{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_73256/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_73256","id":"gutenberg_73256","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73256","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales"],"text":"TOLD IN THE\n                            GARDENS OF ARABY\n\n                        (UNTRANSLATED UNTIL NOW)\n\n                                   BY\n                             IZORA CHANDLER\n                                  AND\n                           MARY W. MONTGOMERY\n\n\n                        NEW YORK: EATON & MAINS\n                     CINCINNATI: JENNINGS & GRAHAM\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                               Page\n    Prelude                                                       5\n    The Emerald Roc                                              18\n    The Story of the Beautiful Girl Who Had Her Wish             44\n    The Story of the Beautiful One Who Did Not Have Her Desire   62\n    Story of the Crying Pomegranate and the Laughing Bear        97\n    Story of the Bird of Affliction                             130\n    Story of the Water-Carrier                                  157\n    Story of the Coffee-Maker\u2019s Apprentice                      168\n    Story of the Candy-Maker\u2019s Apprentice                       182\n    The Crystal Kiosk and the Diamond Ship                      203\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTOLD IN THE GARDENS OF ARABY\n\nPRELUDE\n\n\nMemory swings backward to revel in a certain Garden of Delight; to\npicture the high whitewashed wall, topped with red tiles, and guarding\nwithin its quadrangle of acres clustering palms, grave cypress trees,\nthe fig, quince, orange, pomegranate, and mulberry; also the gray\nolive, with roots twisted out of the soil as if by force and seeming to\nhint that, once upon a time, giant souls were imprisoned within each\ngrizzly trunk and struggled themselves to death, in mad wrestlings\nafter freedom.\n\nShielded by these varied branches, roses and cabbages, lilies and\nonions, jessamine and melons, the crimson-flowered oleander, pumpkins,\ntomatoes, and carrots mingle in a delightful democracy. Here the day\nwakens with sweet morning clearness, waxes into a scorching noontide,\nand burns onward, to be extinguished by the breath of a dewy twilight.\nStars march slowly from out the vaulted shadows overhead, to halt\nat awful distances. Distant mountain peaks stretch away beyond the\ncity, in indescribable loveliness, and melt in the distance, like\na veritable land of cloud. Upon the other hand lies the desert;\nbecome a sea of silver under the stern light of the stars. One stands\nimpressed\u2014oppressed and compelled to listen to the mighty, threatening\nsilence. Small wonder is it that, to-day, in the interior of Arabia,\nlike his forefathers during the time of Abimelech and Jethro, the\nlonely shepherd is a worshiper of the stars\u2014poised, unchanging and\nserene, above the changing, tumultuous earth.\n\nThrough this Garden, in which Memory lies dreaming, a silvery stream\nflows from a marble basin. Into this basin play the waters from a\ntree-shaded fountain. Beside it sits a gruff old pelican, eyeing\ndweller and guest with equal disfavor. This bird of desolation likes\nnot his fair prison. Sweeter, to his ear, is the owl\u2019s hoot than any\nmusic distilled by human voices.\n\nAt one corner of the great quadrangle stands the long, roomy dwelling.\nIts lower story comprises the general reception room, the kitchen, and\nstables. From contiguous windows in this last, two white heads lean out\nand gaze, wistfully, each into the other\u2019s eyes. One is that of the\nsnow-white ass, upon which the daughter of the house rides when,\nattended by Ismail, she goes forth to pay visits. The other is that of\nthe foal, shut into a separate stall because he has grown so large that\nhe must be weaned. Here his greatest effort only succeeds in reaching\nup and resting his funny little head upon the window sill; where he\nmust content himself with waving long ears and casting glances of\nentreaty across at the mother, who stands helpless in all but the\nexpression of her sympathy.\n\nAttention is fastened upon these patient dumb creatures. At this, the\nyoung hostess\u2014who, by the way, speaks Arabic, modern Greek, French,\nGerman, English; who interprets Chopin with appealing sympathy upon the\npiano in the beautiful drawing-room; and, upon occasion, picks her\nmandolin to light, minor-keyed melodies\u2014decides that the American lady\nmust have a ride about the garden.\n\nIsmail, a dark-skinned boy who has haunted our footsteps in readiness\nfor service, and whose eyes and teeth are marvels of brilliancy, leads\nforth the petted beast and tricks her out with the most gorgeous\ntrappings. Then the visitor is wheedled into mounting the high, smooth\nsaddle. This she does gingerly and sidewise, after the fashion of her\ncountrywomen. The baby donkey is let out to enjoy a bit of exercise,\nand crowds so closely to the side of his adored parent as nearly to\ncrush the ankles of her nervous rider.\n\nThe white beasts trot placidly over the graveled walks of the\nquadrangle, and the pastime is growing pleasant to the rider. But\n\u201cFaster! faster!\u201d commands the young hostess. \u201cIt is not with this\nsleep of the day that we should seek to amuse one who comes from the\nLand of Haste! Faster! Ismail, faster!\u201d\n\nTime is not given in which to explain that a mild gait is preferred;\nfor the Arab boy at once enters into the spirit of his mistress\u2014strikes\na resounding blow upon each snowy flank, with such immediate effect\nthat the unaccustomed rider slides from her insecure position and joins\nin the merriment.\n\n\u201cAlas! the Orient has broken your spirit! It is not like this that in\nyour own country you would ride. Think you that I do not know?\u201d\n\nHastily arranging her flowing skirts, the young girl sprang gayly\nastride the high, polished saddle; leaned forward and whispered, \u201cAway!\nBabash!\u201d During the next few moments, shadow and sunlight became a\nswift kaleidoscope of gayety and color. The little animal, divining\nwhat was expected of her, broke into a gallop of whose madness one\nnever would have dreamed her capable; and which made it most comical to\nwitness the wild attempts of her poor little foal at keeping pace, and\nhis bewilderment when, after viewing, with despair, her disappearance\nbefore him, his astonished gaze discovered her hastening toward him\nfrom behind, only to leave him again, a little farther on.\n\nMeantime the surly pelican had waddled to an unfrequented corner, where\nthe gravel, flying from delicate hoofs, could not reach him. Madame,\nthe elder hostess, came out upon the balcony, which extended along the\nsecond story of the dwelling, to wave her hand in enjoyment of the\nsport.\n\nAt length, wearied with making exhibition of the speed which, in her\nopinion, characterized the home life of her visitor, the young girl\ntossed her reins to Ismail, commanded that coffee be brought, then\nconducted to a beautiful summerhouse, or kiosk, where were cushions and\nrugs in profusion; where the most comfortable corner hid its hand\nmirror and rose-water sprinkler, and over whose lattice climbed roses\nand jessamine.\n\nOf these latter flowers\u2014so precious to every woman of the Orient\u2014three\nwere gathered and tucked into the visitor\u2019s belt. \u201cThree, the Oriental\nnumber: one for health, one for wealth, and one for prosperity. If I\nwish you these and to you they come, what is there more, that for it\nyou should ask?\u201d was the compelling explanation, made in a voice that\nwas music\u2019s own in quality and, like her manner\u2014when not merrily\nexemplifying prevailing notions of American life\u2014was gentle as the most\nfastidious aristocrat could desire.\n\nThe air was sprayed with rose water; we reclined upon the cushions.\nQuiet restored, the Madame descended and joined us. Coffee was\nbrought\u2014though not at once; for the moments do not urge, as in the\nOccident; they weave themselves, unnoted, into slow and shining hours.\nResting thus, and, later on, tasting the cream tart of whose\ndeliciousness the half has never been told, it was inevitable that we\nshould fall into the custom of the country and relate, each to the\nothers, tales of our native lands.\n\nStory-telling is a most natural blossom upon the Oriental life tree.\nSilent, tropical, motionless days breed no restlessness of the life\nintellectual, no ravening after to-day\u2019s knowledge and its fleeting\nfame, no feverish haste after anything. The past fades and the future\nbecomes dim. It is a Land of the Present Moment. In the estimation of\nits people, the present moment, only, is to be compared with Paradise.\nAs consequence, the dreaming of dreams or the relation of marvelous\ntales, concerning adventures and intrigues of imaginary characters,\nserves to satisfy the indolent and luxurious character. Disinclination\nto travel has found expression in \u201cBetter be a dog at home than a lion\nafloat.\u201d And universal custom exemplifies the belief that it is better\nalso to recline at ease, with coffee and nargileh; enfolded in such\npeace that any relation of turbulence and romance is rendered thrilling\nby mere force of contrast\u2014far better is all this than to fare forth\none\u2019s self. One does not marvel that natures pent in such inactive\nbodies should require, to their better satisfaction with the stories\ntold them, blood-curdling elements, violence, with strange\ninterventions and achievements of the supernatural. By this means is\npoise maintained and the slothful soul drugged into dreaminess.\n\nAction and progress are discouraged in the Orient. Until the\nauthorities grant permission, a man may not rebuild his house after the\nflames have destroyed it; nor may he celebrate the marriage of a child.\nOnly during the feast month of Ramazan is any woman permitted outside\nof her walls after sunset; and a man, without his lighted lantern, is\nin danger of trouble with the police. Indeed, the dwellers not only are\nexpected, but themselves expect, to retire at sunset into their\nseparate home worlds, without whose walls the strait-laced effendi\nlikes not to have his women seen at any time. Yet, even when within the\nhome, cards seldom are resorted to; and games of chance everywhere are\nforbidden the good Moslem.