s palace, without dismounting himself, he sent to tell her\nhe wanted to speak with her. The fairy came with all imaginable haste,\nwhen Prince Ahmed said, \u201cMy princess, I desire you would have compassion\non this good woman. I recommend her to your care, and am persuaded that\nyou, from inclination, as well as my request, will not abandon her.\u201d\n\nThe fairy, who had her eyes fixed on the pretended sick woman all the\ntime the prince was speaking, ordered two of her women to take her from\nthe men who supported her, conduct her into an apartment of the palace,\nand take as much care of her as they would of herself.\n\nWhilst the two women were executing the fairy\u2019s commands, she went up to\nPrince Ahmed, and whispering to him said, \u201cPrince, I commend your\ncompassion, which is worthy of you and your birth; but believe me, this\nwoman is not so sick as she pretends to be. I am much mistaken if she is\nnot sent hither on purpose to occasion you great trouble. But do not be\nconcerned, I will deliver you out of all the snares that shall be laid\nfor you. Go and pursue your journey.\u201d\n\nThis address of the fairy\u2019s did not in the least alarm Prince Ahmed. \u201cMy\nprincess,\u201d said he, \u201cas I do not remember I ever did, or designed to do,\nanybody an injury, I cannot believe any one can have a thought of\ninjuring me; but if they have, I shall not forbear doing good whenever I\nhave an opportunity.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he took leave of the fairy, and set forward again for his\nfather\u2019s capital, where he soon arrived, and was received as usual by\nthe sultan, who constrained himself as much as possible, to disguise the\nanxiety arising from the suspicions suggested by his favorites.\n\nIn the meantime the two women, to whom Perie Banou had given her orders,\nconveyed the sorceress into an elegant apartment, richly furnished. When\nthey had put her into bed, the quilt of which was embroidered brocade,\nand the coverlet cloth of gold, one of the women went out, and returned\nsoon with a china cup in her hand, full of a certain liquor, which she\npresented to the sorceress, while the other helped her to sit up. \u201cDrink\nthis,\u201d said the attendant; \u201cit is the water of the fountain of lions,\nand a sure remedy. You will feel the effect of it in less than an hour.\u201d\n\nThe two attendants returned in an hour\u2019s time and found the sorceress\nseated on the sofa; who, when she saw them open the door of the\napartment, cried out, \u201cOh, the admirable potion! It has wrought its\ncure; and being thus cured as by a miracle, I would not lose time, but\ncontinue my journey.\u201d\n\nThe two attendants, after they had told the sorceress how glad they were\nthat she was cured so soon, walked before her, and conducted her through\nseveral apartments, all more superb than that wherein she had lain, into\na large hall, the most richly and magnificently furnished of all the\npalace.\n\nPerie Banou was seated in this hall, on a throne of massy gold, enriched\nwith diamonds, rubies, and pearls of an extraordinary size, and attended\non each hand by a great number of beautiful fairies, all richly dressed.\nAt the sight of so much splendor the sorceress was not only dazzled, but\nso struck, that after she had prostrated herself before the throne, she\ncould not open her lips to thank the fairy, as she had proposed.\nHowever, Perie Banou saved her the trouble, and said, \u201cGood woman, I am\nglad I had an opportunity to oblige you, and that you are able to pursue\nyour journey. I will not detain you; but perhaps you may not be\ndispleased to see my palace. Follow my women, and they will show it to\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe old sorceress, who had not power or courage to say a word,\nprostrated herself a second time, with her head on the carpet that\ncovered the foot of the throne, and then was conducted by the two\nfairies through the same apartments which were shown to Prince Ahmed at\nhis first arrival. They at last led her to the iron gate at which Prince\nAhmed had brought her in; and after she had taken her leave of them, and\nthanked them for their trouble, they opened it, and wished her a good\njourney.\n\nWhen the sorceress had gone a little way she turned to observe the door,\nthat she might know it again, but all in vain; for it was invisible to\nher and all other women. Except in this circumstance, she was very well\nsatisfied with her success, and posted away to the sultan. The sultan,\nbeing informed of her arrival, sent for her to come into his apartment.\n\nThe sorceress at once related to the sultan the stratagem by which she\nexcited the compassion of Prince Ahmed, her introduction to the Princess\nPerie Banou, and all the wonders of her fairy abode. Having finished her\nnarrative, she said, \u201cWhat does your majesty think of these unheard-of\nriches of the fairy? Perhaps you will rejoice at the good fortune of\nPrince Ahmed your son. For my part, I shudder when I consider the\nmisfortunes which may happen to you, as the fairy, by her attractions\nand caresses, may inspire your son with the unnatural design of\ndethroning his father and of seizing the crown of the Indies.\u201d\n\nAs the sultan was consulting with his councillors when he was told of\nthe sorceress\u2019s arrival, he ordered her to follow him into the council\nchamber. After having informed his councillors of all he had learned,\nand of his fears of the influence of the fairy over his son, one of them\nsaid, \u201cThe author of this mischief is in your majesty\u2019s power. You ought\nto put him under arrest; I will not say take away his life, but make him\na close prisoner.\u201d\n\nThis advice all the other councillors unanimously applauded.\n\nThe sorceress asked of the sultan leave to speak, which being granted,\nshe said, \u201cIf you arrest the prince, you must also detain his retinue.\nBut they are all genii. Will they not at once disappear by the power\nthey possess of rendering themselves invisible, and transport themselves\ninstantly to the fairy, and give her an account of the insult offered\nher husband? And can it be supposed she will let it go unrevenged? Would\nit not be better to turn the prince\u2019s alliance to your advantage by\nimposing on him some hard task, which, if he performs, will benefit you,\nand which, if he cannot perform, may give you an honorable pretext for\nyour accusations against him? Request the prince to procure you a tent,\nwhich can be carried in a man\u2019s hand, and yet be large enough to shelter\nyour whole army.\u201d\n\nWhen the sorceress had finished her speech, the sultan asked his\ncouncillors if they had anything better to propose; and finding them all\nsilent, determined to follow her advice.\n\nThe next day, when the prince came into his father\u2019s presence, the\nsultan thus addressed him, \u201cMy son, I congratulate you on your marriage\nwith a fairy, who I hear is worthy of your love. It is my earnest wish\nthat you would use your influence with your wife to obtain her\nassistance to do me a great service. You know to what a great expense I\nam put, every time I engage in war, to provide mules, camels, and other\nbeasts of burden to carry the tents of myself and of my army. Now I am\npersuaded you could easily procure from the fairy, your wife, a tent\nthat might be carried in a man\u2019s hand, and which would protect my whole\narmy. Pray oblige me in this matter.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahmed, hearing this request, was in the greatest trouble what\nanswer to make. At last he replied, \u201cThough I know not how this mystery\nhas been revealed to you, I cannot deny that your information is\ncorrect. I have married the fairy you speak of. But I can say nothing as\nto the influence I have over her. However, I will not fail, though it be\nwith great reluctance, to ask my wife the favor you desire. If I should\nnot come again to pay you my respects, it will be the sign that I have\nnot been able to succeed in my petition; but beforehand, I desire you to\nforgive me, and consider that you yourself have reduced me to this\nextremity.\u201d\n\n\u201cSon,\u201d replied the Sultan of the Indies, \u201cyour wife would show that her\nlove to you was very slight if, with the power she possesses as a fairy,\nshe should refuse so trifling a request as that I have begged you to\nmake. Go; only ask her. If she loves you, she will not deny you.\u201d\n\nAll these reasons of the Sultan of the Indies could not satisfy Prince\nAhmed; and so great was his vexation, that he left the court two days\nsooner than usual.\n\nWhen he returned, the fairy, to whom he always before had appeared with\na gay countenance, at once observed his melancholy, and asked the cause\nof the change she perceived in him. After much pressing, Ahmed confessed\nthat the sultan had discovered his abode and his marriage with the\nfairy, though he could not tell by what means. The fairy reminded him of\nthe old woman on whom he had compassion, and said that she was the spy\nof the sultan, and had told him all she had seen and heard. \u201cBut,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cthe mere knowledge of my abode by the sultan would not so trouble\nyou. There is something else which is the cause of your grief and\nvexation.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerie Banou,\u201d said Prince Ahmed at last, \u201cit is even so. My father\ndoubts my fidelity to him, unless I can provide a tent large enough to\nshelter him, his court, and army when he goes to war, and small enough\nfor a man to carry in his hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cPrince,\u201d replied the fairy, smiling, \u201cwhat the sultan your father\nrequests is a trifle. On occasion I can do him more important service.\nTherefore, I shall always take real pleasure in performing whatever you\ncan desire.\u201d\n\nPerie Banou then sent for her treasurer, to whom, when she came, she\nsaid, \u201cNoor-Jehaun\u201d (which was her name), \u201cbring me the largest tent in\nmy treasury.\u201d\n\nNoor-Jehaun returned presently with a small case concealed in the palm\nof her hand, and presented it to her mistress, who gave it to Prince\nAhmed to look at.\n\nWhen Prince Ahmed saw the small case, which the fairy called the largest\ntent in her treasury, he fancied she had a mind to banter him. On\nperceiving this, Perie Banou exclaimed, \u201cWhat, prince! Do you think I\njest with you? You will see that I am in earnest. Noor-Jehaun,\u201d said she\nto her treasurer, taking the tent out of Prince Ahmed\u2019s hands, \u201cgo and\nset it up, that he may judge whether the sultan his father will think it\nlarge enough.\u201d\n\nThe treasurer went out immediately with it from the palace, and carried\nit to a great distance, and then set it up. The prince found it large\nenough to shelter two armies as numerous as that of the sultan his\nfather. \u201cYou see,\u201d said the fairy, \u201cthat the tent is larger than your\nfather may have occasion for; but you must also be informed that it\nbecomes larger or smaller, according to the extent of the army it is to\ncover, without applying any hands to it.\u201d\n\nThe treasurer took down the tent, reduced it to its first size, brought\nit and put it into the prince\u2019s hands. He took it, and without staying\nlonger than till the next day, mounted his horse, and went with the\nusual attendants to the sultan his father.\n\nThe sultan, persuaded that the tent he had asked for was beyond all\npossibility, was greatly surprised at the prince\u2019s speedy return. He\ntook the tent, and after he had admired its smallness he had it set up\nin the great plain before mentioned, and found it large enough to cover\nwith ease his whole army. Thereupon his amazement was so intense that he\ncould not recover himself.\n\nThe sultan expressed great obligation to the prince for so noble a\npresent, desiring him to return his thanks to the fairy; and to show\nwhat a value he set on it, ordered it to be carefully laid up in his\ntreasury. But in his secret bosom he felt greater jealousy than ever of\nhis son, considering that by the fairy\u2019s assistance he might effect his\ndethronement. Therefore, yet more intent on his ruin, he went to consult\nthe sorceress again, who advised him to engage the prince to bring him\nsome of the water of the fountain of lions.\n\nIn the evening, when the sultan was surrounded as usual by all his\ncourt, and the prince came to pay his respects among the rest, he\naddressed him in these words: \u201cSon, I have already expressed to you how\nmuch I am obliged for the present of the tent you have procured me,\nwhich I esteem the most valuable article in my treasury; but you must do\none thing more, which will be no less agreeable to me. I am informed\nthat the fairy your spouse makes use of a certain water called the water\nof the fountain of lions, which cures all sorts of diseases, even the\nmost dangerous; and as I am perfectly well persuaded my health is dear\nto you, I do not doubt but you will ask her for a bottle of that water,\nand bring it to me as a sure remedy, which I may use when I have\noccasion. Do me this important service, and complete the duty of a good\nson towards a tender father.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahmed, who had believed that the sultan his father would be\nsatisfied with so remarkable and useful a tent as the one he had\nbrought, and that he would not impose any new task upon him which might\nhazard the fairy\u2019s displeasure, was thunderstruck at this new request.\nAfter a long silence he said, \u201cI beg of your majesty to be assured that\nthere is nothing I would not undertake to procure which may contribute\nto the prolonging of your life, but I wish it might not be by the means\nof my wife. For this reason I dare not promise to bring the water. All I\ncan do is, to assure you I will request it of her; but it will be with\nas great reluctance as I asked for the tent.\u201d\n\nThe next morning Prince Ahmed returned to the fairy Perie Banou, and\nrelated to her sincerely and faithfully all that had passed at his\nfather\u2019s court from the giving of the tent, which he told her he\nreceived with the utmost gratitude, to the new request he had charged\nhim to make. He added, \u201cBut, my princess, I only tell you this as a\nplain account of what passed between me and my father. I leave you to\nyour own pleasure, whether you will gratify or reject this new desire.\nIt shall be as you please.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d replied the fairy, \u201cI will satisfy the sultan, and whatever\nadvice the sorceress may give him (for I see that he harkens to her\ncounsel) he shall find no fault with you or me. There is much wickedness\nin this demand, as you will understand by what I am going to tell you.\nThe fountain of lions is situated in the middle of a court of a great\ncastle, the entrance into which is guarded by four fierce lions, two of\nwhich sleep while the other two are awake. But let not that frighten\nyou. I will supply you with means to pass them without danger.\u201d\n\nThe fairy Perie Banou was at that time at work with her needle; and as\nshe had by her several balls of thread, she took up one, and presenting\nit to Prince Ahmed, said, \u201cFirst take this ball of thread, and I will\ntell you presently the use of it. In the second place, you must have two\nhorses. One you must ride yourself, and the other you must lead, loaded\nwith a sheep cut into four quarters. In the third place, you must be\nprovided with a bottle, which I will give you, to bring the water in.\nSet out early to-morrow morning, and when you have passed the gate throw\nbefore you the ball of thread, which will roll till it reaches the gates\nof the castle. Follow it, and when it stops the gates will be open, and\nyou will see the four lions. The two that are awake will, by their\nroaring, wake the other two. Be not alarmed, but throw each of them a\nquarter of the sheep, and then clap spurs to your horse and ride to the\nfountain. Fill your bottle without alighting, and return with the same\nspeed. The lions will be so busy eating they will let you pass\nunmolested.\u201d\n\nPrince Ahmed set out the next morning at the time appointed by the\nfairy, and followed her directions punctually. When he arrived at the\ngates of the castle, he distributed the quarters of the sheep among the\nfour lions, and passing through the midst of them with speed, got to the\nfountain, filled his bottle, and returned safe. When he had proceeded a\nlittle distance from the castle gates he turned about; and perceiving\ntwo of the lions coming after him, drew his sword, and prepared himself\nfor defence. But as he went forwards, he saw one of them turn out of the\nroad to pass by him, and it showed by its actions that it did not come\nto do him any harm, but only to go before him. The other followed\nbehind. He therefore put his sword into its scabbard. Guarded in this\nmanner he arrived at the capital of the Indies; but the lions never left\nhim till they had conducted him to the gates of the sultan\u2019s palace;\nafter which they returned the way they had come, though not without\nalarming the populace, who fled or hid themselves to avoid them,\nnotwithstanding they walked gently and showed no signs of fierceness.\n\nA number of officers came to attend the prince while he dismounted, and\nconduct him to the apartment of the sultan, who was at that time\nconversing with his councillors. He approached the throne, laid the\nbottle at the sultan\u2019s feet, kissed the rich carpet which covered the\nfootstool, and rising, said, \u201cI have brought you, sire, the healthful\nwater which your majesty so much wished for; but at the same time I wish\nyou such health as never to have occasion to make use of it.\u201d\n\nAfter the prince had concluded his compliment, the sultan placed him on\nhis right hand, and said, \u201cSon, I am much obliged to you for this\nvaluable present, as also for the great danger you have exposed yourself\nto on my account; but I have one thing yet to ask of you, after which I\nshall expect nothing more from your obedience, nor from your interest\nwith your fairy wife. This request is, to bring me a man not above a\nfoot and a half high, whose beard is thirty feet long, and who carries\non his shoulders a bar of iron of five hundredweight, which he uses as a\nquarter-staff.\u201d\n\nNext day the prince returned to Perie Banou, to whom he related his\nfather\u2019s new demand, \u201cwhich,\u201d he said, \u201cI look on to be a thing more\ndifficult than the two first, for I cannot imagine there is or can be\nsuch a man in the world. Without doubt he seeks my ruin; but if there\nare any means, I beg you will tell me how I may come off with honor this\ntime also.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not alarm yourself, prince,\u201d replied the fairy; \u201cyou ran a risk in\nfetching the water of the fountain of lions for your father, but there\nis no danger in finding this man. He is my brother Schaibar. Though we\nboth had the same parents, he is of so violent a nature that his\nresentment kindles at the slightest offence; yet, on the other hand, he\nis so liberal as to oblige any one who shows him a kindness. I will send\nfor him, but prepare yourself not to be alarmed at his extraordinary\nfigure.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat, my queen!\u201d replied Prince Ahmed, \u201cdo you say Schaibar is your\nbrother? Let him be ever so ugly or deformed, I shall love and honor him\nas your nearest relation.\u201d\n\nThe fairy ordered a gold chafing-dish to be lighted on the porch of her\npalace. She took some incense and threw it into the fire, when there\narose a thick cloud of smoke.\n\nSome moments after the fairy said to Prince Ahmed, \u201cPrince, there comes\nmy brother, do you see him?\u201d\n\nThe prince immediately perceived Schaibar, who, as he came forward,\nlooked at the prince with a glance that chilled his soul in his body,\nand asked Perie Banou, when he first accosted her, who that man was. To\nwhich she replied, \u201cHis name is Ahmed. He is a son of the Sultan of the\nIndies, and my husband, brother. I did not invite you to my wedding,\nbecause you were engaged in a distant expedition, from which I heard\nwith pleasure you returned victorious; but on my husband\u2019s account I\nhave taken the liberty now to call for you.\u201d\n\nAt these words, Schaibar, gazing at Prince Ahmed with a favorable eye,\nwhich, however, diminished neither his fierceness nor savage look, said,\n\u201cIt is enough for me that he is your husband, to engage me to do for him\nwhatever he wishes.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe sultan his father,\u201d replied Perie Banou, \u201chas a curiosity to see\nyou, and I desire he may be your guide to the sultan\u2019s court.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe needs but lead the way; I will follow him,\u201d replied Schaibar.\n\nThe next morning, Schaibar set out with Prince Ahmed to visit the\nsultan. When they arrived at the gates of the capital, the people, as\nsoon as they saw Schaibar, either hid themselves in their shops and\nhouses, and shut their doors, or they took to their heels, and\ncommunicated their fear to all they met. They stayed not to look behind\nthem; insomuch that Schaibar and Prince Ahmed, as they went along, found\nall the streets and squares desolate, till they came to the palace,\nwhere the guards, instead of preventing Schaibar from entering, ran away\ntoo. Thus the prince and he advanced without any obstacle to the\ncouncil-hall, where the sultan was seated on his throne surrounded by\nhis councillors.\n\nSchaibar haughtily approached the throne, and without waiting for Prince\nAhmed to present him, thus addressed the sultan: \u201cThou hast sent for me.\nWhat dost thou wish?\u201d\n\nThe sultan, instead of answering, put his hands before his eyes to\nexclude so frightful a sight. Schaibar, enraged at this reception,\nlifted up his bar of iron. \u201cWilt thou not speak, then?\u201d he exclaimed,\nand let it fall directly on the sultan\u2019s head, and crushed him to the\nearth.\n\nHe did this before Prince Ahmed had the power to interfere. Then he\ndestroyed all the councillors who were the enemies of Prince Ahmed, and\nonly spared the grand vizier at Prince Ahmed\u2019s earnest entreaty. Having\ncompleted this dreadful execution, Schaibar left the hall of audience,\nand went into the middle of the court with the bar of iron on his\nshoulder. \u201cI know there is a certain sorceress who stirred up the sultan\nto demand my presence here,\u201d he cried, looking at the grand vizier,\nstanding beside Prince Ahmed. \u201cLet her be brought before me.\u201d\n\nThe grand vizier immediately sent for her, when Schaibar, as he crushed\nher with his bar of iron, said, \u201cLearn the consequence of giving wicked\nadvice.\u201d\n\n\u201cVizier!\u201d exclaimed Schaibar, \u201cthis is not sufficient. Prince Ahmed, my\nbrother-in-law, must be instantly acknowledged as Sultan of India.\u201d\n\nAll those who were present cheerfully assented, and made the air resound\nwith cries of \u201cLong live Sultan Ahmed,\u201d and in a short time the whole\ncity echoed with the same shouts. Schaibar next ordered the prince\nclothed in the robes of the sultan, and had him instantly installed. And\nafter having paid him homage, and taken an oath of fidelity, he went for\nhis sister, Perie Banou, conducted her to the city in great pomp, and\ncaused her to be acknowledged as Sultana of India.\n\nPrince Ahmed gave to Prince Ali and the Princess Nouronnihar a very\nconsiderable province, with its capital, for their establishment.\nAfterwards he sent an officer to Houssain to acquaint him with the\nchange, and made him an offer of any province he might choose; but that\nprince thought himself so happy in his solitude, that he desired the\nofficer to return his brother thanks for the kindness he designed him,\nassuring him of his submission; but that the only favor he desired was,\nto be indulged with leave to live retired in the place he had chosen for\nhis retreat.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE WIDOW\u2019S SON\n\n\nIn a little house at the edge of a village lived a widow with her only\nson, and they were very happy together. The son was kind to his mother,\nand they made their living by growing rice in clearings on the mountain\nside and by hunting wild pig in the forest.\n\nOne evening when their supply of meat was low, the boy said:\n\n\u201cMother, I am going to hunt pig in the morning, and I wish you would\nprepare rice for me before daylight.\u201d\n\nSo the widow rose early and cooked the rice, and at dawn the boy started\nout with his spear and dog.\n\nSome distance from the village he entered the thick forest. He walked on\nand on, ever on the lookout for game, but none appeared. At last, when\nhe had travelled far and the sun was hot, he sat down on a rock to rest\nand took out his brass box to get a piece of betel-nut. He prepared the\nnut and leaf for chewing, and as he did so he wondered why it was that\nhe had been so unsuccessful that day. But even as he pondered he heard\nhis dog barking sharply, and cramming the betel-nut into his mouth he\nleaped up and ran toward the dog.\n\nAs he drew near he could see that the game was a fine large pig, all\nblack save its four legs, which were white. He lifted his spear and took\naim, but before he could throw the pig started to run, and instead of\ngoing toward a water course it ran straight up the mountain. The boy\nwent on in hot pursuit, and when the pig paused he again took aim, but\nbefore he could throw, it ran on.\n\nSix times the pig stopped just long enough for the boy to take aim, and\nthen started on before he could throw. The seventh time, however, it\nhalted on the top of a large flat rock, and the boy succeeded in killing\nit.\n\nHe tied its legs together with a piece of rattan and was about to start\nfor home with the pig on his back, when to his surprise a door in the\nlarge stone swung open and a man stepped out.\n\n\u201cWhy have you killed my master\u2019s pig?\u201d asked the man.\n\n\u201cI did not know that this pig belonged to anyone,\u201d replied the widow\u2019s\nson. \u201cI was hunting, as I often do, and when my dog found the pig I\nhelped him to catch it.\u201d\n\n\u201cCome in and see my master,\u201d said the man, and the boy followed him into\nthe stone where he found himself in a large room. The ceiling and floor\nwere covered with peculiar cloth that had seven wide strips of red\nalternating with a like number of yellow stripes. When the master of the\nplace appeared his trousers were of seven colors, as were also his\njacket and the kerchief about his head.\n\nThe master ordered betel-nut, and when it was brought they chewed\ntogether. Then he called for wine, and it was brought in a jar so large\nthat it had to be set on the ground under the house, and even then the\ntop came so high above the floor that they brought a seat for the\nwidow\u2019s son, and it raised him just high enough to drink from the reed\nin the top of the jar. He drank seven cups of wine, and then they ate\nrice and fish and talked together.\n\nThe master did not blame the boy for killing the pig, and declared that\nhe wished to make a brother of him. So they became friends, and the boy\nremained seven days in the stone. At the end of that time he said that\nhe must return to his mother, who would be worried about him. In the\nearly morning he left the strange house and started for home.\n\nAt first he walked briskly, but as the morning wore on he went more\nslowly, and finally when the sun was high he sat down on a rock to rest.\nSuddenly looking up, he saw before him seven men, each armed with a\nspear, a shield, and a sword. They were dressed in different colors, and\neach man had eyes the same color as his clothes. The leader, who was\ndressed all in red, with red eyes to match, spoke first, asking the boy\nwhere he was going. The boy replied that he was going home to his mother\nwho would be looking for him, and added:\n\n\u201cNow I ask where you are going, all armed ready for war.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are warriors,\u201d replied the man in red, \u201cand we go up and down the\nworld killing whatever we see that has life. Now that we have met you,\nwe must kill you also.\u201d\n\nThe boy, startled by this strange speech, was about to answer when he\nheard a voice near him say: \u201cFight, for they will try to kill you,\u201d and\nupon looking up he saw his spear, shield, and sword which he had left at\nhome. Then he knew that the command came from a spirit, so he took his\nweapons and began to fight. For three days and nights they contended,\nand never before had the seven seen one man so brave. On the fourth day\nthe leader was wounded and fell dead, and then, one by one, the other\nsix fell.\n\nWhen they were all killed, the widow\u2019s son was so crazed with fighting\nthat he thought no longer of returning home, but started out to find\nmore to slay.\n\nIn his wanderings he came to the home of a great giant whose house was\nalready full of men he had conquered in battle, and he called up from\noutside:\n\n\u201cIs the master of the house at home? If he is, let him come out and\nfight.\u201d\n\nThis threw the giant into a rage, and seizing his shield and his spear,\nthe shaft of which was the trunk of a tree, he sprang to the door and\nleaped to the ground, not waiting to go down the notched pole that\nserved for steps. He looked around for his antagonist, and seeing only\nthe widow\u2019s son he roared:\n\n\u201cWhere is the man that wants to fight? That thing? It is only a fly!\u201d\n\nThe boy did not stop to answer, but rushed at the giant with his knife;\nand for three days and nights they struggled, till the giant fell,\nwounded at the waist.\n\nAfter that the widow\u2019s son stopped only long enough to burn the giant\u2019s\nhouse, and then rushed on looking for someone else to slay. Suddenly he\nagain heard the voice which had bade him fight with the seven men, and\nthis time it said: \u201cGo home now, for your mother is grieved at your\nabsence.\u201d In a rage he sprang forward with his sword, though he could\nsee no enemy. Then the spirit which had spoken to him made him sleep for\na short time. When he awoke the rage was spent.\n\nAgain the spirit appeared, and it said: \u201cThe seven men whom you killed\nwere sent to kill you by the spirit of the great stone, for he looked in\nyour hand and saw that you were to marry the orphan girl whom he himself\nwished to wed. But you have conquered. Your enemies are dead. Go home\nnow and prepare a great quantity of wine, for I shall bring your enemies\nto life again, and you will all live in peace.\u201d\n\nSo the widow\u2019s son went home, and his mother, who had believed him dead,\nwas filled with joy at his coming, and all the people in the town came\nout to welcome him. When he had told them his story, they hastened to\nget wine, and all day they bore jarsful to the widow\u2019s house.\n\nThat night there was a great feast, and the spirit of the great stone,\nhis seven warriors, the friendly spirit, and the giant all came. The\nwidow\u2019s son married the orphan girl, while another beautiful woman\nbecame the wife of the spirit of the stone.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n MR. SIN, THE CARP\n\n\nSome years ago there lived in a small town in the province of \u201cThe Four\nStreams\u201d two retired magistrates. Mr. Le, the elder of the two, had been\nasked to leave the last position he held because it was his custom to\nlevy blackmail whenever he could do so, and he was also charged, let us\nhope unjustly, with having inflicted torture upon those unfortunate ones\nwho could not, or would not, meet his demands. In fact, he had become so\ngreedy that the people were in a state of rebellion. He was at length\nmade to retire, but not until he had become quite rich.\n\nThe other ex-official, Mr. Sin, was quite impulsive. He had been in the\nhabit of worrying the people of his district, and whenever he began to\nworry anyone, that person had to pay in order to live peacefully. The\nChinese are slow to change, but even they will turn in time on a\nconstant worrier. And so Mr. Sin\u2019s superiors requested him to resign,\nand this he did, but not before he also had become quite wealthy.\n\nChance led these two worthies to the same town, and as their fates had\nbeen so much alike, they decided to set up house together. They were\nboth rich, and so able to make themselves very comfortable indeed.\n\nOne day Mr. Sin fell sick of a fever, and though this annoyed Mr. Le,\nwho was expecting some rich friends to dinner, he sent for the doctor,\nand gave directions that Mr. Sin was to be properly looked after.\n\nWhen the doctor arrived, his patient was in a high fever, so he at once\nprescribed a mixture of powdered deer horns and dragon\u2019s blood, and\npills made from hare\u2019s liver, these medicines to be taken at intervals.\nBefore leaving the house he took Ting, Sin\u2019s valet, aside, and ordered\nhim on no account to leave his master alone, as he might become\ndelirious at any moment.\n\nTing promised not to leave his master for an instant, but a little later\non he heard sounds of merriment in the servants\u2019 quarters, and as Mr.\nSin had fallen asleep, he quietly went out to enjoy himself among his\nfellows. He had scarcely left the room, however, when Sin became very\nrestless, rolling his aching head from side to side.\n\n\u201cMy head burns, and the pillow scorches!\u201d moaned he. \u201cI am suffocating!\nO for a breath of the fresh air in the fields and woods! Why should I\nnot go and enjoy it? I will!\u201d he exclaimed, and with that he sprang out\nof bed, ran out of the room and through the front door, and then down\nthe road and into a neighboring field.\n\n\u201cThis is delicious!\u201d he said, as he threw himself down. \u201cNow I can\nbreathe, and am myself again.\u201d\n\nBut soon his tongue again became parched; his skin burned, and pains\npierced his head. \u201cOh,\u201d he cried, \u201cthe fire-demon has followed me here!\nIf only I could plunge into a river of cold water I should be well.\u201d He\narose and wandered on until he saw before him a broad, shining river,\ninto which he immediately plunged.\n\nHe was an expert swimmer, and he dived to the bottom, then skimmed along\nthe top, his queue floating on the water, and looking like an eel. \u201cThis\nis happiness,\u201d he said; \u201cwho would live on land who could live in\nwater?\u201d\n\nJust then he heard close to him a funny sort of chuckle, and turning\nround, he saw a large fish staring at him with round eyes, and with a\npeculiar twist of its mouth which Sin could see was caused by laughter.\n\n\u201cWhat are you laughing at?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cYou,\u201d replied the fish.\n\n\u201cWhy do you laugh at me?\u201d he inquired.\n\n\u201cI laughed at what you said,\u201d answered the fish. \u201cThe idea of a man\nknowing what the delight of living in water is was so funny that I\ncouldn\u2019t help laughing, and it has made me feel very uncomfortable,\nbecause I am not used to doing that.\u201d\n\nThen Sin asked why a fish should enjoy the water more than a man, and\nthe fish replied that a man would like to swim and dive for a little\nwhile, but his ugly limbs, which made him look like a frog, would soon\ntire. And then, when a man is hungry, he has to seek his food on land,\nwhile a fish can find nourishment while gliding through the water, and\nthat without fatigue and almost without movement.\n\nThen said Sin: \u201cI would give a good deal to be like you.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you mean that you would like to become a fish?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do,\u201d said Sin; \u201cand I would give up all the money I squeezed out of\nthe people when I was a magistrate if I could enjoy the river as you\ndo.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen come with me,\u201d said the fish; and turning round he swam up-stream,\ngoing very slowly so that Sin should not lose sight of him.\n\nAt length they reached a spot where a huge carp lay, surrounded by\nattendant fishes. Sin could see he was the king fish by the reverent\nmanner with which the others regarded him.\n\nSin\u2019s guide approached the fish king, and said:\n\n\u201cYour Highness, here is a poor man who wants very much to become a fish,\nand so I have ventured to bring him into your presence.\u201d He then\nmotioned Sin to approach.\n\n\u201cDo you really wish to become a fish?\u201d inquired the king.\n\n\u201cI do, your Majesty,\u201d replied Sin. \u201cThe gentleman who brought me to you\nhas shown me that only fishes can really appreciate life in the river,\nand I am sure that the full enjoyment of such must be wonderful.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you shall have your desire,\u201d said the king, and turning to one of\nhis attendants, he told him to fetch a large fish\u2019s skin.\n\nThe messenger soon returned with a skin which proved to be just the\nright size, and into this Sin was put, leaving out only his hands and\nfeet. It was rather uncomfortable at first, and he felt a gradual change\ncoming over him; his arms grew smaller and smaller, and his hands became\nlike fins; his legs and feet went together and took the form of a tail.\nThen he felt better, and became anxious to try his new powers, so,\nthanking his Majesty for his kindness, he began to swim away.\n\n\u201cJust a minute,\u201d said the king. \u201cI have some advice to give you. No one\nknows better than you that men are always trying to catch fish, both by\nhook and net. Now, if ever you see a worm dangling in the water in the\nshape of a hook, leave it alone, or you will be a dead fish; and if you\nsee a net before you, turn around, and swim the other way.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany thanks for your instructions, your Majesty,\u201d said Sin, and with\nthat he turned down-stream. It took him a little while to get used to\nhis tail and fins, as he still wanted to strike out with his hands and\nfeet, but by degrees he became used to them, and then he swam swiftly\nwith the current. He felt fine, and greatly enjoyed the new experience.\n\nBut after a time he became hungry, and looked around for a worm, and\nthis was something new for him. Perhaps it was because he didn\u2019t know\nhow to look for food, but it did seem to him that there was nothing\neatable about, although he went from one bank to the other; dived down\nto the bed of the river, and nosed among the refuse there, but all to no\npurpose. And he became hungrier and hungrier.\n\nAt last he saw a worm, but he noticed that it was in the shape of a\nhook, and remembering the king\u2019s instructions he passed by it, then he\ncame back. He swam to and fro, trying to avoid it, but somehow he\ncouldn\u2019t get away from it. The demon of hunger whispered to him, \u201cEat\nit; never mind what the old carp said, he knows less than you do. If you\nare afraid of it, just nibble a little piece off its tail, instead of\ngulping it all down.\u201d\n\nSo Sin just pulled off a little piece that was wriggling about, and it\ntasted so good, that he couldn\u2019t resist taking the rest of it, so he\ngreedily swallowed the whole worm.\n\nQuickly was delight turned into pain as the hook, which was hidden in\nthe worm, pierced the roof of his mouth. In terror he tried to swim\naway, but every movement added to his misery, and soon he found he was\nbeing pulled up to the surface. He struggled, but all in vain, and in\nspite of all he could do, he was drawn out of the water. He looked up,\nand to his surprise and relief, saw that his captor was one of his own\nservants.\n\nHe spoke to him as well as he could, and said: \u201cLet me go, Chang; I am\nyour master, Sin, and not a fish; take this awful hook out of my mouth,\nand put me back into the water at once.\u201d\n\nChang was puzzled, because he had never heard a fish make a noise like\nthis before, but he seized the fish, remarking to himself what a\nwonderfully fine one it was, and tearing the hook out of its jaws, threw\nit down in the boat.\n\n\u201cYou scoundrel!\u201d shouted Sin. \u201cHow dare you treat me like this. I\ndismiss you from my service at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have heard tales of birds talking,\u201d said Chang, \u201cbut may I be beaten\nif I haven\u2019t got hold of a fish that talks.\u201d With that he turned to the\nshore, and then he lifted the fish by its gills, and started toward\nhome.\n\n\u201cOh, you will kill me!\u201d shouted Sin. \u201cI will have you flayed alive for\nthis.\u201d\n\nBut Chang took no more notice of the strange noises the fish made, and\nthought only of the present he would receive for bringing home such a\nfine fish. Sin was feeling weak from pain, and from being out of the\nwater so long. He thought that surely the old porter would know him when\nhe should reach the house, so he ceased his efforts for the present.\n\nAs soon as they reached the gate the porter congratulated Chang on the\nfine fish he had caught, and said that Mr. Le had just sent to know\nwhether he had brought in anything.\n\n\u201cPorter,\u201d said Sin, \u201cI am your master, and not a fish. This fellow Chang\nhas caused me great pain, and refuses to put me back into the water. I\norder you to take me to the river at once.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a queer fish that you have got hold of, Chang,\u201d said the\nporter; \u201cI never heard one make a noise like this before. You had better\ntake it at once to Mr. Le.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat fools these men are,\u201d thought Sin. \u201cI see that I must wait until I\ncan explain the matter to Le.\u201d\n\nChang took the fish straight to Mr. Le, and said: \u201cYour Excellency, here\nis the finest carp I have ever seen.\u201d\n\n\u201cListen to me, Le,\u201d said Sin, as loudly as he could. \u201cI am your friend,\nSin, and I put on this fish\u2019s skin just to see what it is like to be a\nfish. This scoundrel Chang has tortured me. Please tell him to put me\nback into the river, as I wish to take my former shape again.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a very peculiar fish,\u201d said Le; \u201cwhy, he grunts like a pig.\nStill, he will make a good dish, so take him to the cook.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d groaned Sin, \u201cwould you eat your old friend, Le?\u201d\n\nBut Le didn\u2019t understand either, so Chang started for the kitchen. \u201cMy\nonly chance now is that the cook will know me,\u201d thought Sin.\n\nAnd now his last hope fled, for as Chang handed the carp to the cook,\nSin said as distinctly as he could, \u201cCook, I am no fish, but Mr. Sin. I\nhave always treated you well, so please take me back to the river.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a noisy carp you have caught, Chang,\u201d said the cook, \u201cbut he\nwon\u2019t grunt much longer. Hand me the chopper.\u201d\n\nAnd now Sin made all the noise he could. He screamed, \u201cSpare me! Spare\nme, cook.\u201d But the cook took no notice of him. Placing him on the\nkitchen block, he lifted the chopper, and gave him a violent blow on the\nhead.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d exclaimed Sin, \u201cwhat an awful knock I have given myself. I must\nhave fallen out of bed and struck my head on the floor.\u201d\n\nHe was now thoroughly awake, but it was some time before he could\nrealize that he was safe in his own room, so real had his experiences\nseemed. But he at length breathed a sigh of relief, for he knew that it\nwas only a dream.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PRINCE ZEYN ALASNAM AND THE SULTAN OF THE GENII\n\n\nThere was a Sultan of Bussorah blessed with great prosperity and happy\nin the affections of his people. His only source of affliction was, that\nhe was childless. But after many years had passed a son was born to him,\nwhom he named Zeyn Alasnam.\n\nZeyn was educated with the greatest care. While, however, the prince was\nyet young, the good sultan fell sick of a disorder, which all the skill\nof his physicians could not cure, and presently he died.\n\nAs soon as the mourning for his father was passed, Prince Zeyn began to\nshow that he was unfit to govern a kingdom. He gave way to all kinds of\ndissipation and conferred on his youthful but evil associates the chief\noffices in the kingdom. He lost all the respect of his people and\nemptied his treasury.\n\nThe queen, his mother, tried to correct her son\u2019s conduct, assuring him\nthat if he did not take another course, he would cause some revolution,\nwhich perhaps might cost him his crown and his life. What she thus\nforetold had nearly happened. The people began to murmur against the\ngovernment, and their murmurs would certainly have been followed by a\ngeneral revolt if the sultan had not listened to his mother and suffered\nhimself to be prevailed on. He dismissed his youthful advisers and\ncommitted the government to discreet aged men.\n\nZeyn, seeing all his wealth consumed, repented that he had made no\nbetter use of it. He fell into a profound melancholy and nothing could\ncomfort him. One night he saw in a dream a venerable old man coming\ntowards him, who with a smiling countenance said: \u201cKnow, Zeyn, that\nthere is no sorrow but what is followed by mirth; no misfortune but what\nin the end brings some happiness. If you desire to see the end of your\naffliction, set out for Grand Cairo, where great prosperity awaits you.\u201d\n\nThe young sultan was much struck with his dream, and spoke of it very\nseriously to his mother, who only laughed at it. \u201cMy son,\u201d said she,\n\u201cwould you leave your kingdom and go into Egypt on the faith of a dream,\nwhich may be illusive?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy not, madam?\u201d answered Zeyn; \u201cdo you imagine all dreams are\nworthless? No, no, they often are divinely inspired. The old man who\nappeared to me had something holy about his person. I rely on the\npromises he has made me, and am resolved to follow his advice.\u201d\n\nThe queen endeavored to dissuade him, but in vain. The sultan entreated\nher to undertake the government of the kingdom, and set out one night\nvery privately from his palace and took the road to Cairo, alone and\nunattended.\n\nAfter much trouble and fatigue he arrived at that famous city. He\nalighted at the gate of a mosque, where, being spent with weariness, he\nlay down. No sooner was he fallen asleep than he saw the same old man,\nwho said to him: \u201cI am pleased with you, my son. You have believed me,\nand now I want you to know that I have not imposed on you this long\njourney with any other design than to try you. I find you have courage\nand resolution. You deserve I should make you the richest and happiest\nprince in the world. Return to Bussorah and you shall find immense\nwealth in your palace. No king ever possessed so rich a treasure.\u201d\n\nPrince Zeyn was not pleased with his dream. \u201cAlas!\u201d thought he to\nhimself when he awoke, \u201chow much was I mistaken! That old man is no\nother than the production of my disturbed imagination. My fancy was so\nfull of him that it is no wonder I have seen him again. I had best\nreturn to Bussorah. What should I do here any longer? It is fortunate\nthat I told none but my mother the motive of my journey. I should become\na jest to my people were they to know it.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, he set out for his kingdom, and as soon as he arrived there\nthe queen asked him whether he returned well pleased. He told her all\nthat had happened, and was so much concerned for having been so foolish\nthat the queen, instead of adding to his vexation by reproving or\nlaughing at him, comforted him. \u201cForbear afflicting yourself, my son,\u201d\nsaid she; \u201cif God has appointed you riches, you will have them without\nany trouble. Be contented. Apply yourself to making your subjects happy.\nBy securing their happiness you will establish your own.\u201d\n\nSultan Zeyn vowed that he would for the future follow his mother\u2019s\nadvice and be directed by the wise viziers she had chosen to assist him\nin the government. But the very night after he returned to his palace he\nsaw the old man the third time in a dream, who said to him: \u201cThe time of\nyour prosperity is come, brave Zeyn. To-morrow morning, as soon as you\nare up, take a pick-axe and dig in the late sultan\u2019s private room. You\nwill there find a rich treasure.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the sultan awoke he got up, ran to the queen\u2019s apartment, and\nwith much eagerness told her the new dream of that night. \u201cReally, my\nson,\u201d said the queen, smiling, \u201cthis is a very queer old man; but have\nyou a mind to believe him again? At any rate, the task now enjoined on\nyou is not so bad as your former long journeys.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, madam,\u201d answered the sultan, \u201cI must own that this third dream\nhas restored my confidence. Last night he exactly pointed out to me the\nplace where the treasures are. I would rather search in vain than blame\nmyself as long as I live for having, perhaps, missed great riches, by\nbeing too unbelieving.\u201d\n\nHaving spoken thus he left the queen\u2019s apartment, caused a pick-axe to\nbe brought to him, and went alone into the late sultan\u2019s private room.\nHe immediately began work, and took up more than half the square stones\nit was paved with, yet saw not the least appearance of what he sought.\nHe ceased working to take a little rest, thinking within himself, \u201cI am\nmuch afraid my mother had cause enough to laugh at me.\u201d\n\nHowever, he took heart and went on with his labor, until he discovered a\nwhite slab, which he took up, and under it found a staircase of white\nmarble. He immediately lighted a lamp and went down the stairs into a\nroom, the floor whereof was laid with tiles of chinaware, while the roof\nand walls were of crystal. The room contained four golden tables, on\neach of which were ten urns of porphyry. He went up to one of the urns,\ntook off the cover, and, with no less joy than surprise, perceived it\nwas full of pieces of gold. He looked into all the forty, one after\nanother, and found them full of the same coin, and taking out a handful,\nhe carried it to the queen.