\n\nThen how should this be other than a land for reverie? Certain hours of\nevery day are witness to the sun\u2019s terrible triumph. Its atmosphere\nbecomes of intolerable sultriness. Its climate renders the people\nindolent in action, while permitting their intellects to remain keen\nand their passions lively. They have, moreover, quick sense of the\nludicrous; a childish, untutored taste for practical jokes; a\nrefinement of cunning, and, often seemingly asleep, in reality they\nnever lose their sagacity. Only when in dispute are their voices and\nactions unsubdued. As a rule, they are not good in conversation; any\npoint is made clear by the relation of some parallel tale; and always\nthe men are ready to loiter and to loaf.\n\nAlthough the dairy life of the women is enriched with the arts of\ncookery and exquisite needlework, it must become monotonous. They are\npassionately fond of the open air; but their fullest enjoyment of it\nconsists in reclining upon rug and cushion, beneath some fragrant\nshade, while their slow, indolent eyes traverse the beauty of garden,\nsea, or sky, and the ear is soothed with some story which, at the same\ntime, stirs the sense, gives wing to imagination, and satisfies the\ninaction of their present by calling up visions of far-away activities,\nperhaps aided by the unseen and unknown.\n\nOne, for whom character needs not to consist in eternal effort, must\nfind great charm in these people, with their childish love for the\npassing hour and readiness to give or accept friendliness. Often the\nyouths are of ideal beauty. Usually the men are well built, healthful,\nabstemious. Always the women are splendidly robust and handsome. Nearly\neveryone is unmalicious, gentle in temper, leisurely\u2014nay,\nmore\u2014loitering. Nobody is in a hurry. He who hastes is viewed with\nsuspicion. Even punctuality in the payment of dues is decried; and no\nshopkeeper, worthy of a booth in the bazaar, will permit a customer to\ndepart until after bewildering his sight with the most gorgeous\nproperties upon the shelves. Should an unwary shopper ask the price of\nany article or permit his eye to linger upon it, coffee is at once\nserved and the business call becomes a visit of ceremony.\n\nWith touching faith in his kismet\u2014decreed fate\u2014the peasant endures\nwhatever of ill his days may bring. He receives every stranger with\nperfect faith; trusting that he may be the messenger of some\nlong-delayed good. The thought of seeking an occupation rarely occurs\nto him\u2014however needy he may be. With only a few piasters in his pouch\nfor present needs, he becomes wealthy; for, may he not dream of hidden\ntreasure which, when found, will supply splendors ineffable? Beside,\nwere he to make strenuous effort in the hope of bettering his estate,\nhe might thwart some beautiful on-coming providence. In this land where\ngentle consideration reigns, children treat their mothers with a royal\ndeference, which but increases with every added year of their own\nlives.\n\nThe Osmanlis will have nothing to do with hereditary rank. The\nmisfortunes and sins which constitute the unanswerable Eastern\nQuestion, arise from the fact that their Prophet failed to provide a\nlaw by which his successors might be determined. Members of the\nreigning family marry the simplest family; and the genealogical records\nare forgotten. Sentiment is opposed to class lines between ruler and\npeople; hence, in their stories, the young prince is free to marry any\nmaiden, be she ever so lowly.\n\nHowever somber this life, the pious Moslem finds content in letting his\nmind dwell upon the bliss of that life beyond. He is profoundly\nsubmissive in the presence of death; accepts its coming with\nunquestioning resignation, since his Edjel\u2014appointed death hour\u2014and\nthat of his beloved ones, was decreed by Allah and invisibly inscribed\nupon the brow at birth. Dying means that one is bidden, by \u201cthe\nCupbearer of the Spheres,\u201d to partake of the joys of Paradise. Why,\nthen, should one regret the summons?\n\nDevotion is natural to him. Five times each day does the dweller in\nvillage or city obey a call to prayer\u2014even though the muezzin who cries\nmay be far from holy and his intrigues furnish the point for many a\ntale. According to Lady Blunt, \u201cnothing gives so much distinction, in\nthis land, as regular attendance at prayers.\u201d The name of Allah enters\ninto every bargain, greeting, or conflict. To the really faithful,\nevery living creature has some spiritual significance. The killing of a\ndog may cost a man many bushels of grain\u2014perchance, his life. The stork\nand swallow are sacred. Even the unclean vulture must not be slain. His\nbody is the abode of some sinful soul; and, if the bird be killed, the\npoor soul forever must perish.\n\nThe Land of Midian is a mysterious, dreary land of gloomy cliffs and\nbroad deserts; of shadowless plains, narrow valleys, and monotonous\nwilderness regions. Its mirage allures to death; and the clear\natmosphere suddenly may become dark with the burning heat of the\nsimoon. Through its desert God\u2019s Chosen People are believed to have\nwandered during their forty years of punishment and preparation. Fiery\nserpents and scorpions made their passage hideous; and the\nundisciplined wanderers were \u201cmuch discouraged because of the way.\u201d\n\nOver this indescribably romantic country\u2014which has been inhabited since\nthe earliest time and has undergone fewer changes than any other known\nupon the globe\u2014a mighty Presence seems on patient guard. One is never\nfreed from the sense of some Great Unseen.\n\nAt points the configuration is fantastic and weird in the character of\nits desolation. It is a region of gloomy cliffs, of granite hills, of\ndetached, volcanic centers\u2014like that of the true Mount Sinai\u2014and over\nwhose difficult passages the complaining camel seems fittest transport.\n\nEach tribe, in this Land of Ishmael, claims descent from some one of\nthe three members of Abraham\u2019s family; and insists that social and\nreligious status were overthrown by Mohammed, when he subjected them to\nhis version of the law of the One God. To this it may be added that\nthere are those who believe that the enmity of Christians against the\nJews prevented the great prophet from adopting the Christian faith.\n\nUpon his possession of Arabia does the Sultan base his title of Caliph.\nWith the downfall of those rulers came a relapse into the former\nseparate chieftaincies; so that every valley, between desert and coast,\nor mountain range, now supports its wandering band. For this reason,\nthese people love that the stories told them should concern that time\nof the Caliphs; when the country flourished as never before or after.\n\nYemen, a central, fertile tract in southwest Arabia, is the Arab\u2019s\nArcadia. Here Alexander the Great determined to fix his court after he\nshould have conquered India. His strong nature was attracted to this\nsurprising land; where a single step may bear one from dreary\nsomberness into the most luxurious vegetation\u2014from the desert into an\noasis, redolent with the scent of flowers, shadowed with orchards and\nmusical with the insect\u2019s drone.\n\nIn a land like this, among a people of courtesy and charm, it becomes\ngently imperative that the most barren imagination should indulge in\nbits of phantasy and the dullest sense become susceptible to passing\nbeauty. A pure and refreshing fountain is certain to become a center of\nromantic interest that will unseal the lips of a traveler. And, since\nbachelors are looked upon with disfavor and not an old maid exists in\nall the country, it is to be expected that any relation should turn\nupon marriage. Nor need one fear that the tale will prove erotic, since\nits creation was in a land where the modesty of a peasant will not\nadmit even of his staring at a company of bathers; but sends his eyes\nto search the tree tops or distant mountains, until temptation is far\npassed.\n\nPerhaps it will be well to begin these stories from the Orient with a\nrelation of cruel intrigue and of patient revenge, aided by potent,\nalbeit most unlikely, supernatural forces:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE EMERALD ROC\n\n\nPART I\n\nTHE DRAGON OF THE APPLES\n\nOnce upon a time, in the pleasure garden of a king, there grew a tree\nwhich produced three apples every year. But the king had never tasted\none of them. In the middle of the night, before they were quite ripe, a\nseven-headed genie always came and carried them away.\n\nNow, the king had three sons. One day the eldest son came into his\nfather\u2019s presence, kissed the ground, then arose and stood before him.\n\n\u201cWhat dost thou wish, my son?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cMy father,\u201d was the answer, \u201cthou knowest that the precious apples\nshould be ripe upon the morrow. To-night I would keep watch in the\ngarden and kill the genie.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou speakest well, my son,\u201d said the king.\n\nThereupon the prince took a bow in his hand and hid himself in the\ngarden. At midnight there was a terrific earthquake, followed by a\nblack cloud, out of which the genie emerged and walked toward the tree\nupon which hung the precious fruit. At sight of him the affrighted\nprince forgot his determination and ran to the palace for safety. The\ngenie plucked the apples and carried them away.\n\nIn the morning the king sent for the prince and inquired if he had\naccomplished his purpose.\n\n\u201cSire,\u201d was the reply, \u201cI barely escaped with my life!\u201d\n\nWhen a year had passed the second son asked that he be allowed to kill\nthe monster. His ill fortune was like unto that of his brother. At the\nend of another year the youngest prince came into his father\u2019s\npresence.\n\n\u201cIf your majesty only consent,\u201d he pleaded, \u201cI will go and kill this\nevil creature who trespasses upon your private grounds.\u201d\n\nBut the king was loath to let his favorite son rush into danger, and\ndemurred, saying: \u201cIf thy brothers could not accomplish this hazardous\nundertaking how canst thou hope to do it? Alas! thou wilt surely\nperish.\u201d\n\nNevertheless, upon the pleading of the boy, permission was granted him.\nThe grateful young prince placed the Koran in his bosom, took a\npoisoned arrow in his hand, and sought a secluded spot in the garden.\n\nExactly at midnight there was an earthquake, after which appeared a\ndense cloud, out of which emerged the seven-headed genie and approached\nthe tree which bore the precious fruit.\n\n\u201cBy the power of Allah!\u201d cried the young prince as he threw the\npoisoned arrow. It passed through all the seven heads of the monster,\nwho, uttering a cry that made the earth to tremble, sank upon the\nground.\n\nThe prince gathered the apples, ran with them to his father, and told\nwhat he had done.\n\n\u201cBrave art thou, my son!\u201d cried the king. \u201cI perceive that thou hast\ngreat courage.\u201d\n\nBut the prince was not content. Kissing the ground before his father,\nhe asked permission to remove the body of the genie from off the face\nof the earth. And, although the king had grave fears for his son\u2019s\nsafety, he was persuaded to yield consent.\n\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\nTHE DRAGON OF THE WELL\n\nVery early upon the following morning the prince, taking his two elder\nbrothers with him, entered the royal garden. A strange sight met their\neyes. The body of the genie had turned to blood and was flowing away in\na stream.\n\nThe young prince, fearing that this boded mischief to the kingdom of\nhis father, determined to follow the course of the stream. After\nwalking for several days the princes found that it came to an end at\nthe mouth of a well.\n\nNow, the well was covered with an immense stone, which the two elder\nbrothers tried in vain to remove. As soon, however, as the youngest had\ntouched it with his finger, they lifted it without difficulty.\n\nThis youngest, then, desired to descend at once and kill the dragon.\nBut the eldest detained him, saying, \u201cIt is not for thee to do this\nwhile I, the eldest, am here.\u201d\n\nSo they tied a rope around the waist of the eldest and began to let him\ndown into the well. But he was scarcely inside when he cried: \u201cAlas! I\nam burning. Pull me out, quickly!\u201d\n\nThe others drew him out and tied the rope around the second prince\u2019s\nwaist. But he had no more than entered the mouth of the well when he,\nalso, called out. \u201cAlas! I freeze!\u201d were his words. \u201cPull me up!\u201d\n\nThe youngest prince then said to his brothers: \u201cIt surely is permitted\nme to try. But should I cry, \u2018I burn!\u2019 or \u2018I freeze!\u2019 you shall pay no\nheed; but hasten the more to let me down.\u201d\n\nThe others agreed to this. And when the youth called out that he was\nburning or freezing, they gave out more rope. After some time the\nbottom was reached by the brave young prince, who freed himself from\nthe rope and began to walk through a long hall which stretched before\nhim.\n\nPresently he came to a room, in which a beautiful maiden sat knitting.\nHe did not tarry, however, but passed on into another room, where was\nanother maiden, also knitting, who was more beautiful than the first.\nStill the prince tarried not. He entered a third room, where\u2014what\nshould he see? A maiden whose beauty exceeded all imagery, who dazzled\nthe eyes of a beholder as if a sun had dropped into the room. The\nprince could not look into her face. He fell deeply in love with her\nfrom that moment and cried:\n\n\u201cMaiden, art thou human?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am human,\u201d the maiden answered. \u201cBut, O, my knight, how didst thou\nreach this place? Knowest thou not that there dwelleth a dragon within\nthis well? If he hear thee he will surely kill thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am come to kill this monster,\u201d replied the youth. \u201cSo do thou\nquickly show me where he may be found.\u201d\n\nThe maiden, although she loved him, gave the desired direction, because\nshe saw that Allah must have led him thither.\n\nWhen the prince entered the door pointed out to him\u2014what should he see!\nA genie who was like a minaret for height, and so huge that a common\nknight must lose his senses at the mere sight of him.\n\nWhen this being perceived his visitor he lifted his thousand-pound\nstick and, uttering a sound that shook the earth, rushed upon him. The\nprince almost gave himself up for lost. But, seizing his sword, he\nshouted, \u201cThrough the power of Allah!\u201d and struck upward with such\nforce that the giant\u2019s head was completely severed from his body. He\nsank to the ground, delivering up his soul to Hades.\n\nAt once the prince returned to the maiden; after which he gathered all\nthe jewels he could find and, together with the three princesses,\nreturned to the bottom of the well. After calling to his brothers to\nlet down the rope, he tied it about the first maiden. \u201cHere, my elder\nbrother, is thy portion!\u201d he shouted. When this one had been rescued he\nfastened the rope about the second, and cried, \u201cHere, my second\nbrother, is thy portion!\u201d But when it came the turn of the maiden who\nwas the young prince\u2019s own choice, she said to him:\n\n\u201cMy prince, do thou go first and I surely will follow. Verily, I fear\nthat thy brothers, seeing me, will be envious and leave thee in the\nwell.\u201d\n\nBut the prince would not listen. He scorned to leave his beloved one in\nthe gloomy prison. So the maiden, sad at heart, gave him three hairs\nfrom her head, saying: \u201cIf it chance that they cut the rope which holds\nthee, instantly rub these hairs. Two sheep will appear at the foot of\nthe well. If thou fallest upon the white one, thou wilt come,\ninstantly, out upon the face of the earth. But, alas! shouldst thou\nstrike upon the black one, he will carry thee seven leagues farther\nunder the earth.\u201d\n\nThe prince placed the hairs in his bosom, parted tenderly with his\nbeloved, then calling out that she was his own portion, sent the maiden\nto the top.\n\nAnd the unfortunate prediction came to pass. When the brothers\nperceived that the third princess was as the full moon for beauty, they\nwere very angry, and said: \u201cWhat is this that he hath done! Will he\nkeep the most beautiful one for himself?\u201d And when they had drawn him\nto the very top they cut the rope. The brave young prince fell, over\nand over, into the depths of the well. But, just before he reached the\nbottom, he succeeded in rubbing together the three hairs which had been\ngiven him. Instantly, two sheep appeared; and he, falling upon the back\nof the black one, was borne seven leagues under the surface of the\nearth.\n\n\n\nWe will now return to the wicked brothers, who conveyed the three\nmaidens directly to their father\u2019s palace. Upon entering the king\u2019s\npresence they wept and cried: \u201cAlas, father! The Genie of the Well has\ndestroyed our little brother! But we have rescued these three maidens.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard these words he wept bitter tears and commanded that\nthere be very great mourning for his youngest son.\n\n\n\n\n\nPART III\n\nTHE DRAGON OF THE FOUNTAIN\n\nLet us now return to the youngest prince.\n\nDestiny, having carried him seven leagues under the earth, surprised\nhim still further, by showing him there, another world. He walked until\nevening, when he reached a city and knocked at the first door. It was\nopened by an aged woman, who asked what he desired.\n\n\u201cMother, wilt thou take me in for the night?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, my son,\u201d was her reply, \u201cI have no place to sleep myself. How,\nthen, can I harbor thee?\u201d\n\nHer sense of hospitality was so quickened by the gift of three gold\npieces that she conducted the prince to an upper chamber. He then asked\nfor a draught of water; at which the old woman went to the cupboard and\nbrought a jar of water, in the bottom of which lay a finger\u2019s depth of\nslime. When the prince saw that no beast would taste of such water as\nhad been offered to him he asked:\n\n\u201cHow is this, mother, that you offer me such as this with which to\nquench my thirst?\u201d\n\nThereupon the old woman made answer: \u201cO, my son! The water of this\ncountry is cut off by a huge dragon, who demands every year that a\nmaiden be given to him. During the time that he is tearing her into\npieces and eating her, water flows from the spring which supplies this\ncity. At other times we have none. So thou canst see how we suffer.\nJust now we are hard pressed, because it is the end of the year.\nTo-morrow they will give the king\u2019s daughter to the dragon. Haply, that\nsacrifice may suffice for all time. And if they do not give her, Allah\nhave mercy! We must all perish!\u201d\n\nWhen the brave young prince heard this he became lost in thought. Very\nearly the next morning he found his way to the fountain, where were\ngreat multitudes of people, each with jugs in their hands. Presently\nslaves appeared leading the king\u2019s daughter, who was dressed in red\ngarments richly adorned. When they had led her to the brink of the\nfountain they left her there. It was near the time appointed for the\nappearance of the monster, and the poor young princess was weeping\nbitterly.\n\nAt this pitiable sight the spirit of the young prince became heavy with\nsorrow. He made a great decision that he would endeavor to rescue the\nsufferer. Approaching her, he said:\n\n\u201cFair princess, get thou behind me. Hold fast to me, and have no fear!\u201d\n\nThe maiden obeyed gladly. The prince then bent his bow and stood in\nreadiness. Very shortly there appeared in the west a seven-headed\ndragon. Fire flashed from his mouth and nostrils. The earth trembled as\nhe approached. \u201cAha!\u201d he cried. \u201cHitherto hath my portion been one. Now\nhas it become two.\u201d And from half an hour\u2019s distance he tried to draw\nthe prince and the young maiden to him.\n\nBut the prince, bracing his feet, stood firmly; and, although the\ndragon used such force that, had they been a mountain, it must have\ncome to his mouth, he could not move them. He came nearer and tried\nagain.