\n\nThe queen, as may be imagined, was amazed when the sultan gave her an\naccount of what he had discovered. \u201cOh my son!\u201d said she, \u201ctake heed you\ndo not squander all this wealth foolishly, as you have already done the\nroyal treasure. Let not your enemies have so much occasion to rejoice.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, madam,\u201d answered Zeyn, \u201cI will henceforward live in such a manner\nas shall be pleasing to you.\u201d\n\nThe queen desired her son to conduct her to the wonderful underground\nplace, which the late sultan her husband had made with such secrecy that\nshe had never heard of it. Zeyn led her to the private room, down the\nmarble stairs, and into the chamber where the urns were. She observed\neverything with the eye of curiosity, and in a corner spied a little urn\nof the same sort of stone as the others. The prince had not before taken\nnotice of it, but, opening it, found inside a golden key. \u201cMy son,\u201d said\nthe queen, \u201cthis key certainly belongs to some other treasure. Let us\nsearch well. Perhaps we may discover the use it is designed for.\u201d\n\nThey examined the chamber with the utmost exactness and at length found\na keyhole in one of the panels of the wall. The sultan immediately tried\nthe key, and readily opened the door which led into a chamber. In the\nmidst of this room were nine pedestals of massy gold, on eight of which\nstood as many statues, each of them made of a single diamond, and from\nthem darted such a brightness that the whole room was perfectly light.\n\n\u201cOh heavens!\u201d cried Zeyn, in astonishment, \u201cwhere could my father find\nsuch rarities?\u201d\n\nThe ninth pedestal redoubled this amazement, for it was covered with a\npiece of white satin, on which were written these words: \u201cDear son, it\ncost me much toil to procure these eight statues; but though they are\nextraordinarily beautiful, you must understand that there is a ninth in\nthe world, which surpasses them all. That alone is worth more than a\nthousand such as these. If you desire to be master of it, go to the city\nof Cairo in Egypt. One of my old slaves, whose name is Mobarec, lives\nthere. You will easily find him. Visit him and tell him all that has\nbefallen you. He will conduct you to the place where that wonderful\nstatue is, which you will obtain with safety.\u201d\n\nThe young sultan having read these words said to the queen, \u201cI will set\nout for Grand Cairo; nor do I believe, madam, that you will now oppose\nmy design.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, my son,\u201d answered the queen, \u201cI am not against it.\u201d\n\nThe prince made ready his equipage, but would take only a small number\nof slaves with him.\n\nNothing remarkable befell him by the way, but arriving at Cairo he\ninquired for Mobarec. The people told him he was one of the wealthiest\ninhabitants of the city; that he lived like a great lord, and that his\nhouse was open, especially for strangers. Zeyn was conducted thither,\nknocked at the gate, which a slave opened and demanded, \u201cWhat is it you\nwant, and who are you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a stranger,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cand having heard much of the\nlord Mobarec\u2019s generosity, am come to take up my lodging with him.\u201d\n\nThe slave desired Zeyn to wait while he went to acquaint his master, who\nordered him to request the stranger to walk in. The slave returned to\nthe gate and told the prince he was welcome.\n\nZeyn went in, crossed a large court, and entered a hall magnificently\nfurnished, where Mobarec received him very courteously, returning thanks\nfor the honor he did him in accepting a lodging in his house. The\nprince, having answered his compliment, said to Mobarec, \u201cI am the son\nof the late Sultan of Bussorah, and my name is Zeyn Alasnam.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat sovereign,\u201d said Mobarec, \u201cwas formerly my master; but I never\nknew he had any children. What is your age?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am twenty years old,\u201d answered the sultan. \u201cHow long is it since you\nleft my father\u2019s court?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlmost two-and-twenty years,\u201d replied Mobarec. \u201cBut how can you\nconvince me that you are his son?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy father,\u201d rejoined Zeyn, \u201chad a subterraneous place under his private\nroom in which I have found forty porphyry urns full of gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what more is there?\u201d said Mobarec.\n\n\u201cNine pedestals of massive gold,\u201d answered the prince, \u201con eight whereof\nare as many diamond statues, and on the ninth a piece of white satin, on\nwhich my father has written what I am to do to procure another statue,\nmore valuable than all those together. You know where that statue is,\nfor it is mentioned on the satin that you will conduct me to it.\u201d\n\nAs soon as he had spoken these words, Mobarec fell down at his feet, and\nkissing one of his hands several times, said: \u201cI bless God for having\nbrought you hither. I know you to be the Sultan of Bussorah\u2019s son. If\nyou will go to the place where the wonderful statue is, I will conduct\nyou; but you must first rest here for a short time. This day I entertain\nthe great men of the city. Will you vouchsafe to come and be merry with\nus?\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall be very glad,\u201d replied Zeyn, \u201cto be admitted to your feast.\u201d\n\nMobarec immediately led him under a dome where the company was, seated\nhim at the table, and served him. The merchants of Cairo were surprised\nand whispered to one another. \u201cWho is this stranger to whom Mobarec pays\nso much respect?\u201d\n\nWhen they had dined, Mobarec, directing his discourse to the company,\nsaid: \u201cKnow, my friends, that this young stranger is the son of the\nSultan of Bussorah, my late master. His father purchased me and died\nwithout making me free; so that I am still a slave, and consequently all\nI have of right belongs to this young prince, his sole heir.\u201d\n\nHere Zeyn interrupted him. \u201cMobarec,\u201d said he, \u201cI declare, before all\nthese guests, that I make you free from this moment, and that I renounce\nall right to your person and all you possess. Consider what you would\nhave me do more for you.\u201d\n\nMobarec kissed the ground and returned the prince most hearty thanks.\n\nThe next day Zeyn said to Mobarec: \u201cI have taken rest enough. I came not\nto Cairo for pleasure. My design is to obtain the ninth statue. It is\ntime for us to set out in search of it.\u201d\n\n\u201cSir,\u201d said Mobarec, \u201cI am ready to comply with your desires; but you\nknow not what dangers you must encounter to make this precious\nacquisition.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhatsoever the danger may be,\u201d answered the prince, \u201cI have resolved to\nmake the attempt. I will either perish or succeed. Do you but bear me\ncompany and let your resolution be equal to mine.\u201d\n\nMobarec, finding him determined to go, called his servants and ordered\nthem to make ready his equipage. The prince and he then set out. They\ntravelled many days. At length, being come to a delightful spot, they\nalighted from their horses. Mobarec then said to the servants that\nattended them, \u201cDo you remain here till we return.\u201d\n\nThen he said to Zeyn: \u201cNow, sir, let us advance by ourselves. You will\nstand in need of all your courage.\u201d\n\nThey soon came to a vast lake. Mobarec sat down on the brink of it,\nsaying to the prince, \u201cWe must cross this water.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can we,\u201d asked Zeyn, \u201cwhen we have no boat?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou will see one appear in a moment,\u201d replied Mobarec. \u201cThe enchanted\nboat of the Sultan of the Genii will come for us. But you must observe a\nprofound silence. Do not speak to the boatman, and whatever\nextraordinary circumstance you observe, say nothing; for I tell you\nbeforehand that if you utter one word when we are embarked, the boat\nwill sink.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall take care to be silent,\u201d said the prince. \u201cYou need only tell\nme what I am to do, and I will strictly comply.\u201d\n\nWhilst they were talking, he spied a boat made of red sandalwood on the\nlake. It had a mast of fine amber and a blue satin flag. There was only\none boatman in it, and he had the head of an elephant and the body of a\ntiger. When the boat was come to the prince and Mobarec, the monstrous\nboatman took them up one after the other with his trunk, put them into\nhis boat, and carried them over the lake in a moment. He then again took\nthem up with his trunk, set them ashore, and immediately vanished with\nhis boat.\n\n\u201cNow we may talk,\u201d said Mobarec. \u201cThe island we are in belongs to the\nKing of the Genii. Look around you, prince. Can there be a more\ndelightful spot? Behold the fields adorned with all sorts of flowers and\nplants. Admire those beautiful trees, whose branches bend down to the\nground. Hear those harmonious songs from a thousand birds of as many\nvarious sorts, unknown in other countries.\u201d\n\nZeyn could not sufficiently admire the beauties with which he was\nsurrounded, and still found something new as he advanced farther into\nthe island.\n\nAt length they came before a palace built of emeralds, encompassed by a\nwide moat, on the banks whereof, at certain distances, were planted such\ntall trees that they shaded the whole palace. The gate was of massy gold\nand was approached by a bridge. At the entrance to the bridge stood a\ncompany of very tall genii, who guarded the portals of the castle with\ngreat clubs of steel.\n\n\u201cLet us at present proceed no farther,\u201d said Mobarec, \u201cor these genii\nwill destroy us; and in order to prevent their coming to us, we must\nperform a magic ceremony.\u201d\n\nThen Mobarec laid on the ground two large mats, on the edges whereof he\nscattered some precious stones, musk, and amber. Afterwards he sat down\non one of the mats, and Zeyn on the other, and Mobarec said to the\nprince: \u201cI shall now conjure the Sultan of the Genii, who lives in the\npalace that is before us. If our coming into this island is displeasing\nto him, he will appear in the shape of a dreadful monster; but if he\napproves of your design, he will show himself in the shape of a handsome\nman. As soon as he appears before us, you must rise and salute him,\nwithout going off your mat; for you would certainly perish should you\nstir from it. You must say to him, \u2018Lord of the Genii, I wish your\nmajesty may protect me, as you always protected my father; and I most\nhumbly beg you to give me the ninth statue.\u2019\u201d\n\nMobarec, having thus instructed Prince Zeyn, began his conjuration.\nImmediately their eyes were dazzled by a long flash of lightning, which\nwas followed by a clap of thunder. The whole island was covered with a\nthick darkness, a furious storm of wind blew, a dreadful cry was heard,\nthe island felt a shock as if of an earthquake, and the Sultan of the\nGenii appeared in the shape of a very handsome man, yet there was\nsomething terrific in his air.\n\nAs soon as King Zeyn had prostrated himself and spoken as he had been\ntaught by Mobarec, the Sultan of the Genii, smiling, answered: \u201cMy son,\nI loved your father, and every time he came to pay me his respects, I\npresented him with a statue, which he carried away with him. I have no\nless kindness for you. I obliged your father, some days before he died,\nto write that which you read on the piece of white satin. I promised him\nto receive you under my protection, and to give you the ninth statue,\nwhich in beauty surpasses those you have already. I had begun to perform\nmy promise to him, for it was I whom you saw in a dream in the shape of\nan old man. I caused you to open the underground place where the urns\nand the statues are deposited. I know the motive that brought you\nhither. You shall obtain what you desire on certain conditions. You must\nreturn with Mobarec, and you must swear to come again to me, and to\nbring with you a young maiden who has reached her twentieth year, and\nwho has never entertained a wish to be married. She must also be\nperfectly beautiful; and you so much a master of yourself as not to\ndetermine to keep her for your wife, as you are conducting her hither. I\nwill give you a looking-glass, which will clearly reflect no other image\nthan that of the young maiden you are in search of. Now swear to me to\nobserve these conditions and keep your oath like a man of honor.\nOtherwise I will take away your life, notwithstanding the kindness I\nhave for you.\u201d\n\nZeyn Alasnam accepted the conditions and swore that he would faithfully\nkeep his word. The Sultan of the Genii then delivered to him a\nlooking-glass, saying: \u201cMy son, you may return when you please. There is\nthe glass you are to use.\u201d\n\nZeyn and Mobarec took leave of the Sultan of the Genii and went towards\nthe lake. The boatman with the elephant\u2019s head brought the boat and\nferried them over the lake as he had done before. They joined their\nservants and returned with them to Cairo.\n\nThe young sultan rested a few days at Mobarec\u2019s house and then said to\nhim, \u201cLet us go to Bagdad, to seek a maiden for the Sovereign of the\nGenii.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy, are we not at Grand Cairo?\u201d said Mobarec. \u201cShall we not there find\nbeautiful maidens?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are in the right,\u201d answered the prince; \u201cbut how shall we learn\nwhere they are?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not trouble yourself about that,\u201d answered Mobarec. \u201cI know a very\nshrewd old woman, whom I will intrust with the affair, and she will\nacquit herself well.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, the old woman found means to show King Zeyn a considerable\nnumber of beautiful maidens of twenty years of age; but when he had\nviewed them, and came to consult his glass, it always appeared sullied.\nAll the maidens in the court and city who were in their twentieth year\nunderwent the trial one after another, but the glass never remained\nbright and clear.\n\nWhen Zeyn and Mobarec saw there were no maidens to be found in Cairo who\ndid not wish to be married, they went to Bagdad, where they hired a\nmagnificent palace, and soon made acquaintance with the chief people of\nthe city.\n\nThere lived at Bagdad at this time an imaum[2] of much repute and noted\nfor his charity. His name was Boubekir Muezin. To him Mobarec went and\noffered a purse of five hundred gold pieces, in the name of Prince Zeyn,\nto distribute among the poor. On the next day, Boubekir Muezin waited on\nPrince Zeyn to return to him his thanks; and on hearing the purpose of\nhis visit to Bagdad, told him of a young maiden, the daughter of a\nformer vizier of the Sultan of Bagdad, whom he was assured would fulfil\nthe terms required by Prince Zeyn, and offered to ask her from her\nfather as the wife of the prince if he would go with him to her father\u2019s\nmansion. The prince accompanied the imaum to the vizier\u2019s; and the\nvizier, as soon as he was acquainted with the prince\u2019s birth and design,\ncalled his daughter and made her take off her veil. Never had the young\nSultan of Bussorah beheld such a perfect and striking beauty. He pulled\nout his glass, which remained bright and unsullied.\n\n\n[Footnote 2: Imaum: The officer in Mohammedan mosques who recites the\nprayers and leads the devotions.]\n\n\nWhen he perceived he had at length found such a person as he desired, he\nentreated the vizier to grant her to him. Immediately the cadi was sent\nfor, the contract signed, and the marriage prayer said. After this\nceremony, Zeyn conducted the vizier to his house, where he treated him\nmagnificently and gave him considerable presents. Next day he sent a\nvast quantity of jewels by Mobarec, who conducted the bride home, where\nthe wedding was celebrated with all the pomp that became Zeyn\u2019s rank and\ndignity. When all the company was dismissed Mobarec said to his master:\n\u201cLet us begone, sir, let us not stay any longer at Bagdad, but return to\nCairo. Remember the promise you made the Sultan of the Genii.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go,\u201d answered the prince; \u201cI must take care to do exactly as I\nagreed; yet I must confess, my dear Mobarec, that, if I obey the Sultan\nof the Genii, it is not without reluctance. The damsel I have married is\nso charming that I am tempted to carry her to Bussorah and place her on\nthe throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! sir,\u201d answered Mobarec, \u201ctake heed how you give way to your\ninclination. Whatever it costs you, be as good as your word to the\nSultan of the Genii.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, then, Mobarec,\u201d said the prince, \u201cdo you take care to conceal the\nlovely maid from me. Let her never appear in my sight\u2014perhaps I have\nalready seen too much of her.\u201d\n\nMobarec made all ready for their departure. They returned to Cairo and\nthence set out for the island of the Sultan of the Genii. When they\narrived, the maid, who had performed the journey in a litter, and whom\nthe prince had never seen since his marriage, said to Mobarec: \u201cWhere\nare we? Shall we soon be in the dominions of the prince my husband?\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d answered Mobarec, \u201cit is time to undeceive you. Prince Zeyn\nmarried you only in order to get you from your father. He did not intend\nto make you Sovereign of Bussorah, but to deliver you to the Sultan of\nthe Genii.\u201d\n\nAt these words she began to weep bitterly, which moved the prince and\nMobarec. \u201cTake pity on me,\u201d said she. \u201cI am a stranger. You will be\naccountable to God for your treachery towards me.\u201d\n\nHer tears and complaints were of no effect, for she was presented to the\nSultan of the Genii, who having gazed on her with attention, said to\nZeyn: \u201cPrince, I am satisfied with your behavior. The maiden you have\nbrought me is beautiful and good, and I am pleased with the restraint\nyou have put on yourself to fulfill your promise to me. Return to your\ndominions, and when you enter the underground room, where the eight\nstatues are, you shall find the ninth which I promised you. I will make\nmy genii carry it thither.\u201d\n\nZeyn thanked the King of the Genii, and returned to Cairo with Mobarec,\nbut did not stay long in Egypt, for his impatience to see the ninth\nstatue made him hasten his departure. However, he could not but often\nthink regretfully of the young girl he had married and blame himself for\nhaving deceived her. \u201cAlas!\u201d said he to himself, \u201cI have taken her from\na tender father to sacrifice her to a genie. Oh, wonderful beauty! You\ndeserve a better fate.\u201d\n\nSultan Zeyn, disturbed with these thoughts, at length reached Bussorah,\nwhere his subjects made extraordinary rejoicings for his return. He went\ndirectly to give an account of his journey to his mother, who was in a\nrapture to hear that he had obtained the ninth statue. \u201cLet us go, my\nson,\u201d said she, \u201cand see it, for it is certainly in the underground\nchamber, since the Sultan of the Genii said you should find it there.\u201d\n\nThe young sultan and his mother being both impatient to see the\nwonderful statue, went down into the room of the statues; but how great\nwas their surprise, when, instead of a statue of diamonds, they beheld\non the ninth pedestal a most beautiful girl, whom the prince knew to be\nthe same whom he had conducted to the island of the genii! \u201cPrince,\u201d\nsaid the young maid, \u201cyou are surprised to see me here. You expected to\nhave found something more precious than me, and I question not but that\nyou now repent having taken so much trouble. You expected a better\nreward.\u201d\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d answered Zeyn, \u201cHeaven is my witness that I more than once had\nnearly broken my word with the Sultan of the Genii by keeping you\nmyself. Whatever be the value of a diamond statue, it is worth the\nsatisfaction of having you mine? I love you above all the diamonds and\nwealth in the world.\u201d\n\nJust as he had done speaking, a clap of thunder was heard, which shook\nthe subterraneous place. Zeyn\u2019s mother was alarmed, but the Sultan of\nthe Genii immediately appearing dispelled her fear. \u201cMadam,\u201d said he to\nher, \u201cI protect and love your son. I had a mind to try, whether, at his\nage, he could subdue himself. This is the ninth statue I designed for\nhim. It is more rare and precious than the others. Live happy, Zeyn,\nwith this your wife,\u201d said he, directing his discourse to the young\nprince, \u201cand if you would have her true and constant to you, love her\nalways and love her only.\u201d\n\nHaving spoken these words, the Sultan of the Genii vanished, and Zeyn,\nenchanted with the young lady, the same day caused her to be proclaimed\nQueen of Bussorah, over which they reigned in mutual happiness to an\nadvanced age.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE DYED JACKAL\n\n\nOnce upon a time a Jackal, who was prowling around the suburbs of a\ntown, fell into an indigo-tank. He found that he was unable to get out\nof this, and so lay down as though he were dead.\n\nIn due time the dyer came to the tank, and finding what he supposed to\nbe a dead Jackal, took him out and threw him into the jungle.\n\nWhen the dyer was far enough away the Jackal scrambled to his feet, and\nlooking himself over found his color changed to a beautiful blue.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cI am certainly much prettier than I was\nbefore; why should not this accident prove to be a good thing for me.\nWhen the other jackals see my wonderful color, it should be easy for me\nto persuade them that I should be their king.\u201d\n\nSo he got the jackals of the jungle together, and said to them: \u201cGood\npeople, the Goddess of the Wood has anointed me king. Behold the hue of\nroyalty! And after this do no business without my permission.\u201d\n\nThe jackals were overcome by the distinguished color, and promised\nobedience, and so began the reign of the dyed Jackal. But soon he was\nnot content just to rule over his own kind, whom he began to despise, so\nhe declared himself king of the lions and tigers, from among whom he\nselected his special attendants, keeping his own kindred at a distance,\nas though he were ashamed of them.\n\nOf course, this made the jackals very indignant, and some of them took\ncounsel together to see what could be done about it.\n\nOne of the wise old beasts addressed them, saying: \u201cLeave this impostor\nto me. The lions and tigers and the rest think he is a king because he\nis colored blue, but we must show them his true colors. Now, do as I\ntell you. When night comes, all of you gather around him, and set up a\ngreat yell together. He is sure to join in as he used to do, for\u2014\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018Hard it is to conquer nature: if a dog were made a king,\n Mid the coronation trumpets, he would gnaw his sandal-string.\u2019\n\n\u201cAnd when he yells, the lions and tigers will know him to be a jackal,\nand fall upon him.\u201d\n\nThey did just what the wise old beast had suggested, and the thing\nbefell exactly as he said it would. And so ended the reign of the dyed\njackal.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n WHY DOGS WAG THEIR TAILS\n\n\nA rich man in a certain town once owned a dog and a cat, both of which\nwere very useful to him. The dog had served his master for many years\nand had become so old that he had lost his teeth and was unable to fight\nany more, but he was a good guide and companion to the cat, who was\nstrong and cunning.\n\nThe master had a daughter who was attending school at a convent some\ndistance from home, and very often he sent the dog and the cat with\npresents to the girl.\n\nOne day he called the faithful animals and bade them carry a magic ring\nto his daughter.\n\n\u201cYou are strong and brave,\u201d he said to the cat. \u201cYou may carry the ring,\nbut you must be careful not to drop it.\u201d\n\nAnd to the dog he said: \u201cYou must accompany the cat to guide her and\nkeep her from harm.\u201d\n\nThey promised to do their best and started out. All went well until they\ncame to a river. As there was neither bridge nor boat, there was no way\nto cross but to swim.\n\n\u201cLet me take the magic ring,\u201d said the dog as they were about to plunge\ninto the water.