\n\nThen the prince took a firmer stand and cried, \u201cBismillah! Through the\npower of Allah!\u201d and let fly an arrow which entered the open mouth of\nthe fiend and came through his neck. He leaped three times, then fell\nwith such force as to raise a great cloud of earth about him. So much\nblood ran from his mouth and nose that the water was hidden quite. But\nafter a few minutes it was washed away, and the water became clearer\nthan it had been before.\n\nThe maiden secretly dipped her finger in the blood of the dragon and\nmade a mark upon the back of her deliverer. Then, the cloud being so\ndense that neither her departure nor that of the prince was visible,\nshe hastened to the palace.\n\nWhen the king saw that his daughter was still living he was afraid, and\nbegan to upbraid her. She acquitted herself by telling the\ncircumstances of her deliverance and assuring her father that her\npromise had not been broken. The king could not believe the great good\nfortune. He went, himself, to see the dead dragon, which was so awful\nin its proportions as to make the spectator lose his senses. Then the\nking, being exceedingly desirous of rewarding their rescuer, asked his\ndaughter whether she could surely recognize him. The princess insisted\nthat she would be able to do this, whereupon the king sent out criers,\ncommanding that all the inhabitants of the country, between the ages of\none and seventy, should pass before the palace.\n\nLet us return to the prince. After having freed the land from the cruel\ncurse of the dragon, he returned to the house of the old woman and sat\ndown in his chamber. But the woman rebuked him for disregarding the\ndecree of the king, and bade him go to the palace.\n\nThe prince believed in obeying the commands of a sovereign. He became\none in the long line which marched past the palace of the king. The\nprincess saw his approach, from the window behind which she was hidden,\nand made a sign to the guards, who laid hold upon him and conducted him\ninto the presence of the king. The mark of blood upon the back of the\nprince convinced everyone that he indeed was the one who had saved\nthem.\n\nThe king then bade the prince ask anything that his heart wanted. The\nmodest youth wished for his majesty\u2019s health, and that whenever it\nshould near the end it might be renewed. At this the king answered: \u201cMy\nson, thou profitest nothing through my good health. Ask something for\nthyself.\u201d\n\nThen the prince desired to be granted three days in which to render a\ndecision; after which he returned to the house of the old woman.\n\n\n\n\n\nPART IV\n\nTHE FRIENDLY ROC\n\nThe prince was very sad. He longed for his home; for his father, the\nking; for his princess, who was like the full moon for beauty. He was\nvexed with the cruelty of his two brothers, against whom he had done no\nharm. Upon the next day he took his bow and went to the mountains. As\nthe day was warm, he sat down under a tree and fell asleep.\n\nNow, it chanced that in this very tree was the brood of an emerald roc,\nto which the mother-bird brought food once each year. This day chanced\nto be the very one upon which she was to come. While the prince was\nsleeping, an immense snake began to climb the tree. The screams of the\nyoung birds wakening the prince, he sprang up, discovered the snake,\nand straightway nailed it to the tree with an arrow. Again he lay down\nand slept.\n\nPresently the mother-bird appeared in the sky, saw the prince, and,\nfearing that he had killed her young ones, was about to fall upon him,\nwhen the little ones cried out, \u201cMother, mother! this sleeping prince\nhas rescued us from our mortal enemy, the Great Black Snake.\u201d And,\nverily, there was the snake, still hanging from the tree.\n\nThe great bird descended softly, sat down beside the prince, and spread\none wing to shield him from the rays of the sun. After a little the\nprince awoke, and thought that a tent had been spread above him. When\nthe grateful bird knew that he had wakened she bade him ask from her\nany favor that he desired. The prince requested to be taken to the\nsurface of the earth.\n\nThe roc replied that this would be exceedingly difficult. However, even\nat the cost of her own life, she would endeavor to satisfy him, since\nhe had saved the lives of her children. In order that she might be able\nto undertake this task, she required that he supply her with forty\nsheep and forty casks of wine; that whenever, upon the journey, she\nsaid \u201cHah!\u201d he could give her meat, and when she said \u201cHuh!\u201d he would\nbe able to give her drink.\n\nUpon this the prince went to the king and requested that he be given,\ngraciously, forty sheep and forty casks of wine. These were carried to\nthe bird, who placed the sheep on one wing, the wine upon the other;\nthe prince mounted her back, and immediately the journey was\nundertaken.\n\nThe prince supplied the great bird with food and drink, according to\nher direction, until there came a day when she said \u201cHah!\u201d and there\nwas no meat to give her. The command was repeated. The prince hastily\ncut off the calf of his leg and gave it to her. The bird, perceiving\nthat it was human flesh, put it in a corner of her mouth and would not\neat it. Shortly after this they arrived at the mouth of the well;\nwhereupon the bird said, \u201cMy prince, we have reached the face of the\nearth. Go, now. And may Allah be with thee!\u201d\n\nBut the prince could not walk, because of his leg. And as he did not\nwish to reveal this to the roc he answered, \u201cDo thou depart first, I\npray thee; then will I go.\u201d\n\nThe bird knew the reason for this answer, and, taking the piece of\nflesh from her mouth, she replaced it in such marvelous manner that the\nleg was better than before.\n\nThe prince then bade the bird good-bye. And with that he found himself\nin his own country. Before he should be recognized, he secured a tight\ncap of skin, which gave him the appearance of baldness. It was more\nthan this. There were upon the cap certain marks which gave an\nimpression that the wearer was suffering from a disease of the scalp.\nThis was so designed that no one would approach too near the person of\nthe prince and thus discover him. He then changed garments with a\nshepherd, and in this garb went directly to the pleasure garden of his\nfather, where he asked the gardener to take him as an assistant.\n\nThe gardener refused; but the pleadings of the youth finally forced him\nto consent. After a few days the gardener gathered a great bunch of\nroses and went away, leaving the pleasure garden in charge of his\nseemingly faithful assistant.\n\n\n\n\n\nPART V\n\nTHE MAGIC HAIRS\n\nNo sooner was the gardener gone than the prince took the hairs given\nhim by the princess and rubbed them together. Immediately a slave\nappeared and asked, \u201cWhat are thy commands, O prince?\u201d\n\n\u201cBring me a fine horse, a fine suit of clothes, and a set of weapons,\u201d\nwas the answer.\n\nIn another moment the slave brought all that had been commanded, and\nassisted the young man to dress and mount his horse. After this the\nprince rode all about the garden, trampling upon and destroying the\nplants. As he rode he glanced toward the palace and rejoiced to see\nthat the three princesses were there and that he was recognized by\nthem. He then gave the horse, clothes, and weapons to the slave and\nretired to a corner of the garden.\n\nWhen the gardener returned\u2014what should he see! The beautiful garden\nnearly in ruins, and the bald-headed assistant weeping in a corner. He\nbegan beating him, but the maidens called from a window: \u201cDo not beat\nthe lad! Verily, a rider from without came and destroyed the plants.\nThy assistant is not to blame.\u201d\n\nAfter a few days the gardener again went away, and left the boy in\ncharge of the place. The second time he called for a horse, destroyed\nmany things which had escaped before, then sat down and awaited the\nreturn of the gardener. The maidens had fully recognized him this time.\nThey rejoiced that the good prince had returned to the face of the\nearth, but, not knowing his plans, they bided his time and said\nnothing.\n\nThe gardener returned shortly, and was so greatly incensed at what he\nsaw that he was about to chastise his assistant severely, when the\nmaidens called commanding him to cease. A third time was the young\nprince left alone, and a third time did he despoil the garden\u2014this time\nso grievously that not a branch was left. When the gardener returned he\nfound nothing growing. Taking hold of the youth, he threw him without\nthe gate.\n\nNow, the prince was desirous of learning about the affairs of the\nkingdom. He had found that his brothers had not the courage to\nchallenge one who appeared and behaved disrespectfully unto their\nfather, the king. He went therefore to a jeweler and requested to be\ntaken as an apprentice. The jeweler had no need of an assistant, but as\nthe lad asked that he be permitted even to carry his coals, he was\naccepted.\n\nNow, when the maidens had been brought unto the palace the king\ncommanded that the first two prepare for their wedding. They, however,\nbegged to be allowed forty days in which to prepare. When they had\nrecognized the good prince they hoped for release, and, to assure\nthemselves that he was upon the earth continually, they asked many\nthings which none but he would have power to grant. One wanted a golden\nshuttle and a golden needle which would make lace without hands. The\nsecond asked for a golden tray, upon which must be a golden hen with\nforty golden chickens and all eating golden grains of barley. The third\ndemanded a golden tray around which a golden rabbit and a golden hare\nwere chasing each other.\n\nNow, the wicked princes, believing that they had destroyed their\nbrother, desired that the people might become dissatisfied with their\nfather\u2019s rule; so they pressed him to fulfill the requests of the\nprincesses. The king did according to their desire; for he was very sad\nat heart and had no wish to live longer. Therefore he summoned all the\njewelers of his kingdom and commanded that they execute the three\norders. The jewelers, after consulting together, begged that they be\ngranted forty days of grace. This request was granted by the king, who\nthreatened certain death to all of them if, upon the fortieth day, his\ndemands were not fulfilled. Thereupon, very much cast down in spirit,\nthe jewelers were permitted to return to their homes.\n\nThe apprentice prince, seeing his master in this state, asked the cause\nof his anxiety. The master answered him roughly; but, as the youth\npersisted, he replied that the king\u2019s sons had rescued three\nprincesses, each of whom demanded a special article made of gold,\nbefore the two who were designed for them in marriage would consent to\nthe nuptials. When asked to describe the articles, and after he had\ndone so, the apprentice cried: \u201cMy master, I thought it had been some\nimpossible thing that was required of thee. Trouble thyself no longer.\nFurnish me with a bag of nuts for food, another of raisins, and with\nforty candles. Thou shalt have these curious articles upon the morning\nof the fortieth day. Fear not!\u201d\n\n\u201cSince the boy craves nuts and raisins,\u201d said the master to himself, \u201cI\nwill permit him to have them. For myself, I shall need nothing long.\u201d\n\nThe prince shut himself into a room, ate the nuts and raisins, burned\nhis candles, and enjoyed himself. He was learning much about the\nkingdom and his brothers. Upon the fortieth night he rubbed the magic\nhairs which the maiden had given him, and commanded the slave, who\nappeared, to bring the articles demanded by the three princesses. They\nwere brought and placed within a carved casket which stood in the room.\n\nAt early morning the jeweler appeared. He was pale with fear as he\ndemanded how the boy had spent his time. \u201cWhy dost thou ask? My answer\nlies hidden within the casket.\u201d\n\nWith trembling hands the master opened the casket, and was so\noverpowered at what he saw that he fell upon the apprentice\u2019s neck in a\nswoon. When he had revived, he hastened to the palace and spread the\nprecious creations before the king. Then were the three maidens very\nhappy, for they knew that the good prince was not only upon the face of\nthe earth, but that he possessed great power.\n\nWhen the jeweler returned to the shop he was grieved because the\napprentice requested his freedom, and would not be persuaded to remain.\n\u201cHave I not saved thy life and the lives of thy fellow craftsmen? And\nwilt thou refuse me freedom?\u201d asked the young man. So the jeweler\npermitted him to depart.\n\nThen the prince went directly to the shop of a tailor, and again asked\nthat he might serve an apprenticeship; and, although the tailor had no\nneed of help, he refused to be turned away. This he did because he had\nheard of another request made by the maidens. They desired to gain more\ntime and had asked for three robes, which had not been cut with\nscissors, nor sewn by needles; and each of which should be brought them\nin a filbert shell.\n\nThe king felt that he was in the power of some strange evil. At the\nurgent request of his sons he summoned the tailors of the kingdom and\ngave them the command. Now, the tailors had trembled greatly when they\nlearned what had been required of the jewelers. They felt assured that\nnot one of them could fulfill the imperial order; nevertheless, since\nthey wished to live as long as possible, they asked for forty days in\nwhich to prepare the three robes. \u201cVery well,\u201d replied their sovereign,\n\u201cbut if my command is not obeyed, upon the forty-first day you all\nshall lose your heads.\u201d\n\nWhen the master of the prince returned, in great dejection, to his\nshop, the new apprentice asked the cause of his anxiety. \u201cDo not vex\nme!\u201d was the impatient answer. But, as the day wore on, the prince\nlearned the cause of his master\u2019s hopelessness. \u201cIs that anything to\ntrouble thee?\u201d asked the youth. \u201cGive to me forty bags of nuts, forty\nbags of raisins, and forty candles. Upon the forty-first day thou shalt\nhave what thou desirest.\u201d The tailor, because he did not like to grieve\na lad who showed so much interest, gave to him all that he had asked.\nThe prince shut himself up as beforehand, and upon the fortieth night\nbade the slave, whom he had summoned with the magic hairs, to bring the\nthree robes and place them within a brazen casket upon the table. When\nmorning came the tailor, without experiencing any degree of hope, came\nto the door and asked what had been accomplished. The apprentice\ndesired him to open the casket and behold the fulfillment of his\npromise. The tailor was overjoyed, and hastened to the palace;\nwhereupon the king at once gave order that the wedding festivities\nshould begin.\n\nA tournament of javelin throwing was arranged to take place upon the\nrunning grounds, in which, upon the first day, the eldest prince was to\nshow his skill. The whole city turned out to witness the spectacle; and\nthe grateful tailor said to his apprentice, \u201cCome, let us go together\nand see the eldest prince play Zerid.\u201d But the youth objected on\naccount of his baldness; saying that he feared something might hit him\naccidentally and hinder the healing of the sores.\n\nSo the tailor left him alone in the shop. The prince then summoned the\nslave of the magic hairs and commanded that a tall black horse, a set\nof javelins, and a black suit of clothes be brought him. This was done\nimmediately. The prince cast off his hateful headdress, arrayed himself\nin the handsome clothing, mounted his horse, and rode to the place of\ntournament, where the eldest son of the king was playing. It was easy\nto recognize his brother. Riding directly to him, the newcomer\nchallenged to single combat, and, with a wonderful throw, so wounded\nhim in the arm that he fell off his horse. In the confusion which\nfollowed, the victor returned to the shop of the tailor, gave back the\nhorse, the javelins, and the clothing, sent the slave to his place\nunder the earth, and sat down to await the coming of his master.\n\nWhen the tailor appeared he cried: \u201cO, my son! It is well that thou\ndidst not go with me to-day.\u201d Then he sat down and related all that had\npassed. But, during the relation, the prince learned that there was a\ngreat uprising planned against the king, and that the son of the grand\nvizier was to murder the two princes and take the throne. This had all\ncome about through the restlessness of the people, which had been\ncaused by the long unkindness of the king\u2019s sons.\n\nThe next day, when the second son of the king was to rule the\ntournament, the tailor again took his departure. His apprentice\ninstantly summoned the slave of the magic hairs, and ordered a yellow\nhorse, a suit made from cloth of gold, and a set of gold-mounted\njavelins. When these were furnished him he rode to the place of\ntournament, and dismounted his second brother by wounding him in the\nleg; after which he returned quickly to the shop, resumed his former\nappearance, and sat down to await the coming of his master. When the\ntailor returned, and related the events of the day, the apprentice\npraised Allah that he had not accompanied him.\n\nNow, upon the third day was the son of the grand vizier to rule the\nexhibition of skill. So the prince was exceedingly anxious to see his\nmaster depart. When the tailor was once out of sight, a white horse and\na silver-embroidered suit with silver-mounted javelins were ordered\nfrom the slave of the magic hairs. When these arrived the prince made\nhaste to array himself and to depart, as before, to the running ground.\nThe grand vizier\u2019s son was challenged, and with rare skill he was run\nthrough the heart and killed.\n\nThis time the victor did not disappear, as he had done upon each of the\nprevious days, but continued to ride about openly, until he was\narrested and dragged before the king. Before his entrance there the\nking had given orders that the murderer should have his head stricken\noff. As the prince approached the throne he said: \u201cO, most noble and\ngracious sovereign! My brothers abandoned me in the well; the son of\nthe grand vizier plotted against thy most precious life; and wilt thou\nnow kill me, thy faithful son?\u201d\n\nWhen the king knew indeed that it was the son whom he had so deeply\nmourned, he was overjoyed. Falling upon the neck of the young prince,\nhe wept and asked: \u201cMy son, what dost thou desire? Shall I command the\ndeath of thy two brothers?\u201d But the young man was as noble when victory\ncrowned him as when the bitterness of defeat had taxed his powers. He\nanswered: \u201cMy father, since I am so happy as to find thee still\nunharmed, let us say, Allah be praised! Allah\u2019s will be done! But do\nthou, I pray thee, give a palace, far away from thine own, unto each of\nmy brothers; command that the elder be married to the first princess,\nthe second to the second princess; then do thou graciously permit me to\nmarry the youngest, whom I deeply love and through whom it has been\npossible for me thus to rescue thee and preserve unto thee thy\nkingdom.\u201d\n\nSo it all came about as the brave young prince had requested. The two\nbrothers were given palaces at a distance from that of the king; there\nwas feasting and rejoicing upon the part of all the people during forty\ndays; after which the youngest son of the king was married to the most\nbeautiful princess and lived happily ever afterward.\n\nHere endeth this story, with Salaam! which meaneth peace.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL WHO HAD HER WISH\n\n\nThe teller of tales says that, once upon a time, there lived a woman\nwhose only child was a daughter, so beautiful that, of all who saw her,\nnot one had ever beheld her equal. And this daughter not only was fair\nto look upon, she was gentle and kind to everyone and very loving and\nobedient to her mother. Indeed, there seemed to be nothing wanting to\nthe happiness of these two.\n\nHer mother had taught the young girl to weave the most delicate lace,\nand during some portion of every day she sat in her own room and\ncarefully wrought out the pattern. Late one afternoon, as she was\nengaged thus, a bird flew in at the window. This did not seem strange\nto one with whom the birds were so friendly that every day they came to\neat from her hand. But as she looked upon this little visitor, he\nseemed unlike those that came to her daily.