\n\n\u201cOh, no,\u201d replied the cat, \u201cthe master gave it to me to carry.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut you cannot swim well,\u201d argued the dog. \u201cI am strong and can take\ngood care of it.\u201d\n\nBut the cat refused to give up the ring until finally the dog threatened\nto kill her, and then she reluctantly gave it to him.\n\nThe river was wide and the water so swift that they grew very tired, and\njust before they reached the opposite bank the dog dropped the ring.\nThey searched carefully, but could not find it anywhere, and after\nawhile they turned back to tell their master of the sad loss. Just\nbefore reaching the house, however, the dog was so overcome with fear\nthat he turned and ran away and never was seen again.\n\nThe cat went on alone, and when the master saw her coming he called out\nto know why she had returned so soon and what had become of her\ncompanion. The poor cat was frightened, but as well as she could she\nexplained how the ring had been lost and how the dog had run away.\n\nOn hearing her story the master was very angry, and commanded that all\nhis people should search for the dog, and that it should be punished by\nhaving its tail cut off.\n\nHe also ordered that all dogs in the world should join in the search,\nand ever since when one dog meets another, he says: \u201cAre you the old dog\nthat lost the magic ring? If so, your tail must be cut off.\u201d Then\nimmediately each shows his teeth and wags his tail to prove that he is\nnot the guilty one.\n\nSince then, too, cats have been afraid of water and will not swim across\na river if they can avoid it.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n PRINCE VARNA\n\n\nThere was once a Rajah whose wife died, leaving to her husband a little\nson, who was a great comfort to his grief-stricken father. In due time\nthe young prince was christened and his godmother was a princess who was\nknown far and wide for her wisdom and kindness, and everyone called her\n\u201cthe good queen.\u201d She named the little prince Varna, and loved him as\nthough he were her own son.\n\nWhen Varna was three years old the Rajah married a princess of great\nbeauty, but who was hard-hearted and cruel. In the course of time a\nsecond prince was born, and the queen was filled with jealous rage at\nthe thought that Varna, and not her own son, was heir to the throne. But\nshe was very careful not to let the Rajah discover her real feelings.\n\nIn the mountain there lived an old witch whom the queen knew well, and\nshe sent to her a trusty servant, asking that she find some way of\ngetting rid of her stepson, who stood in the way of her own son. But the\nwitch replied that she could work no harm against the young prince,\nbecause he was under the protection of his godmother, whose power was\ngreater than her own.\n\nThe \u201cgood queen\u201d lived in a country which was far away, but was able to\nkeep herself well-informed of all that went on, and she knew what the\nwicked queen desired. She sent to the young prince a ring of jade with\ninstructions that he must always wear it, as it would protect him from\nall harm while in his father\u2019s country. But as a talisman this ring was\nuseless elsewhere. This the wicked queen knew, so she made every effort\nto entice him away from his father\u2019s dominions.\n\nHer efforts met with no success, but circumstances brought about that\nwhich she herself had been unable to. When the young prince was fifteen\nyears old his father\u2019s only sister, who had married the king of a\ndistant country, wrote to her brother begging him to permit his son to\npay her a visit, as she greatly desired to see the nephew of whom she\nhad received the most excellent reports.\n\nThe Rajah at first refused to allow Varna to leave the country, as he\nwas fearful that harm might come to him, but his sister entreated and\nhis wife insisted, so he finally gave his consent, although reluctantly.\n\nVarna was both good and handsome. When an infant he had been placed in\nthe care of one of the court ladies, who afterward became his governess,\nand between them existed a great affection, which was shared equally by\nthe lady\u2019s daughter Za\u00efda. When he became old enough to need the\nguidance of a tutor and guardian, this lady\u2019s husband took her place,\nand they both loved him as though he were their own son.\n\nAt length the young prince set forth on his journey, accompanied by his\ntutor and former governess and a numerous retinue. All went well until\nthey left his father\u2019s dominions, when the talisman lost its power to\nprotect him. They were crossing a desert under a burning sun and at\nlength reached an oasis, where the caravan rested. Suddenly Varna sprang\nfrom his carriage, and immediately disappeared. As time went on and he\ndid not return, the tutor and his wife were filled with alarm. They\nsought for him in every possible place, but could not find him.\n\nSadly they mingled their tears, for they were sure that this was the\nwork of the wicked queen and the witch of the mountain. Suddenly they\nheard a voice, which came from the branches of a tree beneath which they\nwere sitting. Looking up, they saw a large bird, which said to them:\n\u201cYou seek your prince in vain. Return to your own country and tell the\nking that many moons shall come and go before his son shall be\nrestored.\u201d There was nothing else to do, so they sorrowfully went home,\nand when they told their sad news to the king he was so deeply grieved\nthat he was stricken with a severe sickness from which he never\nrecovered.\n\nThe wicked queen was now happy; her son was the Rajah, and she wielded\nall the authority. The power that was hers made her harsher and more\ncruel than ever, and the people soon began to hate her, especially as\nthey believed that it was she who had caused the disappearance of Prince\nVarna. Fortunately, her son was loved by his subjects, for he was kind\nand noble, and only this kept them from rebellion.\n\nOne day, about three years after the supposed death of Prince Varna, the\nyoung Rajah was out hunting, a sport of which he was very fond. He and\nhis courtiers stopped to rest at a pleasant spot, and refreshments were\nprepared for them. While at luncheon his attention was attracted to a\nbird of brilliant red plumage which was perched on the branch of a tree.\nTaking some crumbs, he threw them beneath the tree, and the bird flew\ndown and ate them.\n\nCautioning his courtiers to make no noise, he gradually approached the\ngaily clad bird, which, to his surprise, did not fly away. In the open\npalm of his hand were more crumbs, and the bird actually hopped towards\nhim and ate these too.\n\nSuch confidence and lack of fear quite moved the Rajah, who resolved to\ntake his little feathered friend home with him. He tenderly stroked its\npretty feathers, and the bird made no effort to fly away. Soon it\nnestled on his shoulder and stayed there until the party returned to the\npalace.\n\nThe young ruler became greatly attached to his new pet, and would allow\nno one but himself to look after it. He even took it with him when he\nwent out walking\u2014the bird on his shoulder.\n\nOne day when they were out together the prince passed the house where\nVarna\u2019s former governess and her daughter lived. Both of them were\nsitting by an open window, and suddenly the bird flew from its master\u2019s\nshoulder to the window sill. It looked right into the eyes of both\nmother and daughter and boldly approached them. This utter absence of\nfear, and also, perhaps, the bright red plumage, attracted them as it\nhad the Rajah, and they at once fell in love with it.\n\nThe Rajah soon missed his pet, and looking about saw the two ladies\ncaressing it. He called and whistled, but the bird paid no attention to\nhim. He then entered the house, intending to take the bird away, but\nwhen he reached the room in which they were it flew up to the ceiling\nwhere it could not be reached.\n\nAfter spending some time in vain efforts to capture the bird, the ladies\nbegged the Rajah to leave it with them for a few days, promising to take\nthe greatest care of it. To this he consented, and at once, as though\nunderstanding all that was said, the bird flew to Za\u00efda and nestled on\nher shoulder.\n\nThat night the mother dreamed that she saw the \u201cgood queen,\u201d who told\nher to go to a certain tree in her garden and to lift up a large stone\nwhich she would find beneath it. There she would find a small phial\nwhich was filled with bright red liquid. This she was to sprinkle over\nthe Rajah\u2019s bird.\n\nThis dream made such an impression upon the former governess that in the\nmorning, as soon as she arose, she hastened to the garden. The stone was\nthere beneath the tree, and upon removing this she saw the phial\ncontaining the bright red liquid.\n\nHurrying back to the house she told her daughter about the dream, and\nshowed her the small bottle she had found.\n\nWithout a word Za\u00efda held out her hand, to which the bird at once flew.\nHer mother removed the cork and sprinkled the contents of the phial over\nthe bright red feathers, and there before them stood the handsome Prince\nVarna.\n\nGreat was the joy of this meeting, and when they were somewhat composed\nthe ladies asked the prince to tell them of his adventures.\n\nHe told them that when his carriage had stopped at the oasis some force\nhad compelled him to spring from it, and he found himself transformed at\nonce into a bird. Many times had he tried to reach his own country, but\nwas unable to do so until now. He had suffered greatly, and his only\ncomfort was when the good queen visited him. It was through her that he\nwas at last enabled to meet his brother, and finally be turned again\ninto human form.\n\nIt was not long before the Queen learned from the witch of the mountain\nthat Prince Varna had returned, and she immediately sought to destroy\nhim. Hastening to her son she said that some ill-disposed subjects were\nplotting to dethrone him, and that they had set up an impostor who they\ndeclared to be Prince Varna.\n\nThe Rajah told her to have no fear, and that he would soon find the\nconspirators and properly punish them. He made inquiries and found that\nPrince Varna was at the house of his former governess, so he went there\nat once, determined to find out the truth for himself.\n\nThe two ladies and Prince Varna were in earnest conversation when the\nRajah reached their house, and great was his astonishment to find that\nthis was really his long lost brother, whom he immediately recognized.\n\n\u201cBrother,\u201d said he, \u201cI came here thinking to find an impostor, but it\nmakes me happy to see alive you whom we have so long mourned as dead.\nThe throne is yours, and I am your most loyal subject.\u201d\n\nThe two brothers embraced one another with great affection, and then\nhastened to the royal palace, where, in the presence of the entire\ncourt, the crown was placed upon Varna\u2019s head by his brother himself.\nThis defeat of the wicked queen\u2019s plans was so great a shock to her that\nshe immediately perished.\n\nThe new Rajah and the lovely Za\u00efda were soon married, and to their great\njoy the good queen herself attended the wedding. Her most valued gift\nwas the assurance that the witch of the mountain had no more power over\nhim.\n\nVarna insisted that his noble brother share the throne with him, and no\nruler was ever more beloved by faithful and loyal subjects than was each\nof these.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n EMPRESS JANQWI AND THE MAGICIANS\n\n\nThousands of years ago, when China was peopled by giants, that country\nwas ruled by a great Empress named Janqwi, who came to the throne when\nher brother, Emperor Fugi, died. This story tells how the heavens and\none of the pillars which upheld the sky were damaged during a rebellion\nraised by one of her subjects, and how she mended the broken parts.\n\nThe man who rebelled was a wicked and fearsome magician named Korkwi, a\ngiant quite terrible to look upon. He was twenty-eight feet tall, whose\nface and body were entirely covered with coal-black hair, so it can be\nimagined that he was anything but beautiful.\n\nIt had long been his desire to rule the country, so when Fugi died, he\nthought his opportunity had come. But Janqwi was too clever for him, and\nshe mounted the throne which was rightly hers.\n\nThis so enraged Korkwi that he raised a large army and defied the\nEmpress. The next thing he did was to use his wizard\u2019s power, and flood\nthe country, so that thousands of people were drowned. This meant war\nbetween the Empress and Korkwi.\n\nAmong the warriors of Janqwi were two brilliant young warriors named\nHaki and Oku, and the first of these she appointed to command that part\nof the army which would be first to engage the enemy.\n\nThis great honor delighted Haki, and he at once made himself ready for\nbattle. He had mounted his favorite charger and had just started for the\nfront when he heard his name called loudly by someone who was galloping\nbehind him. He looked around and saw his friend Oku, who said to him:\n\u201cHalt, Haki! I intend to lead the first army!\u201d\n\nThis enraged Haki, who exclaimed: \u201cYou are insolent! The Empress Janqwi\nhas appointed me to lead our warriors into battle; your place is with\nthe reserves.\u201d\n\nTo this Oku replied: \u201cIt is my right to lead the first army, and yours\nto follow.\u201d\n\nThen Haki lunged at Oku with his sword, but the latter caused his horse\nto swerve quickly, and with his lance he wounded Haki\u2019s steed.\n\nHaki at once dismounted and prepared to rush at his comrade when Oku,\nwith lightning rapidity, tore the badge of leadership from Haki\u2019s\nhelmet, and galloped quickly away.\n\nNow the Empress had seen all of this through the palace window, and she\ncould not help admiring the dexterity of the ambitious Oku, so she\ndivided the leadership of the front army between them, making Oku\ncommander of the left wing and Haki of the right. So the two became\nfriends again, and they marched against Korkwi at the head of a hundred\nthousand soldiers.\n\nThey soon reached the place which the rebel had fortified, and Korkwi\nthought it would be easy, with all the power that he possessed, to\nfrighten them into submission. Seizing an immense iron rod, he mounted a\npowerful black horse, and with a roar like an angry lion he charged his\nfoes. But he found that Haki and Oku did not fear him.\n\nHe was coming toward them at a terrific rate, and the two comrades said\nto each other: \u201cWe will attack him from right and left, and not allow\nhim to escape alive.\u201d But the wizard was a fierce fighter, and his iron\nrod a fearful weapon. For a long time they fought without either side\ngaining.\n\nThen Korkwi aimed a blow at Haki\u2019s head, and in order to avoid this Haki\nturned his horse too quickly, so that the animal\u2019s rear hoof struck\nagainst a large stone.\n\nThe horse suddenly reared up straight, and threw Haki to the ground, and\nKorkwi thought he had his enemy at his mercy. Drawing his huge sword, he\nwas about to sever his head from his body when Oku wheeled his horse\nright in front of him, and at once attacked the magician.\n\nNow the brunt of the fight had fallen to Haki\u2019s lot, so that Oku was\nfresher than his friend. Korkwi was tired, and did not fancy engaging\nthe young warrior, so he turned and fled.\n\nHaki had been only stunned by the fall, and he soon recovered. He rushed\nafter Korkwi on foot, while Oku pursued on horseback. Korkwi turned, and\nfitting an arrow to his bow, aimed the shaft at Oku, who, being on\nhorseback, was ahead of his comrade. Just in time Oku swerved, so that\nthe arrow missed him.\n\nWhen the wizard saw that he had failed to kill either of his pursuers,\nhe saw that he would have to use his magic power in order to save\nhimself, so he stretched forth his wand, and there came a great wave\nwhich engulfed Janqwi\u2019s army and the two young generals.\n\nHaki and Oku were struggling in the water, and Korkwi went after them\nwith his iron rod, ready to strike. Suddenly a small island seemed to\nlift itself out of the water right in front of them, and upon it stood\nan old man, with snow white hair. He stretched out his hands over the\nwater, which went to the right and to the left, leaving a dry path by\nmeans of which the young warriors reached the island.\n\nSeeing that his enemies were now safe, Korkwi turned furiously upon\ntheir preserver. He rushed upon the old man, who merely laughed and then\nturned into a beautiful white bird and flew away.\n\nAll thought of further fighting was for the time abandoned. Haki and Oku\nsaw that it was useless for them, being only human, to fight against\nKorkwi, who possessed supernatural powers, so they returned to the\nEmpress, who decided to call on Shiku, the Fire King, for aid.\n\nNow the Fire King lived at the South Pole, where all was snow and ice,\nfor he burned up everything else around him. He also was a giant, with a\nface like marble and whose hair and beard were snow white. He was master\nof all fire, as Korkwi was of water, and his strength was marvelous.\n\nThe Empress sent Oku to the South Pole to ask Shiku for help, and this\nthe Fire King at once promised to give. He then told Oku that it was he\nwho had saved the two young generals from drowning, and Oku thanked him\nfor coming to their rescue.\n\nShiku and Oku returned to the Empress, who made the Fire King\nCommander-in-Chief of her army. He told her to have no fear, for he\nwould certainly vanquish their enemy.\n\nThe new general was aware of the source of the magician\u2019s power, and he\ninstructed all of the soldiers to gather large quantities of a certain\nplant. This was done, and a great fire was made of all that was\ncollected, and then everyone was ordered to fill a bag full of the\nashes.\n\nShiku, accompanied by Haki and Oku, marched at the head of his army\nagainst Korkwi, who, knowing that water would extinguish fire, laughed\nat him. As the army approached, the magician caused the water to rise,\nthinking to speedily destroy his foes. But Shiku showed no fear; he\nordered every soldier to scatter the ashes they carried, and this\nmingling with the water, turned into a sort of clay, thus stopping the\nprogress of the water.\n\nWhen Korkwi saw that Shiku was his superior in wisdom, he became furious\nwith rage, and charged the enemy headlong.\n\nOku rode to meet him, and soon the two were engaged in deadly combat.\nFor a long time they fought without advantage to either, then Oku began\nto tire, and his comrade, seeing this, took his place. Being fresh, he\nbegan to prove more than a match for Korkwi, who now desired to retire\nfrom the fight. So he artfully said:\n\n\u201cIt was courageous on your part to risk your life for your friend, and I\nwish to show how highly I esteem such valor. Far be it from me to slay\nsuch a man.\u201d\n\nWith this he turned his horse in retreat; but his idea was to take Haki\noff his guard, and then to turn on him and kill him without mercy.\n\nBut Shiku saw what his intention was at once, and called him a cowardly\ndeceiver. Then Korkwi attacked Shiku, who wounded him in the arm.\n\nThe magician then tried to escape in earnest, and galloped away at his\nutmost speed.\n\nIt was the custom at that time for opposing armies to watch when a\nchampion from each side should engage in a duel, and so the armies of\nShiku and Korkwi had stood awaiting the result. Shiku now ordered his\nsoldiers to charge the enemy, and this they did, defeating them utterly.\n\nKorkwi saw that fate was against him. His magic was useless to him,\nbecause Shiku knew more than he did, so, frenzied with pain and\ndisappointment, he dashed his head against the rocks of Mount Kuri, and\nso perished. With such force did he strike the rocks that he made a\ngreat hole in the mountain, in which were embedded some of the pillars\nwhich upheld the heavens, and one of these pillars was broken. One\ncorner of the sky thereupon began to drop, and at length it touched the\nearth.\n\nThen Shiku, taking with him the body of his enemy, returned to the\nEmpress Janqwi, victorious.\n\nBut trouble had not ceased for Janqwi. Fire was bursting out from the\nmountain in which was the broken pillar, and was doing great damage to\nthe country round about. The Empress hastened to the scene of the\ndisaster, and found that considerable damage had been done to both\nHeaven and earth.\n\nThe problem now was how to repair this damage, so she gathered together\nthe wise men of the kingdom to see what could be done.\n\nUnder their advice she ordered her subjects to collect all the stones\nthey could find of these five colors\u2014red, blue, yellow, white and black.\nThese she had boiled in a huge cauldron, and the result was a cement\nwhich would mend anything.\n\nWith Shiku\u2019s magic help she then mounted the clouds, taking the cement\nwith her, and having reached that corner of the sky which was broken,\nshe mended it. She then repaired the broken pillar.\n\nNow all of this was the more difficult to do because ever since the hole\nwas made in the mountain the moon had ceased to shine by night, and the\nsun by day, so that it was quite dark, and even now it remained so.\n\nShe called another meeting of the wise men, and they decided that\nneither the sun nor the moon could travel because the roads by which\nthey made their daily and nightly journeys had been damaged by the\naccident to the pillar, and it was now necessary to inform them that\nrepairs had been made, and they could safely venture forth again.\n\nBut the sun and moon were millions of miles away, and the problem was\nhow to reach them. Then Shiku had recourse to his magic, and he produced\na chariot which could race through the air at unbelievable speed.\n\nHaki and Oku were chosen by the Empress to be her messengers to the sun\nand moon to tell them that the roads were now perfectly safe.\n\nSo these two set out on their journey in the wonderful chariot, and\nfinally they reached both the sun and the moon.\n\nIt was just as the wise men had said\u2014neither sun nor moon was aware that\nthe roads damaged by the breaking of the pillar had been repaired, but\nwhen they were assured by Haki and Oku that these were now perfectly\nsafe for travel they were satisfied, and so the Lords of Light again\ntook up their daily and nightly duties.\n\nSo again all was well in China, and for many years the people lived in\npeace and prosperity, rejoicing in the fact that the beloved and wise\nJanqwi was their Empress.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n RAJA RASALU\n\n\nOnce there lived a great Rajah, whose name was Salabhan, and he had a\nQueen, by name Lona, who, though she wept and prayed at many a shrine,\nhad never a child to gladden her eyes. After a long time, however, a son\nwas promised to her.\n\nQueen Lona returned to the palace, and when the time for the birth of\nthe promised son drew nigh, she inquired of three Jogis who came begging\nto her gate, what the child\u2019s fate would be, and the youngest of them\nanswered and said: \u201cOh, Queen! The child will be a boy, and he will live\nto be a great man. But for twelve years you must not look upon his face,\nfor if either you or his father see it before the twelve years are past,\nyou will surely die! This is what you must do: As soon as the child is\nborn you must send him away to a cellar underneath the ground, and never\nlet him see the light of day for twelve years. After they are over he\nmay come forth, bathe in the river, put on new clothes, and visit you.\nHis name shall be Rajah Rasalu, and he shall be known far and wide.\u201d\n\nSo, when a fair young Prince was in due time born, his parents hid him\naway in an underground palace, with nurses and servants, and everything\nelse a king\u2019s son might desire. And with him they sent a young colt,\nborn the same day, and sword, spear, and shield, against the day when\nRajah Rasalu should go forth into the world.\n\nSo there the child lived, playing with his colt, and talking to his\nparrot; but when the twelfth year began the lad\u2019s heart leaped up with\ndesire for change, and he loved to listen to the sounds of life which\ncame to him in his palace-prison from the outside world.\n\n\u201cI must go and see where the voices come from!\u201d he said; and when his\nnurses told him he must not go for one year more, he only laughed aloud,\nsaying, \u201cNay! I stay no longer here for any man!\u201d\n\nThen he saddled his Arab horse Bhanur, put on his shining armor; and\nrode forth into the world; but, mindful of what his nurses had oft told\nhim, when he came to the river, he dismounted, and going into the water,\nwashed himself and his clothes.\n\nThen, clean of raiment, fair of face, and brave of heart, he rode on his\nway until he reached his father\u2019s city. There he sat down to rest awhile\nby a well, where the women were drawing water in earthern pitchers. Now,\nas they passed him, their full pitchers poised upon their heads, the gay\nyoung Prince flung stones at the earthern vessels, and broke them all.\nThen the women, drenched with water, went weeping and wailing to the\npalace, complaining to the King that a mighty young Prince in shining\narmor, with a parrot on his wrist and a gallant steed beside him, sat by\nthe well, and broke their pitchers.\n\nNow, as soon as Rajah Salabhan heard this he guessed at once that it was\nPrince Rasalu come forth before the time, and, mindful of the Jogis\u2019\nwords that he would die if he looked on his son\u2019s face before twelve\nyears were past, he did not dare to send his guards to seize the\noffender and bring him to be judged. So he bade the women be comforted,\nand take pitchers of iron and brass, giving new ones from the treasury\nto those who did not possess any of their own.\n\nBut when Prince Rasalu saw the women returning to the well with pitchers\nof iron and brass, he laughed to himself, and drew his mighty bow till\nthe sharp-pointed arrows pierced the metal vessels as though they had\nbeen clay.\n\nYet still the King did not send for him, so he mounted his steed and set\noff in the pride of his youth and strength to the palace. He strode into\nthe audience hall, where his father sat trembling, and saluted him with\nall reverence; but Rajah Salabhan, in fear of his life, turned his back\nhastily and said never a word in reply.\n\nThen Prince Rasalu called scornfully to him across the hall:\n\n \u201cI came to greet thee, King, and not to harm thee!\n What have I done that thou shouldst turn away?\n Scepter and empire have no power to charm me\u2014\n I go to seek a worthier prize than they!\u201d\n\nThen he strode away, full of bitterness and anger; but as he passed\nunder the palace windows, he heard his mother weeping, and the sound\nsoftened his heart, so that his wrath died down, and a great loneliness\nfell upon him, because he was spurned by both father and mother. So he\ncried sorrowfully:\n\n \u201cOh, heart crown\u2019d with grief, hast thou nought\n But tears for thy son?\n Art mother of mine? Give one thought\n To my life just begun!\u201d\n\nAnd Queen Lona answered through her tears:\n\n \u201cYea! Mother am I, though I weep,\n So hold this word sure,\u2014\n Go, reign king of all men, but keep\n Thy heart good and pure!\u201d\n\nSo Rajah Rasalu was comforted, and began to make ready for fortune. He\ntook with him his horse Bhanur and his parrot, both of whom had lived\nwith him since he was born.\n\nSo they made a goodly company, and Queen Lona, when she saw them going,\nwatched them from her window till she saw nothing but a cloud of dust on\nthe horizon; then she bowed her head on her hands and wept, saying:\n\n \u201cOh! Son who ne\u2019er gladdened mine eyes,\n Let the cloud of thy going arise,\n Dim the sunlight and darken the day;\n For the mother whose son is away\n Is as dust!\u201d\n\nRasalu had started off to play chaupur[3] with King Sarkap. And as he\njourneyed there came a fierce storm of thunder and lightning, so that he\nsought shelter, and found none save an old graveyard, where a headless\ncorpse lay upon the ground. So lonesome was it that even the corpse\nseemed company, and Rasalu, sitting down beside it, said:\n\n \u201cThere is no one here, nor far nor near,\n Save this breathless corpse so cold and grim;\n Would God he might come to life again,\n \u2019Twould be less lonely to talk to him.\u201d\n\nAnd immediately the headless corpse arose and sat beside Rajah Rasalu.\nAnd he, nothing astonished, said to it:\n\n \u201cThe storm beats fierce and loud\n The clouds rise thick in the West;\n What ails thy grave and shroud,\n Oh, corpse! That thou canst not rest?\u201d\n\nThen the headless corpse replied:\n\n \u201cOn earth I was even as thou,\n My turban awry like a king,\n My head with the highest, I trow.\n Having my fun and my fling,\n Fighting my foes like a brave,\n Living my life with a swing.\n And, now I am dead,\n Sins, heavy as lead,\n Will give me no rest in my grave!\u201d\n\n\n[Footnote 3: A game very similar to the modern game of Parchesi.]\n\n\nSo the night passed on, dark and dreary, while Rasalu sat in the\ngraveyard and talked to the headless corpse. Now when morning broke and\nRasalu said he must continue his journey, the headless corpse asked him\nwhither he was going, and when he said, \u201cTo play chaupur with King\nSarkap,\u201d the corpse begged him to give up the idea, saying: \u201cI am King\nSarkap\u2019s brother, and I know his ways. Every day before breakfast he\ncuts off the heads of two or three men just to amuse himself. One day no\none else was at hand, so he cut off mine, and he will surely cut off\nyours on one pretense or another. However, if you are determined to go\nand play chaupur with him, take some of the bones from this graveyard,\nand make your dice out of them, and then the enchanted dice with which\nmy brother plays will lose their virtue. Otherwise he will always win.\u201d\n\nSo Rasalu took some of the bones lying about, and fashioned them into\ndice, and these he put into his pocket. Then, bidding adieu to the\nheadless corpse, he went on his way to play chaupur with the king.\n\nNow, as Rajah Rasalu, tender-hearted and strong, journeyed along to play\nchaupur with the king, he came to a burning forest, and a voice rose\nfrom the fire, saying, \u201cOh, traveler! Save me from the fire!\u201d\n\nThen the Prince turned towards the burning forest, and lo! the voice was\nthe voice of a tiny cricket. Nevertheless, Rasalu, tender-hearted and\nstrong, snatched it from the fire and set it at liberty. Then the little\ncreature, full of gratitude, pulled out one of its feelers, and giving\nit to its preserver, said, \u201cKeep this, and should you ever be in\ntrouble, put it into the fire, and instantly I will come to your aid.\u201d\n\nThe Prince smiled, saying, \u201cWhat help could _you_ give _me_?\u201d\nNevertheless, he kept the hair and went on his way.\n\nNow, when he reached the city of King Sarkap, seventy maidens, daughters\nof the king, came out to meet him\u2014seventy fair maidens, merry and\ncareless, full of smiles and laughter; but one, the youngest of them\nall, when she saw the gallant young Prince riding on Bhanur, going gayly\nto his doom, was filled with pity, and called to him, saying:\n\n \u201cFair Prince, on the charger so gray,\n Turn thee back! Turn thee back!\n Or lower thy lance for the fray;\n Thy head will be forfeit to-day!\n Dost love life? Then, stranger, I pray,\n Turn thee back! Turn thee back!\u201d\n\nBut he, smiling at the maiden, answered lightly:\n\n \u201cFair maiden, I come from afar,\n Sworn conqueror in love and in war!\n King Sarkap my coming will rue,\n His head in four pieces I\u2019ll hew;\n Then forth as a bridegroom I\u2019ll ride,\n With you, little maid, as my bride!\u201d\n\nNow when Rasalu replied so gallantly, the maiden looked in his face, and\nseeing how fair he was, and how brave and strong, she straightway fell\nin love with him, and would gladly have followed him through the world.\n\nBut the other sixty-nine maidens, being jealous, laughed scornfully at\nher, saying: \u201cNot so fast, oh gallant warrior! If you would marry our\nsister you must first do our bidding, for you will be our younger\nbrother.\u201d\n\n\u201cFair sisters!\u201d quoth Rasalu gayly, \u201cgive me my task and I will perform\nit.\u201d\n\nSo the sixty-nine maidens mixed a hundred-weight of millet seed with a\nhundred-weight of sand, and giving it to Rasalu, bade him separate the\nseed from the sand.\n\nThen he bethought him of the cricket, and drawing the feeler from his\npocket, thrust it into the fire. And immediately there was a whirring\nnoise in the air, and a great flight of crickets alighted beside him,\nand amongst them the cricket whose life he had saved.\n\nThen Rasalu said, \u201cSeparate the millet seed from the sand.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d quoth the cricket. \u201cHad I known how small a job you\nwanted me to do, I would not have assembled so many of my brethren.\u201d\n\nWith that the flight of crickets set to work, and in one night they\nseparated the seed from the sand.\n\nNow when the sixty-nine fair maidens, daughters of the king, saw that\nRasalu had performed his task, they set him another, bidding him swing\nthem all, one by one, in their swings, until they were tired.\n\nWhereupon he laughed, saying, \u201cThere are seventy of you, counting my\nlittle bride yonder, and I am not going to spend my life swinging girls!\nWhy, by the time I have given each of you a swing, the first will be\nwanting another! No! If you want a swing, get in, all seventy of you,\nand then I\u2019ll see what can be done.\u201d\n\nSo the seventy maidens climbed into one swing, and Rajah Rasalu,\nstanding in his shining armor, fastened the ropes to his mighty bow, and\ndrew it up to its fullest bent. Then he let go, and like an arrow the\nswing shot into the air, with its burden of seventy fair maidens, merry\nand careless, full of smiles and laughter.\n\nBut as it swung back again, Rasalu, standing there in his shining armor,\ndrew his sharp sword and severed the ropes. Then the seventy fair\nmaidens fell to the ground headlong; and some were bruised and some were\nbroken, but the only one who escaped unhurt was the maiden who loved\nRasalu, for she fell out last, on the top of the others, and so came to\nno harm.\n\nAfter this, Rasalu strode on fifteen paces, till he came to the seventy\ndrums, that everyone who came to play chaupur with the king had to beat\nin turn; and he beat them so loudly that he broke them all. Then he came\nto the seventy gongs, all in a row, and he hammered them so hard that\nthey cracked to pieces.\n\nSeeing this, the youngest Princess, who was the only one who could run,\nfled to her father, the king, in a great fright, saying:\n\n \u201cA mighty Prince, Sarkap! making havoc rides along,\n He swung us, seventy maidens fair, and threw us out headlong;\n He broke the drums you placed there, and the gongs, too, in his pride,\n Sure, he will kill thee, father mine, and take me for his bride!\u201d\n\nBut King Sarkap replied scornfully:\n\n \u201cSilly maiden, thy words make a lot\n Of a very small matter;\n For fear of my valor, I wot,\n His armor will clatter.\n As soon as I\u2019ve eaten my bread\n I\u2019ll go forth and cut off his head!\u201d\n\nNotwithstanding these brave and boastful words he was in reality very\nmuch afraid, having heard of Rasalu\u2019s renown. And learning that he was\nstopping at the house of an old woman in the city, till the hour of\nplaying chaupur arrived, Sarkap sent slaves to him with trays of\nsweetmeats and fruit, as to an honored guest. But the food was poisoned.\n\nNow, when the slaves brought the trays to Rajah Rasalu, he rose up\nhaughtily, saying: \u201cGo tell your master I have naught to do with him in\nfriendship. I am his sworn enemy, and I eat not of his salt!\u201d\n\nSo saying, he threw the sweetmeats to Rajah Sarkap\u2019s dog, which had\nfollowed the slaves, and lo! the dog died.\n\nThen Rasalu was very wroth, and said bitterly, \u201cGo back to Sarkap,\nslaves. And tell him that Rasalu deems it no act of bravery to kill even\nan enemy by treachery.\u201d\n\nNow, when evening came, Rajah Rasalu went forth to play chaupur with\nKing Sarkap, and as he passed some potters\u2019 kilns he saw a cat wandering\nabout restlessly; so he asked what ailed her, that she never stood\nstill, and she replied: \u201cMy kittens are in an unbaked pot in the kiln\nyonder. It has just been set alight, and my children will be baked\nalive; therefore I cannot rest!\u201d\n\nHer words moved the heart of Rajah Rasalu, and going to the potter, he\nasked him to sell the kiln as it was; but the potter replied that he\ncould not settle a fair price till the pots were burned, as he could not\ntell how many would come out whole. Nevertheless, after some bargaining,\nhe consented at last to sell the kiln, and Rasalu, having searched all\nthe pots, restored the kittens to their mother, and she in gratitude for\nhis mercy, gave him one of them, saying, \u201cPut it in your pocket, for it\nwill help you when you are in difficulties.\u201d So Rajah Rasalu put the\nkitten in his pocket, and went to play chaupur with the king.\n\nNow, before they sat down to play, Rajah Sarkap fixed his stakes\u2014on the\nfirst game, his kingdom; on the second, the wealth of the whole world,\nand on the third, his own head. So, likewise, Rajah Rasalu fixed his\nstakes\u2014on the first game, his arms; on the second, his horse, and on the\nthird, his own head.\n\nThen they began to play, and it fell to Rasalu\u2019s lot to make the first\nmove. Now he, forgetful of the dead man\u2019s warning, played with the dice\ngiven him by Rajah Sarkap, besides which, Sarkap let loose his famous\nrat, Dhol Rajah, and it ran about the board, upsetting the chaupur\npieces on the sly, so that Rasalu lost the first game, and gave up his\nshining armor.\n\nThen the second game began, and once more Dhol Rajah, the rat, upset the\npieces; and Rasalu, losing the game, gave up his faithful steed. Then\nBhanur, the Arab steed, who stood by, found voice, and cried to his\nmaster:\n\n \u201cSea-born am I, bought with much gold;\n Dear Prince! Trust me now as of old.\n I\u2019ll carry you far from these wiles\u2014\n My flight, all unspurr\u2019d, will be swift as a bird,\n For thousands and thousands of miles!\n Or if needs you must stay; ere the next game you play\n Place your hand in your pocket, I pray!\u201d\n\nHearing this, Rajah Sarkap frowned, and bade his slaves remove Bhanur,\nthe Arab steed, since he gave his master advice in the game. Now, when\nthe slaves came to lead the faithful steed away, Rasalu could not\nrefrain from tears, thinking over the long years during which Bhanur,\nthe Arab steed, had been his companion. But the horse cried out again:\n\n \u201cWeep not, dear Prince! I shall not eat my bread\n Of stranger hands, nor to strange stall be led.\n Take thy right hand, and place it as I said.\u201d\n\nThese words roused some recollection in Rasalu\u2019s mind, and when, just at\nthis moment, the kitten in his pocket began to struggle, he remembered\nall about the warning, and the dice made from dead men\u2019s bones. Then his\nheart rose up once more, and he called boldly to Rajah Sarkap: \u201cLeave my\nhorse and arms here for the present. Time enough to take them away when\nyou have won my head!\u201d\n\nNow, Rajah Sarkap, seeing Rasalu\u2019s confident bearing, began to be\nafraid, and ordered all the women of his palace to come forth in their\ngayest attire and stand before Rasalu, so as to distract his attention\nfrom the game. But he never even looked at them, and drawing the dice\nfrom his pocket, said to Sarkap, \u201cWe have played with your dice all this\ntime. Now we will play with mine.\u201d\n\nThen the kitten went and sat at the window through which the rat Dhol\nRajah used to come, and the game began.\n\nAfter awhile, Sarkap, seeing Rajah Rasalu was winning, called to his\nrat, but when Dhol Rajah saw the kitten he was afraid, and would not go\nfarther. So Rasalu won, and took back his arms. Next he played for his\nhorse, and once more Rajah Sarkap called for his rat; but Dhol Rajah,\nseeing the kitten keeping watch, was afraid. So Rasalu won the second\nstake, and took back Bhanur, the Arab steed.\n\nThen Sarkap brought all his skill to bear on the third and last game,\nsaying:\n\n \u201cOh, molded pieces! Favor me to-day!\n Forsooth this is a man with whom I play.\n No paltry risk\u2014but life and death at stake;\n As Sarkap does, so do, for Sarkap\u2019s sake!\u201d\n\nBut Rasalu answered back:\n\n \u201cOh, molded pieces! Favor me to-day!\n Forsooth it is a man with whom I play.\n No paltry risk\u2014but life and death at stake;\n As Heaven does, so do, for Heaven\u2019s sake!\u201d\n\nSo they began to play, whilst the women stood round in a circle, and the\nkitten watched Dhol Rajah, from the window. Then Sarkap lost, first his\nkingdom, then the wealth of the whole world, and lastly his head.\n\nJust then, a servant came in to announce the birth of a daughter to\nRajah Sarkap, and he, overcome by misfortunes, said, \u201cKill her at once!\nFor she has been born in an evil moment, and has brought her father ill\nluck!\u201d\n\nBut Rasalu rose up in his shining armor, tender-hearted and strong,\nsaying: \u201cNot so, O King! She has done no evil. Give me this child to\nwife; and if you will vow, by all you hold sacred, never again to play\nchaupur for another\u2019s head, I will spare yours now!\u201d\n\nThen Sarkap vowed a solemn vow never to play for another\u2019s head; and\nafter that he took a fresh mango branch, and the newborn babe, and\nplacing them on a golden dish, gave them to Rasalu.\n\nNow, as he left the palace, carrying with him the newborn babe and the\nmango branch, he met a band of prisoners, and they called out to him:\n\n \u201cA royal hawk art thou, O King, the rest\n But timid wild-fowl. Grant us our request,\n Unloose these chains, and live forever blest!\u201d\n\nAnd Rajah Rasalu harkened to them, and bade King Sarkap set them at\nliberty.\n\nThen he went to the Murti Hills, and placed the newborn babe, Kokilan,\nin an underground palace, and planted the mango branch at the door,\nsaying, \u201cIn twelve years the mango tree will blossom; then will I return\nand marry Kokilan.\u201d\n\nAnd after twelve years, the mango tree began to flower, and Raja Rasalu\nmarried the Princess Kokilan, who he won from Sarkap when he played\nchaupur with the king.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FOUR FRIENDS\n\n\nThree great friends, a tortoise, a weasel and a crow, were talking\ntogether one fine day when they were disturbed by the noise of an animal\nwho was coming their way in great haste. They soon saw that it was a\ngoat, who was evidently being pursued, so, as a matter of safety, each\nof them sought a place of refuge.\n\nThe goat stopped quite suddenly by the side of a pool, near which the\nthree friends had been conversing together, but he seemed to be afraid\nto drink. The crow, who had flown to the upper branches of a high tree,\nsaw that the man who had been hunting the goat had given up the chase,\nso he called to the tortoise, whose haven was the pool, that it was\nquite safe now for him to come out.\n\nThe tortoise at once came to the surface, and seeing the goat standing\nthere, evidently thirsty, but trembling and afraid to drink, spoke\nkindly to him, assuring him that there was no danger.\n\nThen the goat drank, and the tortoise asked him why he was so\ndistressed. The goat replied that he had reason to be, for he had barely\nescaped death at the hands of a hunter.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the tortoise, \u201cyou are quite safe now. There are three of\nus here, a weasel, a crow, and myself, who are great friends. How would\nyou like to join our company? It is our practice to stand by one another\nin all things, and to make our lives as pleasant as possible.\u201d\n\nBy this time the weasel and the crow had joined them and they seconded\nthe invitation, so the goat accepted, and each of them swore to be a\ntrue friend to the others.\n\nFor a long time they lived pleasantly together; but one day the goat\nfailed to be at their meeting-place, and this caused them great anxiety.\nThey waited for some time, but as their friend didn\u2019t appear, they\ndecided to search for him, fearing that he was in trouble. So the crow\nflew up into the air, and looking round about saw the poor goat striving\nto release himself from the meshes of a hunter\u2019s net.\n\nHe at once reported his discovery to his friends, and their sorrow upon\nreceiving the news of the goat\u2019s capture was great. It was their duty\nnow to see what could be done to help their comrade, and at length they\nhit upon a plan to rescue him.\n\nThe weasel possessed very sharp teeth, and he was to gnaw the meshes of\nthe net in which the goat was confined, and so set him at liberty. As\nthis would take some time, it was necessary that the weasel get to work\nas soon as possible, because the hunter might return to his net at any\nminute.\n\nThe crow and the weasel hastened to the spot, and such good work did the\nlatter do with his teeth, that by the time the tortoise arrived, the\ngoat was at liberty.\n\nIt was foolish for the tortoise to have come so far from home,\nespecially to a place so dangerous as this, because it surely would not\nbe very long before the hunter returned, and his presence there caused\nthe goat to say: \u201cMy dear friend, I am sorry to have been the cause of\nbringing you here, for if the hunter should come, how could you escape?\nThe rest of us could easily look after ourselves, for the crow would fly\ninto the air, the weasel could hide in any hole, and I should seek\nsafety in flight; but you, who move so slowly, would be at the mercy of\nthe hunter.\u201d\n\nAt this moment, surely enough, the hunter appeared, and it happened as\nthe goat had said. The latter ran swiftly away; the crow flew into the\nair, and the weasel disappeared into a hole. Only the tortoise was left,\nunable to escape.\n\nThe hunter was greatly vexed when he saw the broken net, and he wondered\nwho could have helped the goat to get away. He looked around, and of\ncourse saw the tortoise.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d he said, \u201chere is a tortoise, and that is better than nothing,\nand it will make a very good meal.\u201d So he threw the tortoise into a sack\nwhich he carried, threw it over his shoulder, and started off home.\n\nWhen he had gone the three friends returned, and guessed at once what\nhad happened to the tortoise. They bitterly bemoaned his fate,\nespecially the goat, who blamed himself as being the cause of this\ntrouble.\n\nThen the crow said: \u201cTears and lamentations will not help our poor\nfriend, so let us devise means of saving him. It is our part to show\nwhat we can do in a case of such need.\u201d\n\nThey thought hard, and finally decided upon a plan. The goat was to let\nhimself be seen by the hunter, and to make out that he was lame. The\nhunter would then be sure of being able to catch him, and so lay down\nhis sack, and run after him. As soon as he was far enough away from the\nsack (and it was the part of the goat to lead him as far away as\npossible) the weasel would again put his sharp teeth into use, and gnaw\nthrough the cord which would be tied around the mouth of the sack, and\nso free their friend.\n\nSo the goat ran with speed until he was in front of the hunter, and then\nhe appeared to be lame and weary. As soon as the hunter saw him in such\nfeeble condition he was sure he could catch him without difficulty, and\nso, throwing down his sack, he ran after the goat, who artfully drew him\nfarther and farther away, until they were both out of sight.\n\nThen came the weasel, whose strong teeth soon set the tortoise at\nliberty, and together they hid themselves in a bush.\n\nThe goat had led the hunter a merry chase, which the latter was finally\nforced to give up, and then return to recover his sack. He was\ncongratulating himself on having at least captured something that\ncouldn\u2019t run away from him, when he lifted the sack from the ground, and\nfound that now he had lost the tortoise.\n\nThis story shows the strength of true friendship, and that when the\ndesire to help is there, a way to do so will be found.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE ADVENTURES OF JUAN\n\n\nJuan was always getting into trouble. He was a lazy boy, and more than\nthat, he did not have good sense. When he tried to do things, he made\nsuch dreadful mistakes that he might better not have tried.\n\nHis family grew very impatient with him, scolding and beating him\nwhenever he did anything wrong. One day his mother, who was almost\ndiscouraged with him, gave him a bolo[4] and sent him to the forest, for\nshe thought he could at least cut firewood. Juan walked leisurely along,\ncontemplating some means of escape. At last he came to a tree that\nseemed easy to cut, and then he drew his long knife and prepared to\nwork.\n\n\n[Footnote 4: A long knife.]\n\n\nNow it happened that this was a magic tree, and it said to Juan:\n\n\u201cIf you do not cut me I will give you a goat that shakes silver from its\nwhiskers.\u201d\n\nThis pleased Juan wonderfully, both because he was curious to see the\ngoat, and because he would not have to chop the wood. He agreed at once\nto spare the tree, whereupon the bark separated and the goat stepped\nout. Juan commanded it to shake its whiskers, and when the money began\nto drop he was so delighted that he took the animal and started home to\nshow his treasure to his mother.\n\nOn the way he met a friend who was more cunning than Juan, and when he\nheard of the boy\u2019s rich goat he decided to rob him. Knowing Juan\u2019s\nfondness for tuba,[5] he persuaded him to drink. This sent him to sleep,\nand then the friend substituted another goat for the magic one. As soon\nas he awoke, Juan hastened home with the goat and told his people of the\nwonderful tree, but when he commanded the animal to shake its whiskers,\nno money fell out. The family, believing it to be another of Juan\u2019s\ntricks, beat and scolded the poor boy.\n\n\n[Footnote 5: Fermented juice of the cocoanut.]