\n\nLowering his head three times, he opened his bill and spoke to her. The\nwords that he said were very terrible: \u201cGentle maiden,\u201d quoth the bird,\n\u201cduring forty nights shalt thou keep watch beside a corpse. After that\nit shall happen to thee according to thy strongest wish.\u201d\n\nThe young girl was so surprised and alarmed that she could not command\nher tongue to ask the bird why this must come to her. Before she became\ncalm the bird had flown.\n\nNow, because the girl loved her mother very deeply, she delayed to\nspeak of this strange matter. At night she went to bed and slept, and\nwhen morning came, took up her accustomed duties. At the approach of\nevening the strange bird came again, spoke as before, and flew away.\n\nSick at heart, the poor girl ran to her mother and confided all that\nhad passed. The mother, greatly alarmed, questioned her daughter\nclosely. \u201cDost thou fear another visit from the bird, my child?\u201d\n\n\u201cTwice has he come to me. He will surely come once more. Thou knowest\nwell, my mother, that one who has a second warning surely must receive\na third.\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my daughter!\u201d exclaimed the mother. \u201cAnd at what time will the\nbird visit thee?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo-morrow, toward evening,\u201d answered the girl.\n\nAccordingly, when the shadows lengthened upon the morrow, the mother\nhid herself in a closet at one end of her daughter\u2019s room. At the\nexpected time, while the girl sat working upon her lace, the same bird\nentered, lowered his head three times, and spoke the same words\u2014with\nthis slight difference, that he addressed the maiden as sultana.\n\nAfter the words were spoken, the bird turned to the window and was soon\nbeyond sight.\n\nThe poor mother had overheard all. As the two flew to embrace each\nother the mother cried: \u201cAi, my daughter, let us fly! Let us try to\nescape from the power of this cruel bird.\u201d\n\nAnd the girl answered, \u201cLet us fly together, mother, come what will!\u201d\n\nThey made haste to gather those goods which were light in weight but\nheavy in worth; after which they closed the doors of their home and set\nforth, with all speed, upon a journey which they well knew must be\nperilous.\n\nThey rested but little, one of them always keeping watch. After several\ndays of travel they came to a magnificent palace. Hastening to its\nwalls, they sat down in the shadow and considered what they would\nbetter do next. Being weary, they lay down in a hidden spot, and\nalthough the mother was firm in her will to remain awake, a strange\npower took hold upon her that she could not resist. Sleep closed her\neyes. She became unconscious.\n\nUpon this the strange bird again made its appearance, and, although it\nseemed not larger than an ordinary songster, it possessed such strength\nas to lift the sleeping girl. Gently it bore her over the wall and into\na room of the palace, where it laid her upon a beautiful golden divan.\n\nAlmost immediately the sleeper opened her eyes, and discovered that she\nwas separated from her mother and within the palace. She arose and\nlooked about her. Lying upon a bier in the middle of the room, under a\nwhite, transparent covering, was a corpse.\n\nWhen her eyes fell upon this the poor girl nearly went out of her\nsenses for terror, and exclaimed: \u201cEvil is upon me! That which the bird\nforetold was, indeed, very truth.\u201d\n\nThen she sought eagerly to find a way out, in order that she might\nbring her mother within. The rooms of the palace were very large and\nmagnificent; but no person could be found in them. And whenever she\nentered one of them and hastened to another door, she found herself, as\nif by magic, in the one where had been her awakening and beside the\nstately bier.\n\nHour after hour she struggled. Every trial ended with the same\nexperience. She found herself, again and again, in the lonely room with\nonly the body upon the bier for company. At last she was exhausted, and\nbegan to understand that escape was impossible\u2014that some mighty power\nhad torn her from her beloved mother. In the hope that obedience to\nfate would make her sentence lighter, she said: \u201cI will bear whatever\nis allotted to me. Afterward, if Allah will, it may be for the best.\u201d\n\n\n\nLet the girl remain here while we return to the mother.\n\nMorning came, and, the strange influence having spent itself, the woman\nawakened. Turning toward the place where she had last seen her beloved\ndaughter, she reached out her arms for an embrace. But they were empty.\nThe alarmed woman made haste to seek all about the hiding place, in the\nvain hope that the girl had gone to look about them. But no trace of\nher child could be found\u2014no footprint in the soft earth, no portion of\nher clothing.\n\nWhen this became real to the seeker, her heart was crushed with fear.\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she cried, \u201cin rescuing my beloved one from the bird I have\nlost her unto myself!\u201d\n\nThereupon, with grief so heavy that she was many days in journeying the\ndistance over which they two had sped so swiftly, she returned to her\nown home, went into mourning for the daughter whom she believed dead,\nand awaited whatever might be ordered unto herself.\n\n\n\nNow let us return to the girl.\n\nDuring the long nights that followed she slept not, but kept her dreary\nwatch beside the bier. In some mysterious manner, fresh food appeared\nevery morning upon a golden salver, and whatever remained from the\nprevious day was spirited away. Although the girl endeavored to\ndiscover this change, she was unable to do so.\n\nAt first, by means of a bit of charred wood which she found upon the\nfloor, she kept the strictest account of the days as they passed. With\nthis she made a mark upon the marble for each day. But as they wore by\nshe forgot to number them. Dreary monotony made her spiritless.\n\nNow, in front of the palace flowed the sea. One window of the room was\ndirectly over that portion of the castle walls which were washed by the\nwaves. Long before sunrise, one morning, as the maiden sat beside this\nwindow, looking out with heavy eyes, a ship appeared. It came from the\ndirection of Iram. When it was directly before the palace the girl made\na sign with her hand. The captain lowered a boat which came to the\nwalls of the palace.\n\nThe air was very still, and the voice of the young girl, though not\nloud, was clear. \u201cBring me a beautiful slave girl,\u201d she said, \u201cand I\nwill give you these ten thousand piasters.\u201d\n\nThe boat returned to the ship. Very soon it came back. In it was\nanother person. The watcher saw that it was a young girl, like herself.\nOverjoyed, she let down a rope, made from the silken coverings of the\ndivan. At the end of this rope she had fastened the money.\n\nWhen the men had secured the gold they tied the rope about the body of\nthe slave girl, and with great difficulty she was drawn up far enough\nto enable her to climb within. Her young mistress greeted her with\nkindness, and, because of her joy, took the string of gold coins from\nher own neck and fastened them around the neck of the newcomer. And she\nsaid, \u201cThanks be to Allah! I have found a companion.\u201d\n\nThe slave girl had been cruelly treated by the captain of the ship. But\nshe did not tell her mistress that she was glad to be rescued.\n\nNow, the fortieth night was completed, though the young girl knew not\nthat it was so. After she and the slave had both bathed in an inner\nchamber, and after they had eaten of the delicate food upon the golden\nsalver, the mistress said to her slave: \u201cNow, do thou watch here a\nlittle, while I go to walk through the rooms of the palace. After my\nreturn thou canst do likewise.\u201d\n\nThereupon she went out; and had barely gone when the body upon the bier\nreturned to life. It was that of a young man, very tall and worthy to\nbe looked upon. He threw off the covering, and disclosed the\nembroidered garments of royalty. He stretched out his hands and opened\nhis eyes. They fell upon the slave girl. After his long torpor she\nseemed beautiful to him. And the gold coins about her neck were not\nsuch as one sees upon a slave.\n\n\u201cMaiden,\u201d he asked, \u201cwas it thou who watched beside me through the\nforty nights?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d answered the slave; \u201cfor forty nights have I watched beside\nthee.\u201d\n\nNow, it so chanced that the person who had been lying upon the bier was\na young prince. And before the evil spell was cast upon him by an enemy\nof his father, he had made a vow, saying, \u201cWhoso watches by me during\nthe forty days of my enchantment, her will I marry immediately upon\nwaking.\u201d\n\nIt was because of this vow that he asked the question. And because\nwithin his heart he had felt another presence, he called the slave to\nhim and asked whether any other beside herself had been there.\n\nThe slave was very quick-witted. She was scheming and wicked of heart.\nIn a moment she knew all that the question might mean to her.\nForgetting the kindness of her young mistress in redeeming her from the\ncruel captain and in making of her a beloved companion, rather than a\nslave, she quickly made this answer:\n\n\u201cThere is my slave girl, whom I bought with much money. Only these gold\npieces about my neck have I saved. She is now in another room.\u201d\n\nThen the prince took her by the hand and said, \u201cBefore Allah do I take\nthee for my wife.\u201d And he kissed her upon the cheek.\n\nAs these words were spoken there came the sound of light footsteps. The\nyoung mistress entered.\n\n\u201cCome, girl!\u201d arrogantly called the slave. \u201cThy master, my husband,\nhath wakened. He calleth for thy service. Hasten to do his bidding!\u201d\n\nThe gentle maiden saw that matters were not as they had been when she\nbegan her promenade through the great rooms. But, being obedient of\nheart, she said to herself: \u201cThis, too, comes from Allah. It must be\nborne patiently.\u201d\n\nAt the first opportunity she made haste to count the marks upon the\nmarble which she had made every day with the bit of charcoal. They\nnumbered forty. Then she felt that there was no hope for her, and\nmeekly put herself in the place of her own slave, doing every service\nthat was required of her. The real slave was bitterly cruel, and asked\nthe most menial offices of this beautiful girl, although upon the full\nawakening of the prince the palace had become filled with the usual\nnumber of servants.\n\nA little time later on the prince said to the one whom he had taken for\nhis wife: \u201cI am going on a long journey. What is thy wish that I bring\nthee?\u201d\n\n\u201cBring me a hundred diamonds and one hundred turquoises,\u201d said the\nwoman.\n\nThen the prince turned to her whom his wife called slave. \u201cAnd what\nwouldst thou have, my child?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cIf it be thy gracious pleasure,\u201d came the low answer, \u201cI would beg\nthee to bring me a patience stone.\u201d\n\n\u201cA patience stone!\u201d sneered the other. \u201cThe prince will never remember\nthat.\u201d\n\nThen the young girl turned to the slave mistress. \u201cShould he permit\nhimself to forget this simple request of one who serves you both\nfaithfully,\u201d was her answer, \u201cmay a cloud, black as pitch, form in\nfront of his ship, so that the way of return cannot be seen. And behind\nthem may the sky remain clear!\u201d\n\nThe prince was not a little surprised at all this. He had taken note of\nthe perfect manner of the one whom his wife called slave, and had\ncompared the two. But, without comment, he made his adieus and set\nforth upon his journey toward Yemen.\n\nAfter his arrival there months passed, while he attended to matters of\nstate. When the time came that he could return, he purchased all that\nhis wife had ordered. So many things had occurred that it was not\nstrange that he should forget the servant\u2019s commission.\n\nWhile the ship was upon her homeward journey, suddenly it became dark\nas pitch before the vessel, while behind it the skies were quite clear.\nThis made it impossible to navigate the ship. Fear came upon everyone.\n\nThereupon the captain summoned all who were on board. \u201cIf there be\nanyone among you,\u201d he said, solemnly, \u201cwho has forgotten a promise or\nforgotten a vow, let him stand forth!\u201d\n\nWhen the prince heard this command, he remembered the commission of his\nwife\u2019s servant and her low-spoken prediction, when the scornful words\nhad been uttered. He believed that the danger had come upon them\nbecause of those words.\n\nTo the great surprise of all, their prince stepped forward. \u201cI am the\none in fault,\u201d he said. \u201cThis evil has come upon us because I have\nbroken a promise made to a slave. Turn the ship about. Let us return to\nport, while I fulfill that which became a duty as soon as I had given\nmy word.\u201d\n\nImmediately upon the ship\u2019s turning, the cloud began to follow them.\nSoon they were back at Yemen, where the prince made haste to purchase\nthe patience stone. Afterward, by the grace of Allah (the Just One) the\nship flew so fast on its homeward voyage that it seemed like a bird,\nand the palace was reached in an incredibly short space of time.\n\nWhen the prince entered the palace, his wife, followed by her servant,\ncame down the broad staircase to meet him. Afterward they escorted him\nup the stairs and into the pleasantest room of the castle. The wife\nasked eagerly for the precious gems, and was wild with delight when\nthey were spread before her.\n\n\u201cCome, hither, slave!\u201d she commanded, \u201cand deck thy mistress in a\nmanner fitting to her station!\u201d\n\nThe young girl obeyed without a murmur, although her heart was very\nsore. When the task was finished, and the vain and wicked one sat\nbefore a polished steel mirror admiring herself, the seeming slave\nturned to the prince.\n\n\u201cMy gracious master,\u201d she said, very gently, \u201cis it permitted me to ask\nif thou rememberedst my humble request?\u201d\n\nThe prince then delivered the stone, which was received with becoming\ngratitude. \u201cMay Allah bless thee!\u201d were her words.\n\nNow, the only room in the entire palace which was at all mean had been\ngiven to her, and everything that could add to her comfort had been\nremoved by command of her mistress. When the night came on she went to\nthis room and sat down to deliberate.\n\nGrief at the loss of her mother tore her heart. The injustice of her\nown slave was more than she could endure longer. It seemed as if Allah,\nin whom she had hoped, must have forgotten her. Tears fell from her\nbeautiful eyes and sighs shook her frame. Long she sat there after the\nhour for retiring.\n\nWhen the palace became still and the prince was in his bed, he\nbethought him of his wife\u2019s supposed slave and wondered what she would\ndo with the patience stone. There was a mystery about her which he fain\nwould solve. More than once had he checked his wife in her heavy\ndemands upon the frail young girl; more than once had he been stirred\nwith the thought that she and not the one he had married should be the\nprincess. So, after his wife had fallen asleep, he arose lightly and\nwent to the door of the servant\u2019s room, taking with him his faithful\nAhmed to bear witness to what he should discover.\n\nThe gift, that had been brought her, was about the size of a pea. As\nthe prince came to the door he saw the young girl wash the stone with\nher tears. Afterward she placed it upon the broken table before her and\nthus addressed it:\n\n\u201cAi, patience stone! I was my mother\u2019s only and precious child. One\nday, as I, innocent and happy in her affection, sat in my room weaving\nthe lace that she had taught me to make, a bird came through the window\nand spoke to me, saying: \u2018During forty days shalt thou keep watch\nbeside a corpse. But upon the morning of the fortieth day it shall\nhappen to thee according to thy strongest desire.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe bird appeared to me three days and uttered the same message. Upon\nthe third day my mother, concealed within a closet, heard all that was\nsaid. She, as well as I, was terrified. She determined to save me by\nflight. But, while we slept, some mysterious power took me from her\nside and placed me in this palace.\n\n\u201cI have not seen my mother since, and do not know whether she is dead\nfrom the grief of our separation. As for myself, during forty days and\nnights I watched beside the bier of this prince who is now my master.\nHadst thou been in my place, O stone! couldst thou have been utterly\npatient?\u201d\n\nAs she thus spoke, the patience stone began to swell with sympathy. As\nit did so, it whispered, \u201cBravo! bravo!\u201d\n\n\u201cWith the first streak of light upon the fortieth morning,\u201d continued\nthe speaker, \u201ca ship passed the palace. Loneliness was heavy upon me. I\nsignaled it and asked that I might buy a slave girl. For her I offered\nten thousand piasters of the money my mother had put upon me.\n\n\u201cThey sent me this slave who is now my mistress. I received her gladly.\nI kissed her and put my own gold coins about her neck. I was kind to\nher and felt that it was good to have companionship other than a stiff\nand silent corpse.\n\n\u201cWhen the morning had fully dawned I, being restless, left my slave to\nwatch for a little while beside the bier while I wandered through the\nbeautiful rooms of the palace.\n\n\u201cScarcely had I left his presence, when the spell was broken and the\nnoble prince was restored to life. I returned to find that he had made\nmy slave his princess. Immediately upon my return this false princess\nspoke roughly to me, calling out that I was her slave.\n\n\u201cSince then she has required bitter things of me. Often in the absence\nof the prince she beats me. Now she threatens my life. O, thou wise\nstone, couldst thou have had patience to endure all this?\u201d\n\nWhen this pitiful question was sobbed forth, the patience stone cried\n\u201cBravo!\u201d once again, then it burst into a thousand pieces.\n\n\u201cO, patience stone,\u201d cried the girl, \u201cif thou couldst not bear this\nthat has been put upon me, how can I longer do so? Let me rather hang\nmyself, before my cruel slave mistress tortures me to death.\u201d\n\nThereupon she took her sash, wound it about her throat, stepped upon a\nwretched stool, and threw the other end of the sash over a beam in the\nroof. She was upon the point of being strangled when the prince and his\nfaithful Ahmed broke into the room, caught her in their arms, and\nbrought her to the floor.\n\n\u201cAh, my sultana!\u201d said the prince, very tenderly, \u201cso it was thou who\nwatched beside me during those bitter days! Why hast thou kept this\nlong silence?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I believed in Allah,\u201d was the reply. \u201cIf he so willed my life,\nI must not try to change it But I was unable longer to bear it.\u201d\n\n\u201cHenceforth art thou my beloved,\u201d said the prince. And he kissed her\nthree times upon the forehead. \u201cThis other, who won thy place through\nfalsehood, shall receive her just deserts.\u201d\n\nHe then conducted the real sultana from the wretched room into a most\nbeautiful chamber, seated her upon a divan rich with cloth of gold,\nthen commanded very tenderly\u2014for his heart was touched with her\nsuffering, \u201cRemain here, my beloved, until I return to thee.\u201d\n\nHe then went to the bedside of the false one, struck her with his\nstick, and called fiercely: \u201cHaste thee! Arise to receive thy just\npunishment for the evil which thou hast brought upon thy innocent\nmistress.\u201d\n\nThe slave fell upon her face before him and besought his pardon. But he\nwould not listen. \u201cWilt thou have forty blows or shall forty crows be\nsummoned to bear thee out into the night?\u201d he demanded.\n\n\u201cO!\u201d cried she, \u201clet the forty blows fall upon the heads of my enemies!\nI ask that forty crows come. Perchance they will bear me back to my\nhome.\u201d\n\nThereupon, at the prince\u2019s command, slaves brought a basket, lifted and\nplaced her within it, then opened a window overlooking the sea. Forty\ngiant crows came, seized upon the basket with their beaks, and flew so\nfar away that neither the prince nor his beautiful sultana ever heard\nof her again.