\n\n\nHe went back to the tree and threatened to cut it down for lying to him,\nbut the tree said:\n\n\u201cNo, do not cut me down and I will give you a net which you may cast on\ndry ground, or even in the tree tops, and it will return full of fish.\u201d\n\nSo Juan spared the tree and started home with his precious net, but on\nthe way he met the same friend who again persuaded him to drink tuba.\nWhile he was asleep, the friend replaced the magic net with a common\none, so that when Juan reached home and tried to show his power, he was\nagain the subject of ridicule.\n\nOnce more Juan went to his tree, this time determined to cut it down.\nBut the offer of a magic pot, always full of rice and spoons which\nprovided whatever he wished to eat with his rice, dissuaded him, and he\nstarted home happier than ever. Before reaching home, however, he met\nwith the same fate as before, and his folks, who were becoming tired of\nhis pranks, beat him harder than ever.\n\nThoroughly angered, Juan sought the tree a fourth time and was on the\npoint of cutting it down when once more it arrested his attention. After\nsome discussion, he consented to accept a stick to which he had only to\nsay, \u201cBoombye, Boomba,\u201d and it would beat and kill anything he wished.\n\nWhen he met his friend on this trip, he was asked what he had, and he\nreplied:\n\n\u201cOh, it is only a stick, but if I say, \u2018Boombye, Boomba,\u2019 it will beat\nyou to death.\u201d\n\nAt the sound of the magic words the stick leaped from his hands and\nbegan beating his friend until he cried:\n\n\u201cOh, stop it and I will give back everything that I stole from you.\u201d\nJuan ordered the stick to stop, and then he compelled the man to lead\nthe goat and to carry the net and the jar and spoons to his home.\n\nThere Juan commanded the goat, and it shook its whiskers until his\nmother and brothers had all the silver they could carry. Then they ate\nfrom the magic jar and spoons until they were filled. And this time Juan\nwas not scolded. After they had finished Juan said:\n\n\u201cYou have beaten me and scolded me all my life, and now you are glad to\naccept my good things. I am going to show you something else: \u2018Boombye,\nBoomba.\u2019\u201d Immediately the stick leaped out and beat them all until they\nbegged for mercy and promised that Juan should ever after be head of the\nhouse.\n\nFrom that time Juan was rich and powerful, but he never went anywhere\nwithout his stick. One night, when some thieves came to his house, he\nwould have been robbed and killed had it not been for the magic words\n\u201cBoombye, Boomba,\u201d which caused the death of all the robbers.\n\nSome time after this he married a beautiful princess, and because of the\nkindness of the magic tree they always lived happily.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE FEAST OF THE LANTERNS\n\n\nWang Chih was only a poor man, but he had a wife and children to love,\nand they made him so happy that he would not have changed places with\nthe Emperor himself.\n\nHe worked in the fields all day, and at night his wife always had a bowl\nof rice ready for his supper. And sometimes, for a treat, she made him\nsome bean soup, or gave him a little dish of fried pork.\n\nBut they could not afford pork very often; he generally had to be\ncontent with rice.\n\nOne morning, as he was setting off to his work, his wife sent Han Chung,\nhis son, running after him to ask him to bring home some firewood.\n\n\u201cI shall have to go up into the mountain for it at noon,\u201d he said. \u201cGo\nand bring me my axe, Han Chung.\u201d\n\nHan Chung ran for his father\u2019s axe, and Ho-Seen-Ko, his little sister,\ncame out of the cottage with him.\n\n\u201cRemember, it is the Feast of Lanterns to-night, father,\u201d she said.\n\u201cDon\u2019t fall asleep upon the mountain; we want you to come back and light\nthem for us.\u201d\n\nShe had a lantern in the shape of a fish, painted red and black and\nyellow, and Han Chung had got a big round one, all bright crimson, to\ncarry in the procession; and, besides that, there were two large\nlanterns to be hung outside the cottage door as soon as it grew dark.\n\nWang Chih was not likely to forget the Feast of Lanterns, for the\nchildren had talked of nothing else for a month, and he promised to come\nhome as early as he could.\n\nAt noontide, when his fellow-laborers gave up working, and sat down to\nrest and eat, Wang Chih took his axe and went up the mountain slope to\nfind a small tree he might cut down for fuel.\n\nHe walked a long way, and at last saw one growing at the mouth of a\ncave.\n\n\u201cThis will be just the thing,\u201d he said to himself. But, before striking\nthe first blow, he peeped into the cave to see if it were empty.\n\nTo his surprise, two old men, with long, white beards, were sitting\ninside playing chess, as quietly as mice, with their eyes fixed on the\nchessboard.\n\nWang Chih knew something of chess, and he stepped in and watched them\nfor a few minutes.\n\n\u201cAs soon as they look up I can ask them if I may chop down a tree,\u201d he\nsaid to himself. But they did not look up, and by and by Wang Chih got\nso interested in the game that he put down his axe, and sat on the floor\nto watch it better.\n\nThe two old men sat cross-legged on the ground, and the chessboard\nrested on a slab, like a stone table, between them.\n\nOn one corner of the slab lay a heap of small brown objects which Wang\nChih took at first to be date stones; but after a time the chess-players\nate one each, and put one in Wang Chih\u2019s mouth, and he found it was not\na date stone at all.\n\nIt was a delicious kind of sweetmeat, the like of which he had never\ntasted before; and the strangest thing about it was that it took his\nhunger and thirst away.\n\nHe had been both hungry and thirsty when he came into the cave, as he\nhad not waited to have his mid-day meal with the other field-workers;\nbut now he felt quite comforted and refreshed.\n\nHe sat there some time longer, and noticed that as the old men frowned\nover the chessboard, their beards grew longer and longer, until they\nswept the floor of the cave, and even found their way out of the door.\n\n\u201cI hope my beard will never grow as quickly,\u201d said Wang Chih, as he rose\nand took up his axe again.\n\nThen one of the old men spoke, for the first time. \u201cOur beards have not\ngrown quickly, young man. How long is it since you came here?\u201d\n\n\u201cAbout half an hour, I dare say,\u201d replied Wang Chih. But as he spoke,\nthe axe crumbled to dust beneath his fingers, and the second\nchess-player laughed, and pointed to the little brown sweetmeats on the\ntable.\n\n\u201cHalf an hour, or half a century\u2014aye, half a thousand years are all\nalike to him who tastes of these. Go down into your village and see what\nhas happened since you left it.\u201d\n\nSo Wang Chih went down as quickly as he could from the mountain, and\nfound the fields where he had worked covered with houses, and a busy\ntown where his own little village had been. In vain he looked for his\nhouse, his wife, and his children.\n\nThere were strange faces everywhere; and although when evening came the\nFeast of Lanterns was being held once more, there was no Ho-Seen-Ko\ncarrying her red and yellow fish, or Han Chung with his flaming red\nball.\n\nAt last he found a woman, a very, very old woman, who told him that when\nshe was a tiny girl she remembered her grand-mother saying how, when\n_she_ was a tiny girl, a poor young man had been spirited away by the\nGenii of the mountains on the day of the Feast of Lanterns, leaving his\nwife and little children with only a few handfuls of rice in the house.\n\n\u201cMoreover, if you wait while the procession passes, you will see two\nchildren dressed to represent Han Chung and Ho-Seen-Ko, and their mother\ncarrying the empty rice-bowl between them; for this is done every year\nto remind people to take care of the widow and fatherless,\u201d she said. So\nWang Chih waited in the street; and in a little while the procession\ncame to an end, and the last three figures in it were a boy and girl,\ndressed like his own two children, walking on either side of a young\nwoman carrying a rice-bowl. But she was not like his wife in anything\nbut her dress, and the children were not at all like Han Chung and\nHo-Seen-Ko; and poor Wang Chih\u2019s heart was very heavy as he walked out\nof the town.\n\nHe slept out on the mountain, and early in the morning found his way\nback to the cave where the two old men were playing chess.\n\nAt first they said they could do nothing for him and told him to go away\nand not disturb them; but Wang Chih would not go, and they found the\nonly way to get rid of him was to give him some really good advice.\n\n\u201cYou must go to the White Hare of the Moon, and ask him for a bottle of\nthe elixir of life. If you drink that you will live forever,\u201d said one\nof them.\n\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t want to live forever,\u201d objected Wang Chih. \u201cI wish to go\nback and live in the days when my wife and children were here.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, well! For that you must mix the elixir of life with some water out\nof the sky-dragon\u2019s mouth.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where is the sky-dragon to be found?\u201d inquired Wang Chih.\n\n\u201cIn the sky, of course. You really ask very stupid questions. He lives\nin a cloud-cave. And when he comes out of it he breathes fire, and\nsometimes water. If he is breathing fire you will be burned up, but if\nit is only water, you will easily be able to catch some in a little\nbottle. What else do you want?\u201d\n\nFor Wang Chih still lingered at the mouth of the cave.\n\n\u201cI want a pair of wings to fly with, and a bottle to catch the water\nin,\u201d he replied boldly.\n\nSo they gave him a little bottle and before he had time to say \u201cThank\nyou!\u201d a white crane came sailing past and lighted on the ground close to\nthe cave.\n\n\u201cThe crane will take you wherever you like,\u201d said the old men. \u201cGo now,\nand leave us in peace.\u201d\n\nSo Wang Chih sat on the white crane\u2019s back, and was taken up and up\nthrough the sky to the cloud-cave where the sky-dragon lived. And the\ndragon had the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a\nrabbit, the ears of a cow, and the claws of a hawk.\n\nBesides this, he had whiskers and a beard, and in his beard was a bright\npearl.\n\nAll these things show that he was a real, genuine dragon, and if you\never meet a dragon who is not exactly like this, you will know he is\nonly a make-believe one.\n\nWang Chih felt rather frightened when he perceived the cave in the\ndistance, and if it had not been for the thought of seeing his wife\nagain, and his little boy and girl, he would have been glad to turn\nback.\n\nWhile he was far away the cloud-cave looked like a dark hole in the\nmidst of a soft woolly mass, such as one sees in the sky on an April\nday; but as he came nearer he found the cloud was as hard as a rock, and\ncovered with a kind of dry, white grass.\n\nWhen he got there, he sat down on a tuft of grass near the cave, and\nconsidered what he should do next.\n\nThe first thing was, of course, to bring the dragon out, and the next to\nmake him breathe water instead of fire.\n\n\u201cI have it!\u201d cried Wang Chih at last; and he nodded his head so many\ntimes that the little white crane expected to see it fall off.\n\nHe struck a light, and set the grass on fire, and it was so dry that the\nflames spread all around the entrance to the cave, and made such a smoke\nand crackling that the sky-dragon put his head out to see what was the\nmatter.\n\n\u201cHo! Ho!\u201d cried the dragon, when he saw what Wang Chih had done, \u201cI can\nsoon put this to rights.\u201d And he breathed once, and the water came out\nof his nose and mouth in three streams.\n\nBut this was not enough to put the fire out. Then he breathed twice, and\nthe water came out in three mighty rivers, and Wang Chih, who had taken\ncare to fill his bottle when the first stream began to flow, sailed away\non the white crane\u2019s back as fast as he could go, to escape being\ndrowned.\n\nThe rivers poured over the cloud rock, until there was not a spark left\nalight, and rushed down through the sky into the sea below.\n\nFortunately, the sea lay right underneath the dragon\u2019s cave, or he would\nhave done some nice mischief. As it was, the people on the coast looked\nout across the water toward Japan, and saw three inky-black clouds\nstretching from the sky into the sea.\n\n\u201cMy word! There is a fine rain-storm out at sea!\u201d they said to each\nother.\n\nBut, of course, it was nothing of the kind; it was only the sky-dragon\nputting out the fire Wang Chih had kindled.\n\nMeanwhile, Wang Chih was on his way to the moon, and when he got there\nhe went straight to the hut where the Hare of the Moon lived, and\nknocked at the door.\n\nThe Hare was busy pounding the drugs which make up the elixir of life;\nbut he left his work, opened the door, and invited Wang Chih to come in.\n\nHe was not ugly, like the dragon; his fur was quite white and soft and\nglossy, and he had lovely, gentle brown eyes.\n\nThe Hare of the Moon lives a thousand years, as you know, and when he is\nfive hundred years old he changes his color from brown to white, and\nbecomes, if possible, better tempered and nicer than he was before.\n\nAs soon as he heard what Wang Chih wanted, he opened two windows at the\nback of the hut, and told him to look through each of them in turn.\n\n\u201cTell me what you see,\u201d said the Hare, going back to the table where he\nwas pounding the drugs.\n\n\u201cI can see a great many houses and people,\u201d said Wang Chih, \u201cand\nstreets\u2014why, this is the town I was in yesterday, the one which has\ntaken the place of my old village.\u201d\n\nWang Chih stared, and grew more and more puzzled. Here he was up in the\nmoon, and yet he could have thrown a stone into the busy street of the\nChinese town below his window.\n\n\u201cHow does it come here,\u201d he stammered, at last.\n\n\u201cOh, that is my secret,\u201d replied the wise old Hare. \u201cI know how to do a\ngreat many things which would surprise you. But the question is, do you\nwant to go back there?\u201d\n\nWang Chih shook his head.\n\n\u201cThen close the window. It is the window of the Present. And look\nthrough the other, which is the window of the Past.\u201d\n\nWang Chih obeyed, and through this window he saw his own dear little\nvillage, and his wife, and Han Chung and Ho-Seen-Ko jumping about her as\nshe hung up the colored lanterns outside the door.\n\n\u201cFather won\u2019t be in time to light them for us, after all,\u201d Han Chung was\nsaying.\n\nWang Chih turned, and looked eagerly at the White Hare.\n\n\u201cLet me go to them,\u201d he said. \u201cI have got a bottle of water from the\nsky-dragon\u2019s mouth, and\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s all right,\u201d said the White Hare. \u201cGive it to me.\u201d\n\nHe opened the bottle, and mixed the contents carefully with a few drops\nof the elixir of life, which was clear as crystal, and of which each\ndrop shone like a diamond as he poured it in.\n\n\u201cNow, drink this,\u201d he said to Wang Chih, \u201cand it will give you the power\nof living once more in the past, as you desire.\u201d\n\nWang Chih held out his hand, and drank every drop.\n\nThe moment he had done so the window grew larger, and he saw some steps\nleading from it down into the village street.\n\nThanking the Hare, he rushed through it, and ran toward his own house,\narriving in time to take from his wife\u2019s hand the taper with which she\nwas about to light the red and yellow lanterns which swung over the\ndoor.\n\n\u201cWhat has kept you so long, father? Where have you been?\u201d asked Han\nChung, while little Ho-Seen-Ko wondered why he kissed and embraced them\nall so eagerly.\n\nBut Wang Chih did not tell them his adventures just then; only when\ndarkness fell, and the Feast of Lanterns began, he took his part in it\nwith a merry heart.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n LUMAWIG ON EARTH\n\n\nOne day when Lumawig, the Great Spirit, looked down from his place in\nthe sky, he saw two sisters gathering beans, and he decided to visit\nthem. When he arrived at the place he asked them what they were doing.\n\nThe younger, whose name was Fukan, answered:\n\n\u201cWe are gathering beans, but it takes a long time to get enough, for my\nsister wants to go bathing all the time.\u201d\n\nThen Lumawig said to the older sister:\n\n\u201cHand me a single pod of the beans.\u201d\n\nAnd when she had given it to him, he shelled it into the basket and\nimmediately the basket was full. The younger sister laughed at this, and\nLumawig said to her:\n\n\u201cGive me another pod and another basket.\u201d\n\nShe did so, and when he had shelled the pod, that basket was full also.\nThen he said to the younger sister:\n\n\u201cGo home and get three more baskets.\u201d\n\nShe went home, but when she asked for three more baskets her mother said\nthat the beans were few and she could not need so many. Then Fukan told\nher of the young man who could fill a basket from one pod of beans, and\nthe father, who heard her story, said:\n\n\u201cGo, bring the young man here, for I think he must be a god.\u201d\n\nSo Fukan took the three baskets back to Lumawig, and when he had filled\nthem as he did the other two, he helped the girls carry them to the\nhouse. As they reached their home, he stopped outside to cool himself,\nbut the father called to him, and he went into the house and asked for\nsome water. The father brought him a cocoanut shell full, and before\ndrinking Lumawig looked at it and said:\n\n\u201cIf I stay here with you, I shall become very strong.\u201d\n\nThe next morning Lumawig asked to see their chickens, and when they\nopened the chicken-coop out came a hen and many little chicks.\n\n\u201cAre these all of your chickens?\u201d asked Lumawig; and the father assured\nhim that they were all. He then bade them bring rice meal that he might\nfeed them, and as the chickens ate they all grew rapidly till they were\ncocks and hens.\n\nNext Lumawig asked how many pigs they had, and the father replied that\nthey had one with some little ones. Then Lumawig bade them fill a pail\nwith sweet potato leaves, and he fed the pigs. And as they ate they also\ngrew to full size.\n\nThe father was so pleased with all these things that he offered his\nelder daughter to Lumawig for a wife. But the Great Spirit said he\npreferred to marry the younger, and so it was arranged. Now when his\nbrother-in-law learned that Lumawig desired a feast at his wedding, he\nwas very angry and said:\n\n\u201cWhere would you get food for your wedding feast? There is no rice, nor\nbeef, nor pork, nor chicken.\u201d\n\nBut Lumawig only answered, \u201cI shall provide our wedding feast.\u201d\n\nIn the morning they all set out for Lanao, for Lumawig did not care to\nstay any longer in the house with his brother-in-law. As soon as they\narrived he sent out for some tree trunks, but the trees that the people\nbrought in were so small that Lumawig himself went to the forest and cut\ntwo large pine trees which he hurled to Lanao.\n\nWhen the people had built a fire of the trees he commanded them to bring\nten kettles filled with water. Soon the water was boiling hot and the\nbrother-in-law laughed and said:\n\n\u201cWhere is your rice? You have the boiling water, but you do not seem to\nthink of the rice.\u201d\n\nIn answer to this Lumawig took a small basket of rice and passed it over\nfive kettles and they were full. Then he called, \u201cYish-tjau,\u201d and some\ndeer came running out of the forest. These were not what he wanted,\nhowever, so he called again and some pigs came. He told the people that\nthey were each to catch one, and for his brother-in-law he selected the\nlargest and best.\n\nThey all set out in pursuit of the pigs and the others quickly caught\ntheirs, but though the brother-in-law chased his until he was very tired\nand hot he could not catch it. Lumawig laughed at him and said:\n\n\u201cYou chase that pig until he is thin and still you cannot catch it,\nthough all the others have theirs.\u201d\n\nThereupon he grasped the hind legs of the pig and lifted it. All the\npeople laughed and the brother-in-law said:\n\n\u201cOf course you can catch it, because I chased it until it was tired.\u201d\n\nLumawig then handed it to him, and said: \u201cHere, you carry it.\u201d But no\nsooner had the brother-in-law put it over his shoulder than it cut loose\nand ran away.\n\n\u201cWhy did you let it go?\u201d asked Lumawig. \u201cDo you care nothing for it,\neven after I caught it for you? Catch it again and bring it here.\u201d\n\nSo the brother-in-law started out again, and he chased it up stream and\ndown, but he could not catch it. Finally Lumawig reached down and picked\nup the pig and carried it to the place where the others were cooking.\n\nAfter they had all eaten and drunk and made their offerings to the\nspirits, Lumawig said:\n\n\u201cCome, let us go to the mountain to consult the omen concerning the\nnorthern tribes.\u201d\n\nSo they consulted the omen, but it was not favorable, and they were\nstarting home when the brother-in-law asked Lumawig to create some\nwater, as the people were hot and thirsty.\n\n\u201cWhy do you not create water, Lumawig?\u201d he repeated, as Lumawig paid no\nattention to him. \u201cYou care nothing that the people are thirsty and in\nneed of drink.\u201d\n\nThen they quarreled and were very angry and Lumawig said to the people,\n\u201cLet us sit down and rest.\u201d\n\nWhile they rested, Lumawig struck the rock with his spear, and water\ncame out. The brother-in-law jumped up to get a drink first, but Lumawig\nheld him back, and said he must be the last to drink. So they all drank,\nand when they had finished the brother-in-law stepped up, but Lumawig\ngave him a push which sent him into the rock, and water came from his\nbody.\n\n\u201cYou must stay there,\u201d said Lumawig, \u201cbecause you have troubled me a\ngreat deal.\u201d And they went home, leaving him in the rock.\n\nSome time after this Lumawig decided to go back to the sky to live, but\nbefore he went he took care that his wife should have a home. He made a\ncoffin of wood and placed her in it with a dog at her feet and a cock at\nher head. And as he set it floating on the water, he told it not to stop\nuntil it reached Tinglayen. Then, if the foot struck first, the dog\nshould bark; and if the head end was the first to strike, the cock\nshould crow. So it floated away, on and on, until it came to Tinglayen.\n\nNow a widower was sharpening his axe on the bank of the river, and when\nhe saw the coffin stop, he went to fish it out of the water. On the\nshore he started to open it, but Fukan cried out, \u201cDo not drive a wedge,\nfor I am here.\u201d So the widower opened it carefully and took Fukan up to\nthe town, and then, as he had no wife of his own, he married her.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n IN UNION IS STRENGTH\n\n\nA lion was wandering over the desert, seeking water. It was very hot,\nand the sun had dried so many pools that it was a long time before he\nfound a well where he could assuage his thirst. But this he did at last,\nalthough the water in it was not at all fresh. However, he was too\nthirsty to care much whether it was stale or not.\n\nHe reached down to drink, and then his ears were assailed with the\nbuzzing of mosquitoes, who said to him:\n\n\u201cLion, leave us in peace. We did not ask you to come here and drink up\nour home, and you are not welcome.\u201d\n\nThis surprised the Lion, who was not used to being spoken to in such an\nimpertinent manner. He roared and said: \u201cDo you know whom you are\nspeaking to? I am the Lion, the King of all beasts. What affair of yours\nis it what I do? Leave me at once, or I will kill you all.\u201d\n\nBut the Mosquitoes said: \u201cYou are one, and we are many. For generations\nhas this old well been our home, and it is not for you to say that we\nmust go. Take our advice and seek another well, or trouble will visit\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou insignificant little creatures, how dare you address me in such\nmanner,\u201d roared the Lion. \u201cWhy, in one minute I can swallow you all and\nyou will make only the very smallest part of a mouthful for me. Know\nthat when I speak all beasts of the forest and the wilderness bow before\nme, and tremble. Now fly away, all of you, for I am going to drink.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe know how great is your renown,\u201d said the Mosquitoes, \u201cbut we do not\nfear you. If you wish to fight us we are very willing to have it so, but\nwe will not allow you to destroy our home.\u201d\n\nThe Lion was now enraged more than he had ever been before. Such\nlanguage to him, the King, meant that destruction must be meted out to\nthose who dared to use it. He roared again, and made ready to kill the\nfoolish Mosquitoes.\n\nBut he found that he had undertaken no easy task. The Mosquitoes flew\ninto his ears, his eyes, his nose and his mouth. They stung him all over\nhis body, and soon he knew that he was conquered. He shook himself; he\nrolled over and over on the ground, but he could not drive them away.\n\nThen he jumped high into the air, and when he came down his head and\nfore feet went into the well, and he was unable to release himself.\n\nAnd so he died, thus teaching a lesson to those who are so proud of\ntheir own might that they all think all others must bow down to them.\nThe water in the well was the home of the Mosquitoes, and he had no\nright to deprive them of it. Had he made a request for water with gentle\nwords, it would without doubt have been given to him, but in the\nfoolishness of his pride and anger he demanded that which was not his.\nGentleness, and consideration for others will bring their reward.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE STORY OF BANTUGAN\n\n\nBefore the Spaniards occupied the island of Mindanao, there lived in the\nvalley of the Rio Grande a very strong man, Bantugan, whose father was\nthe brother of the earthquake and thunder.\n\nNow the Sultan of the Island had a beautiful daughter whom Bantugan\nwished to marry, but the home of the Sultan was far off, and whoever\nwent to carry Bantugan\u2019s proposal would have a long and hazardous\njourney. All the head men consulted together regarding who should be\nsent, and at last it was decided that Bantugan\u2019s own son, Balatama, was\nthe one to go. Balatama was young but he was strong and brave, and when\nthe arms of his father were given him to wear on the long journey his\nheart swelled with pride. More than once on the way, however, his\ncourage was tried, and only the thought of his brave father gave him\nstrength to proceed.\n\nOnce he came to a wooden fence which surrounded a stone in the form of a\nman, and as it was directly in his path he drew his fighting knife to\ncut down the fence. Immediately the air became as black as night and\nstones rained down as large as houses. This made Balatama cry, but he\nprotected himself with his father\u2019s shield and prayed, calling on the\nwinds from the homeland until they came and cleared the air again.\n\nThereupon Balatama encountered a great snake in the road, and it\ninquired his errand. When told, the snake said:\n\n\u201cYou cannot go on, for I am guard of this road and no one can pass.\u201d\n\nThe animal made a move to seize him, but with one stroke of his fighting\nknife the boy cut the snake into two pieces, one of which he threw into\nthe sea and the other into the mountains.\n\nAfter many days the weary lad came to a high rock in the road, which\nglistened in the sunlight. From the top he could look down into the city\nfor which he was bound. It was a splendid place with ten harbors.\nStanding out from the other palaces was one of crystal and another of\npure gold. Encouraged by this sight he went on, but though it seemed\nonly a short distance, it was some time before he at last stood at the\ngate of the town.\n\nIt was not long after this, however, before Balatama had made known his\nerrand to the Sultan, and that monarch, turning to his courtiers, said:\n\n\u201cYou, my friends, decide whether or not I shall give the hand of my\ndaughter to Bantugan in marriage.\u201d\n\nThe courtiers slowly shook their heads and began to offer objections.\n\nSaid one, \u201cI do not see how Bantugan can marry the Sultan\u2019s daughter\nbecause the first gift must be a figure of a man or woman in pure gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the son of Bantugan, \u201cI am here to learn what you want and\nto say whether or not it can be given.\u201d\n\nThen a second man spoke: \u201cYou must give a great yard with a floor of\ngold, which must be three feet thick.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll this can be given,\u201d answered the boy.\n\nAnd the sister of the Princess said: \u201cThe gifts must be as many as the\nblades of grass in our city.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be granted,\u201d said Balatama.\n\n\u201cYou must give a bridge built of stone to cross the great river,\u201d said\none.\n\nAnd another: \u201cA ship of stone you must give, and you must change into\ngold all the cocoanuts and leaves in the Sultan\u2019s grove.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll this can be done,\u201d said Balatama. \u201cMy uncles will give all save the\nstatue of gold, and that I shall give myself. But first I must go to my\nfather\u2019s town to secure it.\u201d\n\nAt this they were angry and declared that he had made sport of them and\nunless he produced the statue at once they would kill him.\n\n\u201cIf I give you the statue now,\u201d said he, \u201cthere will come dreadful\nstorms, rain, and darkness.\u201d\n\nBut they only laughed at him and insisted on having the statue, so he\nreached into his helmet and drew it forth.\n\nImmediately the earth began to quake. A great storm arose, and stones as\nlarge as houses rained until the Sultan called to Balatama to put back\nthe statue lest they all be killed.\n\n\u201cYou would not believe what I told you,\u201d said the boy; \u201cand now I am\ngoing to let the storm continue.\u201d\n\nBut the Sultan begged him and promised that Bantugan might marry his\ndaughter with no other gifts at all save the statue of gold. Balatama\nput back the statue into his helmet, and the air became calm again to\nthe great relief of the Sultan and his courtiers. Then Balatama prepared\nto return home, promising that Bantugan would come in three months for\nthe wedding.\n\nAll went well with the boy on the way home until he came to the fence\nsurrounding the stone in the form of a man, and there he was detained\nand compelled to remain four months.\n\nNow about this time a Spanish general heard that Bantugan was preparing\nto marry the Sultan\u2019s daughter, whom he determined to wed himself. A\ngreat expedition was prepared, and he with all his brothers embarked on\nhis large warship which was followed by ten thousand other ships. They\nwent to the Sultan\u2019s city, and their number was so great that they\nfilled the harbor, frightening the people greatly.\n\nThen the General\u2019s brother disembarked and came to the house of the\nSultan. He demanded the Princess for the General, saying that if the\nrequest were refused the fleet would destroy the city and all its\npeople. The Sultan and his courtiers were so frightened that they\ndecided to give his daughter to the General, the next full moon being\nthe date set for the wedding.\n\nIn the meantime Bantugan had been preparing everything for the marriage\nwhich he expected to take place at the appointed time. But as the days\nwent by and Balatama did not return they became alarmed, fearing that he\nwas dead. After three months had passed Bantugan prepared a great\nexpedition to go in search of his son, and the great warship was\ndecorated with flags of gold.\n\nAs they came in sight of the Sultan\u2019s city, they saw the Spanish fleet\nin the harbor, and one of his brothers advised Bantugan not to enter\nuntil the Spaniards left. They then brought their ship to anchor. But\nall were disappointed that they could go no farther, and one said, \u201cWhy\ndo we not go on? Even if the blades of grass turn into Spaniards we need\nnot fear.\u201d Another said: \u201cWhy do we fear? Even if the cannon-balls come\nlike rain, we can always fight.\u201d Finally some wanted to return to their\nhomes and Bantugan said: \u201cNo, let us seek my son. Even though we must\nenter the harbor where the Spaniards are, let us continue our search.\u201d\nSo at his command the anchors were lifted, and they sailed into the\nharbor where the Spanish fleet lay.\n\nNow at this very time the Spanish general and his brother were with the\nSultan, intending to call upon the Princess. As the brother talked with\none of the sisters of the Princess they moved toward the window, and\nlooking down they saw Bantugan\u2019s ships entering the harbor. They could\nnot tell whose flags the ships bore. Neither could the Sultan when he\nwas called. Then he sent his brother to bring his father, who was a very\nold man, to see if he could tell. The father was kept in a little dark\nroom by himself that he might not get hurt, and the Sultan said to his\nbrother:\n\n\u201cIf he is so bent with age that he cannot see, talk, or walk, tickle him\nin the ribs and that will make him young again; and, my Brother, carry\nhim here yourself lest one of the slaves should let him fall and he\nshould hurt himself.\u201d\n\nSo the old man was brought, and when he looked out upon the ships he saw\nthat the flags were those of the father of Bantugan who had been a great\nfriend of his in his youth. And he told them that he and Bantugan\u2019s\nfather years ago had made a contract that their children and children\u2019s\nchildren should inter-marry, and now since the Sultan had promised his\ndaughter to two people, he foresaw that great trouble would come to the\nland. Then the Sultan said to the General:\n\n\u201cHere are two claimants to my daughter\u2019s hand. Go aboard your ships and\nyou and Bantugan make war on each other, and the victor shall have my\ndaughter.\u201d\n\nSo the Spaniards opened fire upon Bantugan, and for three days the earth\nwas so covered with smoke from the battle that neither could see his\nenemy. Then the Spanish general said:\n\n\u201cI cannot see Bantugan or the fleet anywhere, so let us go and claim the\nPrincess.\u201d\n\nBut the Sultan said: \u201cWe must wait until the smoke rises to make sure\nthat Bantugan is gone.\u201d\n\nWhen the smoke rose, the ships of Bantugan were apparently unharmed and\nthe Sultan said:\n\n\u201cBantugan has surely won, for his fleet is uninjured while yours is\nbadly damaged. You have lost.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the General, \u201cwe will fight it out on dry land.\u201d\n\nSo they both landed their troops and their cannon, and a great fight\ntook place, and soon the ground was covered with dead bodies. And the\nSultan commanded them to stop, as the women and children in the city\nwere being killed by the cannon-balls, but the General said:\n\n\u201cIf you give your daughter to Bantugan we shall fight forever, or until\nwe die.\u201d\n\nThen the Sultan sent for Bantugan and said:\n\n\u201cWe must deceive the Spaniard in order to get him to go away. Let us\ntell him that neither of you will marry my daughter, and then after he\nhas gone, we shall have the wedding.\u201d\n\nBantugan agreed to this, and word was sent to the Spaniard that the\nfighting must cease since many women and children were being killed. So\nit was agreed between the Spaniard and Bantugan that neither of them\nshould marry the Princess. Then they both sailed away to their homes.\n\nBantugan soon returned, however, and married the Princess, and on the\nway back to his home they found his son and took him with them. For\nabout a week the Spanish general sailed toward his home and then he,\ntoo, turned about to go back, planning to take the Princess by force.\nWhen he found that she had already been carried away by Bantugan, his\nwrath knew no bounds. He destroyed the Sultan, his city, and all its\npeople. And then he sailed away to prepare a great expedition with which\nhe should utterly destroy Bantugan and his country as well.\n\nOne morning Bantugan looked out and saw at the mouth of the Rio Grande\nthe enormous fleet of the Spaniards whose numbers were so great that in\nno direction could the horizon be seen. His heart sank within him, for\nhe knew well that he and his country were doomed.\n\nThough he could not hope to win in a fight against such great numbers,\nhe called his head men together, and said:\n\n\u201cMy Brothers, the Spanish dogs have come to destroy the land. We cannot\nsuccessfully oppose them, but in the defense of the fatherland we can\ndie.\u201d\n\nSo the great warship was again prepared, and all the soldiers of Islam\nembarked, and then with Bantugan standing at the bow they sailed forth\nto meet their fate.\n\nThe fighting was fast and furious, but soon the great warship of\nBantugan filled with water until at last it sank, drawing with it\nhundreds of the Spanish ships. And then a strange thing happened. At the\nvery spot where Bantugan\u2019s warship sank, there arose from the sea a\ngreat island which you can see to-day not far from the mouth of the Rio\nGrande. It is covered with bongo-palms, and deep within its mountains\nlive Bantugan and his warriors. A Moro sailboat passing this island is\nalways scanned by Bantugan\u2019s watchers, and if it contains women such as\nhe admires, they are snatched from their seats and carried deep into the\nheart of the mountain. For this reason Moro women fear even to sail near\nthe island of Bongos.\n\nWhen the wife of Bantugan saw that her husband was no more and that his\nwarship had been destroyed, she gathered together the remaining warriors\nand set forth herself to avenge him. In a few hours her ship also was\nsunk, and in the place where it sank there arose the mountain of Timaco.\n\nOn this thickly wooded island are found white monkeys, the servants of\nthe Princess, who still lives in the center of the mountain. On a quiet\nday high up on the mountain side one can hear the chanting and singing\nof the waiting-girls of the wife of Bantugan.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE PESTLE AND MORTAR OF JADE\n\n\nOnce upon a time, so very long ago that even the great-grandfathers of\nour great-grandmothers had not been born, there lived in the city of\nKwen-lu a little Chinese boy named Pei-Hang.\n\nHis father and mother loved him dearly, and did all they could to shield\nhim from the power of the evil Genii, or spirits, of whom there were a\ngreat many in China. Of course, there were some good Genii too, but most\nof them were very much the opposite, and Pei-Hang\u2019s mother took every\nprecaution against them.\n\nIt is well-known that a wicked Genii will not come near a Chinese boy if\nhe has some red silk braided in with his pigtail, or if he wears a\nsilver chain around his neck, and all of them dread an old fishing-net.\nSo Pei-Hang\u2019s mother made him a little shirt out of an old fishing-net,\nand she took care that his pigtail should be plaited with the brightest\nof red silk.\n\nAlso she was particular in having his head shaved in just the right way,\nwith a tuft sticking straight up in the luckiest place.\n\nAnd so Pei-Hang got safely over the troubles of his babyhood, and grew\nfrom a baby into a big boy, and then to a tall, handsome youth. Then he\nleft off wearing his fish-net shirt, but still wore the silver chain\nround his neck and had red silk in his pigtail.\n\n\u201cIt is time that Pei-Hang saw a little more of the world,\u201d said his\nfather. \u201cHe must go to Chang-ngan and study under the wise men there.\u201d\n\nChang-ngan was the ancient capital of China, a very large city indeed,\nand Pin-Too, the teacher to whom Pei-Hang was sent, was the wisest man\nthere.\n\nPei-Hang soon learned what the world was thinking about, and many other\nthings also. As soon as he was eighteen he took the red silk out of his\npigtail and the silver chain from his neck, because grown-up people were\nsupposed to be able to protect themselves against the Genii without the\naid of charms.\n\nWhen he was twenty, Pin-Too said he could not teach him any more, and\ntold him to go back to his parents, and comfort them in their old age.\n\nPei-Hang was his favorite pupil, and Pin-Too looked very sorry when he\nsaid this.\n\n\u201cI will start to-morrow, Master, and will leave the city by the Golden\nBridge,\u201d replied Pei-Hang obediently.\n\n\u201cNo, you must go by the Indigo Bridge,\u201d said Pin-Too, \u201cfor there you\nwill meet your future wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI was not thinking of a wife,\u201d observed Pei-Hang, with some dismay.\n\nPin-Too just wrinkled up his eyes and laughed.\n\n\u201cSo much the better!\u201d said he. \u201cWhen you have once seen her, you will be\nable to think of nothing else.\u201d\n\nIt was very hot, and Pei-Hang intended to start in the cool of the early\nmorning, but he sat so long over his books the night before his journey\nthat he wakened late, and when he opened his eyes the sun was blazing\ndown upon the streets, making the town like a furnace.\n\nHowever, he had promised to start that day, so he took up his stick and\nset off.\n\n\u201cI will rest at the Indigo Bridge,\u201d said he to himself, \u201cand walk on\nagain in the cool of the evening.\u201d\n\nBut he had spent many sleepless nights in study, and when he reached the\nbridge he was so tired that he sat down and fell asleep.\n\nThen, in a dream which came to him, he saw a tall and beautiful maiden,\nwho showed him her right foot, around which was bound a red cord.\n\n\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d asked Pei-Hang, who could hardly take his eyes\naway from her face to look at her foot.\n\n\u201cWhat does the red cord around your own foot mean?\u201d replied the girl.\n\nThen Pei-Hang looked at his right foot, and saw that it was tied to the\ngirl\u2019s by the same thin red cord. So he knew that he had met his future\nwife.\n\n\u201cMy mother used to say that when a boy is born, the Moon Fairy ties an\ninvisible red cord around his right foot, and the other end of the cord\nencircles the foot of the girl-baby whom he is to marry,\u201d said he.\n\n\u201cQuite true,\u201d said the maiden, \u201cand to people who are awake this cord is\ninvisible. Now I will tell you my name, that you may remember it. It is\nYun-Ying.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I will tell you mine,\u201d began Pei-Hang, but Yun-Ying stopped him,\nsmiling.\n\n\u201cAh, I know yours, and all about you,\u201d she said.\n\nPei-Hang was greatly surprised, but he need not have been, for everyone\nin Chang-ngan knew that he was Pin-Too\u2019s wisest, handsomest, and\nbest-loved pupil. And Yun-Ying lived close to the city, and had often\nseen him walking through the streets carrying his books.\n\nWhen Pei-Hang awoke, he looked for the red cord around his foot, but he\nsaw neither this nor the fair maiden.\n\n\u201cI wonder if she is real, or only a dream-maiden, after all,\u201d he said to\nhimself.\n\nBut Yun-Ying was quite real; only her mother, who knew something of\nmagic, had given her the power of stepping in and out of people\u2019s\ndreams.\n\nPei-Hang got up and went on his way, thinking of Yun-Ying all the time.\n\nIt was still very hot, and he grew so thirsty that he went to a little\nhut by the roadside, and asked an old woman who was sitting in the\ndoorway to give him a drink.\n\nShe called to her daughter to fill their best goblet with fresh spring\nwater, and bring it out to the stranger. Then appeared none other than\nYun-Ying herself.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d cried Pei-Hang, \u201cI thought that I might never see you again, and I\nhave found you already.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd who am I?\u201d asked the girl, smiling.\n\n\u201cYun-Ying,\u201d replied Pei-Hang; and the name seemed so musical to him that\nhe said it over and over again.\n\nYun-Ying was dressed in white underneath, but her overdress was bright\nblue, embroidered with beautiful flowers which she had worked herself;\nand she stood in the door of the hut, with a peach tree in full bloom\nover her head, making such a picture of youth and loveliness that\nPei-Hang\u2019s heart seemed to jump into his throat, and beat there fast\nenough to choke him.\n\n\u201cWho are you? And how do you come to know Yun-Ying?\u201d asked the old\nwoman, peering and blinking at him, with her hand over her eyes to\nshield them from the sun.\n\nThen Pei-Hang told her about the dream, and the red cord, and when he\nsaid that he wanted to marry her daughter, the old woman did not look at\nall pleased. \u201cIf I had two daughters, you would be welcome to one of\nthem,\u201d she said.\n\nPei-Hang was not a bad match, for his parents were well-off, and he was\ntheir only child; but Yun-Ying was a very pretty girl and a mandarin of\nChang-ngan was anxious to marry her.\n\n\u201cHe is four times her age, it is true,\u201d said her mother, explaining this\nto Pei-Hang, \u201cbut he is very rich.\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is old and wrinkled, like a little brown monkey,\u201d said Yun-Ying,\n\u201cand I don\u2019t want to marry him. Besides, the Moon Fairy didn\u2019t tie my\nfoot to his.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, that\u2019s true,\u201d sighed her mother.\n\nShe would have liked to send Pei-Hang away, but she knew it would not be\nsafe to do that if the red cord had really been tied to his foot and\nYun-Ying\u2019s, so she asked him to come inside, and they would talk it\nover.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201con this stool I pound magic drugs given to me by the\nGenii, but my pestle and mortar is broken, and I want a new one.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I can easily buy in Chang-ngan,\u201d replied Pei-Hang.\n\n\u201cNo, you cannot,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cbecause it is a pestle and mortar\nof jade, and you can only get another one from the home of the Genii,\nwhich is on a mountain above the Lake of Gems. If you will do that, and\nbring it back to me, you shall marry Yun-Ying.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will do that, but I must see my parents first,\u201d said Pei-Yang.\n\nHe had no idea where the home of the Genii was, but Yun-Ying took him\nout into the garden, and showed him, in the far distance, a range of\nsnow-capped mountains, with one peak towering above all the others.\n\n\u201cThat is Mount Sumi,\u201d she said, \u201cand it is there the Genii live, sitting\non the snow-peaks, and looking down at the Lake of Gems.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn order to reach it you must cross the Blue River, the White River,\nthe Red River, and the Black River, all of which are full of monstrous\nfishes. That is why my mother is sending you,\u201d sighed Yun-Ying. \u201cShe\nthinks you will not return alive.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am a good swimmer, and not afraid of fish,\u201d said Pei-Hang.\n\n\u201cBut you must not try to swim,\u201d said Yun-Ying earnestly, \u201cfor you would\nbe instantly devoured. Take this box with you. In it you will find six\nred seeds, one of which you must throw into each river as you come to\nit. The river will then shrink to the size of a small brook, over which\nyou can jump.\u201d\n\nPei-Hang opened the box, and saw inside six round, red seeds, each of\nthem the size of a pea, and these he promised to use as she had\ndirected. Then he kissed her, and set out on his journey.\n\nOn his way to Mount Sumi he passed through the town in which his parents\nlived, and when he saw them, he told them everything that had happened\nto him since he left Chang-ngan.\n\nHis mother, who was a very wise woman, as most mothers are, told him the\nGenii would be angry if he turned their great rivers into brooks, and\nwould probably refuse to give him the pestle and mortar made of jade.\nBut she gave him a box containing six white seeds, one of which he was\nto cast into each brook as he passed it on his return journey, and it\nwould then expand into a river again.\n\nThe next morning Pei-Hang kissed his parents, and continued on his way\nto Mount Sumi. On the seventh day he came to the Blue River, which was a\nquarter of a mile wide, and as blue as the sky of summer, and fishes\nwere popping their heads out of the water in every direction. The head\nof every fish was twice as large as a football, and had two rows of\nteeth. But he threw a red seed into the river, and in a moment it had\nbecome a little brook, across which he could hop on one foot, and the\nhuge fishes were changed into tadpoles.\n\nVery soon he reached the White River, which was half a mile wide, and so\nrapid that it was covered with foam, and full of immense sea-serpents.\n\nThis river was so wide that Pei-Hang was really surprised when, on\nthrowing another of the red seeds into it, there lay before him a tiny\nbrook, in the bottom of which some eels were wriggling.\n\nStepping across this, Pei-Hang walked on for some time until he came in\nsight of the Red River, which was three-quarters of a mile wide, and\nbright scarlet. Stretched right across it, like a bridge, was a row of\nhuge alligators, each of which had its mouth wide open.\n\nInto the river Pei-Hang threw one of the little red seeds, and one of\nthe nearest alligators made a snap at it, but missed it. The seed sank\ninto the water, and there before him was a small stream less than two\nfeet across, and at the bottom of it a row of tiny lizards.\n\nPei-Hang crossed the stream, and was met by one of the Genii, who had\ncome down from the snow-peak to see who had been playing tricks with the\nthree mighty rivers.\n\nThen Pei-Hang showed him the white seeds in the other box, and said:\n\u201cWith these I can make them as large as they were before, on my way\nback, so it is all right. But first I must find the home of the Genii,\nand get a pestle and mortar of jade for my future mother-in-law to pound\nmagic drugs in.\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst you must cross the Black River,\u201d replied the Geni, with a rather\nscornful laugh. \u201cIt is a mile wide, and the fish in it are six yards\nlong, and covered with spikes like porcupines.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow did you get across?\u201d inquired Pei-Hang.\n\n\u201cI? O, I can fly,\u201d said the Geni.\n\n\u201cAnd I can jump,\u201d retorted Pei-Hang, sturdily.\n\nThe Geni walked with him as far as the Black River, and when our hero\nsaw the great waste of water as black as ink, stretching away in front\nof him, it must be confessed his heart sank a little.\n\nBut he took out his fourth seed, and watched it disappear beneath a\ncoal-black wave.\n\nTo the Geni\u2019s astonishment the river immediately dried up, and a shallow\nstream running through the grass lay at their feet.\n\nThe Geni was much impressed by the wonderful things Pei-Hang seemed able\nto do. He was not bad-hearted, so he showed him the nearest way to the\nhome of the Genii on the top of Mount Sumi.\n\nIt was a long and wearisome climb, but at last they got up there, and\nfound eight of the Genii sitting on eight snow-peaks, and looking down\non the Lake of Gems, as Yun-Ying had said.\n\nThe Lake of Gems lay on the other side of Mount Sumi, and was a\nbeautiful sheet of water, flashing all the colors of the rainbow.\n\nPei-Hang could not take his eyes away from it. He forgot all about the\npestle and mortar as he watched the waves rippling along the shore, and\nleaving behind them diamonds, rubies, sapphires and pearls in thousands.\n\nEach pebble on the margin of the lake was a precious stone, and Pei-Hang\nwanted to go down and fill his pockets with them.\n\n\u201cWe must let him have the pestle and mortar,\u201d said the Geni who had been\nhis guide, and who had told the others about the wonderful red and white\nseeds while Pei-Hang was standing spell-bound by the beauty of the Lake.\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t he won\u2019t give us back our rivers.\u201d\n\nThe eight Genii nodded their eight heads, and spoke all at once, and the\nnoise they made was like the rumble of thunder among the mountains. \u201cLet\nhim take it, if he can carry it,\u201d they said.\n\nAnd they laughed until the snow-peaks shook beneath them; for the mortar\nmade of jade was six feet high and four feet wide, and the pestle was so\nheavy no mortal could lift it.\n\nPei-Hang, when he had finished staring at the Lake of Gems, walked round\nit, and wondered how he was to carry it down the mountain and across the\nplains to Chang-ngan.\n\nThen he sat down on the ground to think the matter over, and the Genii,\neven his own good-natured Geni, laughed at him again.\n\n\u201cCome!\u201d they said. \u201cIf you like to fill the mortar with precious stones,\nyou may do so. Any man who can carry it empty can carry it full.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause no one can carry it at all,\u201d concluded the good-natured Geni\nsoftly to himself.\n\nPei-Hang folded his arms and sat still, and thought, and thought, and\ntook no notice of their gibes and jeers. He had not studied for three\nyears under the wisest man in Chang-ngan for nothing, and, besides, he\nwas determined to marry Yun-Ying, and when young men are very much in\nlove, they sometimes accomplish things which seem to be impossible.\n\nAt last he jumped up and asked the friendly Geni if he would make a\nlittle heap of stones at one side of the mortar.\n\n\u201cI want to be able to look inside it, and I am not tall enough,\u201d said\nhe.\n\n\u201cAnd why don\u2019t you do it yourself?\u201d asked the Geni.\n\n\u201cBecause I must go down to the Lake of Gems and collect precious\nstones,\u201d replied Pei-Hang.\n\nThen he ran down to the shore of the lake and gathered diamonds, rubies,\nemeralds, pearls, and sapphires, as many as he could carry.\n\nThis he did again and again, emptying them into the mortar each time,\nuntil it was quite full and held gems enough to make Pei-Hang the\nrichest man in China.\n\nAnd this was just what he wanted to be, for the yellow-faced mandarin\nwas only the richest man in Chang-ngan, and he knew that the richest man\nin China would have much the greater chance of winning Yun-Ying.\n\n\u201cWell, what next?\u201d cried the eight Genii, when he had finished. \u201cWill\nyou take it on your shoulder or on your head?\u201d\n\n\u201cI will just carry it under my arm,\u201d replied Pei-Hang.\n\nHe took out his little box, threw one of the red seeds on top of the\ngems, and in a moment the tremendous pestle and mortar shrank into one\nof ordinary size.\n\nPei-Hang put the pestle in his pocket, and took up the mortar carefully,\nbecause he did not wish to lose any of the precious stones. Then he\nbowed low to the Genii, thanked them, and said good-by.\n\nThis time they did not laugh, but each of them roared with rage. They\ndared not stop him, knowing that he had the power to turn the four\nbrooks into rivers again.\n\nPei-Hang hastened away, and on his journey did exactly as he had\npromised.\n\nAfter crossing the first brook, he threw a white seed into it, and\nturned it into an inky black waste of water a mile wide, full of fishes\nsix yards long, and every fish covered with spikes.\n\nWhen the Genii saw this they stopped roaring, so glad were they to see\nthe Black River guarding them once more from the outer world.\n\nOn reaching the Red River, the White River, and the Blue River, Pei-Hang\ndid the same thing, and since that time no one has been able to find the\nhome of the Genii, because no one else could cross the Blue River, much\nless the other three.\n\nHaving traveled for seven days Pei-Hang came to his father\u2019s and\nmother\u2019s house. He told them all that he had experienced, and for each\nwhite seed his mother had given him he gave her a jewel as large as an\negg. Then he went on to Chang-ngan, where he found that Yun-Ying\u2019s\nmother had spread a report that he was dead, and had invited all her\nfriends to attend a wedding feast in honor of her daughter\u2019s marriage\nwith the yellow-faced old mandarin.\n\nThe wedding had not taken place when Pei-Hang arrived, but Yun-Ying was\nalready arrayed in her wedding dress, and was standing beneath a peach\ntree which stood in front of the house. As soon as she saw him she threw\nherself into his arms, and shed tears of joy at his safe return.\n\nHe put down the pestle and mortar and kissed Yun-Ying\u2019s tears away. Then\nher mother came, and said:\n\n\u201cYou are too late to marry my daughter, but I\u2019ll buy the pestle and\nmortar from you with some of the money the mandarin gave me.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, no, you will not,\u201d replied Pei-Hang. He then dropped one of his\nwhite seeds into the mortar, and it at once became so large that it\ncovered the whole grass plot under the peach tree, and it was filled to\nthe brim with glittering precious stones. He then climbed into a branch\noverhanging it, and from there he threw down to the wedding guests\nhandfuls of jewels, and the yellow-faced mandarin was as busy as any one\npicking them up, much to the disgust of many who thought he was rich\nenough already.\n\nPei-Hang offered him three diamonds, each as large as a sparrow\u2019s egg,\nif he would go away and forget that he ever knew Yun-Ying. These the\nmandarin took and away he went. He was sure that Yun-Ying\u2019s mother would\nhave no more to do with him now that she could marry her daughter to one\nwho scattered jewels as Pei-Hang did.\n\nThe wedding feast took place, only the bridegrooms were changed.\nPei-Hang married Yun-Ying, and took her to where his father and mother\nlived, and they were as happy as could be.\n\nThe pestle and mortar of jade stood beneath the peach tree, for it was\ntoo large and too heavy to be moved, and it was certainly of no use to\nYun-Ying\u2019s mother, because it was too big for her to pound her magic\ndrugs in, even if she could get inside it, which she couldn\u2019t. This made\nher very angry, but it served her right because of the unfair manner in\nwhich she had treated Pei-Hang.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n THE MYSTERIOUS GARDEN\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a mighty king who was both wise and just.\nThis ruler issued a decree that no one in his dominions should receive\nany reward, office or honor that he did not truly deserve.\n\nNow at the court were three royal children, each of them richly endowed\nwith virtue and talent, and they grew up to be handsome and amiable\nyoung men, well-liked by every one. The king was very fond of them and\nwished them to occupy the highest stations in life which would accord\nwith their merit. So one day he sent for them and said, \u201cMy children, I\nwould like to set you above all others in my palace, for I believe you\ncapable of great deeds of virtue. But you know the law of this country\nwhich says that honors may be conferred upon no one who has not proved\nworthy to receive them. It is my desire that you attain high rank, but\nthis you cannot reach by remaining at court. You will therefore go out\ninto the world and try to earn, by your own endeavor, the prize promised\nby the law, and which I shall delight to bestow upon you. In due time I\nwill send for you, and the summons must be answered without delay. Be\ncareful what you do, for your reward will be that which you merit.\u201d\n\nThe king had ordered, and the three young men had to obey, although they\ndid not relish leaving the court, where life was very pleasant for them.\nSo they bade their sovereign good-bye, embarked on a ship and set sail,\nwithout any definite plan as to what country they should visit.\n\nThe weather was fine and they sailed on until they reached an island\nwhich looked very beautiful to them. They landed, and after walking for\nsome time reached a fair garden full of wonderful trees, flowers and\nfruit. There they were met by three men, each of whom gave them a word\nof advice.\n\nThe first said that their stay in the garden would not be forever; that\nthe time would come when they would be forced to leave.\n\nThe second told them that they were welcome to enjoy all that the garden\ncould offer, but that they must leave it just as they entered it, and\ntake nothing away with them.\n\nThe third advised them to be virtuous, upright, and moderate in their\npleasures, as such a course would go far towards living a long and happy\nlife.\n\nThe young men listened to this wise counsel and then entered the garden,\nwhich was much more wonderful than they had imagined it to be. There\nwere great trees, from the branches of which came the exquisite singing\nof innumerable birds; their eyes were gladdened by the beauty of the\nflowers, which gave forth a most pleasing perfume, and they found an\nabundance of delicious fruit, with which the trees were laden. Here was\na paradise.\n\nFor some time they rested under the shade of the trees, regaling\nthemselves with the freshly-picked fruit and drinking from springs that\nbubbled and sparkled from the ground like fountains. Then they\nseparated, each seeking a still more enchanting spot.\n\nThe first of the young men was so overcome by the beauty that surrounded\nhim that he thought only of present enjoyment, forgetting entirely the\nadvice of the man who had first addressed them before entering the\ngarden. His only idea was to eat, sleep, be merry and cast away all\ncare.\n\nIn his wanderings the second youth discovered gold, silver and precious\nstones in such abundance that neither the beauty of the flowers, with\ntheir fragrance, nor the lusciousness of the fruit appealed to him at\nall. He was dazzled by the treasures he found, and his only thought was\nof how much he could gather together and take away with him. He, too,\nforgot the warning of the second man who had spoken to them.\n\nBut the third young man bore in mind all the advice given them by the\nthree guards, and he did not agree with the habits into which his\ncompanions had fallen. He certainly enjoyed his life in the garden, and\ntook great pleasure in studying all that it contained. And the more he\nstudied the greater was his wonder at the marvels of nature. Everything\nwas in such good order and so well kept; there was not even a blade of\ngrass that did not show evidence of having been watered. And the\nstrangest thing about it was that he had seen no one to care for all of\nthis. But the garden was so perfect and so admirably kept that it was\nimpossible there should be no master gardener to keep this domain in\nsuch wonderful order.\n\nSo great became his admiration for this man, whoever he might be, that\nit became his greatest desire to know him, and to thank him for all the\npleasure he had received from just being there, and for the opportunity\nallowed him to study the marvels that were all about him.\n\nBut there is an end to all things, and the course which each of these\nyoung men was pursuing was changed when an order from their king called\nupon them to return and render an account of their doings. So they set\nout for the gate by which they had entered, and as soon as they had\npassed through this the first of the three\u2014he who had thought only of\npresent enjoyment\u2014was overcome by the change of air. He had left the\ngarden, to the fruit of which he had become so accustomed; his strength\nleft him, and he sank to the ground and expired.\n\nThe second one struggled along, staggering beneath the weight of\ntreasure he had gathered, the thought of enjoying which helped him to\nforget his weariness. But as soon as he had passed the gate the men on\nguard took from him all of the spoil, leaving him wretched, despairing\nand unhappy.\n\nThe third youth, however, reached the gate and passed through it in a\nhappy frame of mind. He was sure that now he would find the master\ngardener, and be able to express his gratitude to him for the marvels he\nhad seen and studied. He was welcomed by the guards, who were pleased to\ncongratulate him upon the way in which he had listened to and heeded\ntheir good advice and counsel.\n\nThe youth, whose treasure had been taken from him, drew near to the\ncourt. He was so weary that he could scarcely drag himself along. He was\nchanged too, so that those who had formerly known him did not recognize\nhim now. When he claimed relationship to the king they laughed and\njeered at him. He insisted upon entering the palace, but instead of\nbeing allowed to do this he was thrown into prison.\n\nBut how different was the reception of the third young man! Many of the\ncourtiers went out to greet him, and accompanied him to the king\u2019s\npresence. His Majesty rejoiced at his return, and although he knew all\nthat had happened since he left the court, he asked him to tell his own\nstory.\n\nThe youth told the king all about the wonderful garden, and said that it\nwas his great desire to meet the master of so enchanting a place, and to\nexpress to him his thanks for the great pleasure that had been his while\nliving in such a paradise.\n\n\u201cYour wish shall be granted,\u201d said the king. \u201cI am the master of the\ngarden, and rule it from here through my ministers. There is no living\nor growing thing there that is not carefully watched, not even a blade\nof grass.\u201d\n\nAnd now the young man understood that which had before been a mystery to\nhim, and the love and gratitude he had always felt for his master grew\ngreater. The king commended him for his good conduct and for the manner\nin which he had acted upon the advice given by the three guards, and as\na reward raised him to a position of power and honor.\n\n\n\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n RASALU, THE FAKIR, AND THE GIANTS\n\n\nThere was once a fakir who had gained such a wide reputation for working\nwonders that R\u00e1j\u00e1 Rasalu, King of Sialkot, determined to pay him a\nvisit. So one day, accompanied by his retinue, he set out for the\nvillage of Till\u00e1h, where the holy man dwelt.\n\nThe fakir\u2019s power was so great that he knew of the King\u2019s approach long\nbefore he reached the foot of the mountain on one side of which the\nvillage was situated, and he said to his disciples, \u201cR\u00e1j\u00e1 Rasalu is on\nhis way here with the purpose of putting my knowledge to the test. He is\nthe son of a Hindoo, and therefore should know better. I have heard that\nhis own power is very great, so I will first put him to the test.\u201d\n\nHis pupils agreed with him, but said that he should first change himself\ninto some great animal, so that the King might not know him. The fakir\nthen turned himself into a powerful tiger, and when Rasalu and his\nfollowers reached the house they saw this wild beast prowling round.\n\nThe King\u2019s attendants were stricken with fear, and said, \u201cHow great must\nbe the power of this fakir when even tigers are under his sway! Let us\nreturn while we may!\u201d\n\nBut the R\u00e1j\u00e1 answered sternly, \u201cA wise man will finish the enterprise\nupon which he starts, and only a fool will confess to failure.\u201d So he\nchallenged the tiger, and said, \u201cYou are indeed a mighty full-grown\ntiger, but I am a R\u00e1jput, therefore let us fight.\u201d\n\nThen the tiger uttered a terrific growl which was like the roar of an\nearthquake, and prepared to spring. But Rasalu fitted a magic arrow to\nhis bow, and the fakir, knowing its power, immediately vanished.\n\nThe King entered the house of the famous fakir, whom he found in the\nmidst of his pupils, and who at once rose and made a respectful bow to\none who was more powerful than himself.\n\nRasalu said, \u201cYou are a pretty fakir to try to outwit me or any one.\u201d\n\nThen was the fakir irritated and ashamed, and he said, \u201cO King, this is\nonly the abode of poor holy men, and not Gangar, which is the home of\nthe seven famous giants. If you would achieve renown, conquer these, for\nnone will come to you for lording it over fakirs.\u201d\n\nTo this the R\u00e1j\u00e1 replied, \u201cO fakir, you taunt me. Now, as I am the\ndescendant of the great King Bikr\u00e1m\u00e1jit, I make a vow never to return to\nmy home until I have defeated the giants of whom you speak. Tell me how\nI may find them.\u201d\n\nThe fakir told him the way, and said, \u201cI pray for your success, and this\nwill come to you if you will observe the two following conditions:\nFirst, do not draw sword, and next, kill no woman.\u201d\n\nSo R\u00e1j\u00e1 Rasalu set out for Gangar. Now Gangar was the name also of the\nmost mighty giant of all the seven, and the mountain which was named\nafter him was full of enormous caverns, which were the homes of himself\nand of his comrades.\n\nIn a few days the King arrived, and began to ascend the mountain, but\nfor a long time he searched in vain for the giants. At last he saw one\nof them carrying water towards the base of a rock and he challenged him.\nThe giant roared so that the stones rattled together and rushed upon\nRasalu, who at once fitted an arrow to his bow, let fly, and slew him.\n\nThe noise made by the giant roused the others, who came rushing out from\ntheir dens. But when they saw that it was King Rasalu who had come\nagainst them they were afraid, for they had heard of his might. Then one\nof them said, \u201cWe have been told of your power, but to know whether or\nnot you are worthy to fight with us, let us see you pierce seven plates\nof iron with your arrow.\u201d\n\nThen they set up seven plates of iron, and the King sent his arrow\nthrough them all. This wonderful feat filled them with dismay, and they\nat once turned and fled. But the King pursued them, bow in hand, and\nwith the exception of one only, he slew them all with his invincible\narrows.\n\nRasalu then saw that the remaining giant was a woman, and remembering\nthe second direction of the fakir he put back the arrow which he had\nalready fitted to his bow. He called out, \u201cStand, woman, I am King\nRasalu, and you cannot escape me.\u201d\n\nBut the giantess replied, \u201cYou may indeed capture me, O King, but take\nnotice that in this very country which you have invaded your head shall\nbe smitten from your body.\u201d\n\nShe then disappeared within a mighty cavern just as Rasalu, urging his\nhorse, made a leap over a great chasm in order to reach her.\n\nThe R\u00e1j\u00e1 dismounted, but by this time the giantess was a long way within\nthe mountain. Then he engraved his likeness on the face of the rock\ninside the entrance of the cave, which he closed by rolling a great\nstone over its mouth. Escape for her was impossible, and there she\nremains to this day. At times she endeavors to get out, but as soon as\nshe catches sight of King Rasalu\u2019s likeness on the rock she rushes back,\nfilled with dismay, and her roaring fills the villages around with\ndread.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n Transcriber\u2019s note:\n\nFootnote notation and positioning has been normalized throughout.\n\nChapter titles have been normalized throughout.\n\nVariations in spelling and hyphenation between stories have been\nretained.\n\nBooklist before page i, \u2018Hallow\u2019en\u2019 changed to \u2018Hallowe\u2019en,\u2019 \u201cAutumn,\nHallowe\u2019en, and Thanksgiving\u201d\n\nPage 3, \u2018lake\u2019 changed to \u2018lakes,\u2019 \u201cOverhanging the lakes were the\u201d\n\nPage 8, opening double quote inserted before \u2018His,\u2019 \u201c\u201cHis Most Gracious\nHighness\u201d\n\nPage 21, comma changed to full stop after \u2018kingdom,\u2019 \u201cfor myself or my\nkingdom.\u201d\n\nPage 63, \u2018here\u2019 changed to \u2018her,\u2019 \u201cresume her former shape\u201d\n\nPage 90, closing double quote inserted after \u2018die,\u2019 \u201cand thence did\ndie.\u2019\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 95, closing single quote changed to closing double quote after\n\u2018hold,\u2019 \u201cwill hold,\u2019 said he\u201d\n\nPage 95, \u2018To-morow\u2019 changed to \u2018To-morrow,\u2019 \u201cTo-morrow I will do\u201d\n\nPage 95, comma changed to a question mark after \u2018Jackal,\u2019 \u201crascally\nJackal?\u201d asked the\u201d\n\nPages 99 and 100, all instances of \u2018Spreckle-neck\u2019 changed to\n\u2018Speckle-neck\u2019\n\nPage 124, \u2018power\u2019 changed to \u2018powder,\u2019 \u201ctheir magic powder\u201d\n\nPage 137, closing double quote inserted after \u2018Mutabor,\u2019 \u201cLatin word; it\nis \u2018Mutabor.\u2019\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 143, \u2018Princes\u2019 changed to \u2018Princess,\u2019 \u201cthe Princess Nouronnihar\u201d\n\nPage 143, \u2018Bisnager\u2019 changed to \u2018Bisnagar,\u2019 \u201cthe kingdom of Bisnagar,\nbent\u201d\n\nPage 156, \u2018eys\u2019 changed to \u2018eyes,\u2019 \u201copened her eyes, and\u201d\n\nPage 160, \u2018Princess\u2019 changed to \u2018Princes,\u2019 \u201cthe Princes Houssain\u2019s and\nAli\u2019s\u201d\n\nPage 185, \u2018Armed\u2019 changed to \u2018Ahmed,\u2019 \u201cout of Prince Ahmed\u2019s hands\u201d\n\nPage 185, closing double quote inserted after \u2018,\u2019 \u201c\u201cYou see,\u201d said the\nfairy,\u201d\n\nPage 191, \u2018aproached\u2019 changed to \u2018approached,\u2019 \u201cHe approached the\nthrone\u201d\n\nPage 195, \u2018midle\u2019 changed to \u2018middle,\u2019 \u201cinto the middle of the\u201d\n\nPage 197, \u2018asuring\u2019 changed to \u2018assuring,\u2019 \u201cassuring him of his\nsubmission\u201d\n\nPage 209, redundant full stop struck after \u2018fish,\u2019 \u201creplied the fish.\u201d\n\nPage 222, closing double quote inserted after \u2018treasure,\u2019 \u201cfind a rich\ntreasure.\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 234, \u2018darknes\u2019 changed to \u2018darkness,\u2019 \u201ca thick darkness, a furious\nstorm\u201d\n\nPage 238, \u2018imaun\u2019 changed to \u2018imaum,\u2019 \u201cthe imaum to the\u201d\n\nPage 245, \u2018annointed\u2019 changed to \u2018anointed,\u2019 \u201cWood has anointed me\u201d\n\nPage 245, \u2018Jakal\u2019 changed to \u2018Jackal,\u2019 \u201creign of the dyed Jackal\u201d\n\nPage 262, \u2018imense\u2019 changed to \u2018immense,\u2019 \u201cSeizing an immense iron rod\u201d\n\nPage 265, \u2018aginst\u2019 changed to \u2018against,\u2019 \u201cto fight against Korkwi\u201d\n\nPage 287, \u2018Weap\u2019 changed to \u2018Weep,\u2019 \u201cWeep not, dear Prince!\u201d\n\nPage 293, closing double quote inserted after \u2018possible,\u2019 \u201cas pleasant\nas possible.\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 295, closing double quote inserted after \u2018hunter,\u2019 \u201cat the mercy of\nthe hunter.\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 300, closing double quote inserted after \u2018fish,\u2019 \u201cit will return\nfull of fish.\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 314, closing double quote inserted after \u2018Past,\u2019 \u201cthe window of the\nPast.\u201d\u201d\n\nPage 345, \u2018snow peaks\u2019 changed to \u2018snow-peaks,\u2019 \u201csitting on the\nsnow-peaks\u201d","title":"The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":67391}