\n\nThen the young girl, who had been rescued from death by the prince,\nbegged that messengers be sent to relate her good fortune to her\nmother\u2014if haply she were yet alive\u2014and that a camel might also be taken\nto fetch her to their marriage feast.\n\nThis request was readily granted. And the mother, who had mourned her\ndaughter as dead, came hastily and with joy to greet her again. The\nwedding feast lasted forty days and forty nights. Throughout it all\neverything happened according to the wish of the kind and beautiful\ngirl. Salaam!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE BEAUTIFUL ONE WHO DID NOT HAVE HER DESIRE\n\n\nThe narrator of tales relates that, once upon a time, there lived a man\nand his wife who were so poor that they had no home. So the woman\nbegged of her husband to seek a place for her in the bamam, or bath\nhouse. Now, the bamam was a large building, with many rooms. When the\nbamamjy, or keeper, had listened to the tale of the poor man he\nanswered: \u201cThere will be room for your wife to-morrow. Let her come\nthen.\u201d\n\nThe husband returned with joy, and, on the morrow, accompanied his wife\nto the bamam, where the keeper made her quite welcome. In a few days\nthere was born to the poor woman a little girl child, who was like a\nray of light for beauty and sweetness. As the mother sat gazing upon\nher child, the wall of the bamam opened and three dervishes made their\nappearance. Gifts were in their hands of those things that would add to\nthe woman\u2019s comfort.\n\nThe first dervish approached with a great roll of very soft clothing.\n\u201cThou shalt name this child,\u201d said the dervish, \u201cThe Beautiful One Who\nDoes Not Obtain Her Desire.\u201d Thereupon he withdrew, and the second\ndervish came near, with a gift of sweet perfumes and ointments, and\nsaid: \u201cWhenever water shall touch the crown of this child\u2019s head, it\nshall turn into pieces of gold and roll to the ground. Roses shall fall\nfrom about her cheeks whenever she laughs; and if, unhappily, she shall\nweep, the tears will become pearls. When she is grown strong enough to\nwalk upon the earth, green grass shall spring up in her footsteps.\u201d\n\nHaving spoken thus, the second dervish disappeared. The third then drew\nnear. His present consisted of a bracelet of gold. \u201cLet this,\u201d said the\nthird dervish, \u201cbe fastened about her arm. And if thou wouldst keep thy\nchild alive, then must thou guard well this amulet; for as long as it\nremains upon her arm she shall live, but when once it is removed, then\ndeath shall claim her.\u201d Thus saying, the third dervish disappeared, as\nhad the others, and the walls of the bamam became as if they had not\nbeen opened.\n\nWhen the mother had recovered from her astonishment, she fastened the\namulet upon the infant\u2019s arm; after which she began to bathe the little\none. All went as is usual, until she poured water from the basin upon\nthe child\u2019s head, when, as the second dervish had predicted, the water\nturned into gold pieces and fell to the ground in a shower.\n\nThe mother gathered the money and hid it; after which she made haste to\ndress her child. When the little one had fallen asleep she called the\nkeeper of the bamam, and, giving him a handful of the coins, bade him\nsend for her husband. The keeper was surprised at receiving such an\namount from one who had seemed so poor, but, being a wise man, he asked\nno questions and did as he had been requested.\n\nWhen the husband came he greeted his wife and their newborn beautiful\ninfant; after which his wife told him of the visit from the three\ndervishes and the wonderful things they had each foretold. The poor man\nwas nearly beside himself for joy that now he would be able fitly to\nprovide for his beloved little family. Tenderly he lifted the child in\nhis arms, and together they two set out to seek an abiding place.\n\nThey ordered a fine large house built and completely furnished. Back of\nthe house they caused a beautiful garden to be planted. In the middle\nof this garden the fortunate parents ordered a kiosk builded; and when\nit was finished they called the goldsmith and bade him cover it with\ngold. This he did; and when the work was completed, its beauty could\nnot be described, it was so great. Thus did these happy parents prepare\na worthy place for the child whose coming had brought them such great\nand good fortune.\n\nThe kiosk was made the immediate dwelling place of the little one, who\nwas guarded most tenderly. And, as the years went by, it continued unto\nthem as the second dervish had said; until they grew to possess such\nwealth that they lost all idea of its value.\n\nTime came and went until fifteen years had passed; and never in all the\nworld had there been so beautiful a blue-eyed, golden-haired,\nrosy-cheeked damsel. To one who looked at her, it was as if a sun had\narisen.\n\n\n\nWe will now leave these people and go far away, unto the son of the\nking at Yemen.\n\nIt must have been that Allah intended the beautiful girl to be the wife\nof the young prince; for, one night, a dream was sent to him in which\nshe appeared. He was told her name, her father\u2019s name, and the exact\ncountry in which was her dwelling. So very real was her presence and so\nclear the picture of her home that, upon waking, his heart was torn\nwith sorrow that it was only a dream. He called for a piece of\nparchment and made a chart of the way through which they must pass who\nshould go to bring her unto him.\n\nWhen the morning dawned, the young prince went directly to his queen\nmother and, coming to speech, said: \u201cMy honored mother, may Allah give\nhappiness unto you! Last night, whether sleeping or waking, I know not,\nbut a marvelous vision passed before my eyes. I am so haunted with the\nmemory of it that life will be unto me as nothing, if thou do not\nrealize my vision unto me.\u201d\n\nTo which the queen made reply: \u201cWhat is this that thou askest of me, O,\nmy son! Well thou knowest that my heart is as thine, when the happiness\nof my child is concerned. Speak! Relate unto me the vision. Then ask\nwhat thou wilt, and, if Allah forbid not, it shall be done for thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cO, mother!\u201d the young man responded, \u201cin a certain garden is a kiosk.\nIt is covered with beaten gold. But, beautiful as is the casket, much\nmore beautiful is the treasure for which it was created. The kiosk have\nI seen; and the way unto it so plainly was shown to me, that I have\nhere a chart of that way\u2014even of the waters, which lead unto it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what does the casket contain that can be worthy of such\nmagnificence, and worthy thus to disturb the peace of my son?\u201d\n\n\u201cWithin this kiosk, O, my mother, there dwelleth a maiden who is\ninnocent, gracious, pure, and altogether charming. So innocent is she\nthat, at her smile, roses form beside her cheeks and fall about her; so\ngracious is she that when water is poured upon her head, it turns into\ngolden coins, with which can be done beneficent things; so pure is she\nthat when, perchance through grief at another\u2019s woe, she may be caused\nto weep, the tears change to pearls as they fall to the ground; and so\ncharming is her presence that, wherever she may walk\u2014even upon the most\nbarren earth\u2014soft grasses spring up to kiss her feet.\u201d\n\nWhen he had spoken thus the queen replied: \u201cIt is well, O, my son, that\nthy beginning is as one who telleth a dream. For this that thou\nrelatest to me is an impossible thing. There is no golden kiosk; there\ncan be no maiden with this remarkable power.\u201d\n\nThen was the young man grieved as he answered: \u201cAnd is it thus that my\nmother turns aside that which concerns my life or my death? Since thou\nwilt not believe me, then inquire of others. If it be false unto them\nall, then let it be false unto thee!\u201d\n\nThe love which this mother felt for her son and her grief at his\nsorrow, caused her to send for the public criers\u2014who are, also, the\nnewsmongers of that country. As these passed before the queen, the\nprince caused that each one should be questioned as to whether, in all\nthe countries he knew, there were such a garden in which dwelt so good\nand charming a maiden.\n\nEach crier was astonished at so strange a question, until one came who\nknew of the garden, the golden kiosk, and the charming maiden.\nProstrating himself before the royal personages, he made this answer:\n\u201cTrue it is, O prince, that there is such a place and that such a being\nreally exists. The outside of the garden do I know well. But the walls\nare high and difficult to scale. One day, however, when I was without,\nthe gates were opened to permit the entrance of a visitor; and the\nmaiden of whom thou speakest walked before the golden kiosk that stands\nbeside a fountain in the middle of the garden. And, between the opening\nand the closing of the gate, it was permitted that I should witness the\nwonders of which thou questionest.\u201d\n\nNeither the prince nor his mother had further doubts concerning the\ntruth of the vision.\n\n\u201cHonored mother!\u201d the prince entreated, \u201cif thou really dost love me as\nthou sayest, then permit me to beg that, with thy slaves and guard,\nthou shouldst embark upon the morrow and seek out this maiden. If these\nthings be really true of her, and if she be willing, engage her to me\nand cause that she return with thee.\u201d\n\nUpon the morrow the mother set out to fulfill the request of her son.\nThe way was long, and several months passed before the ship reached the\nfar-distant country. After disembarking she, with her attendants,\nentered the city and asked the way. It was pointed out to them. They\nwent to the house and knocked at the door. It was opened, and they were\npermitted to enter.\n\nThe queen was invited into the garden, where, very often, the guests\nwere received. Here her eyes discovered the golden kiosk. She, also,\nwas so fortunate as to find the parents, together with their daughter,\nwhom she was seeking.\n\nAfter sitting down, they all conversed courteously; and the visitor was\nmore than delighted with the presence and manner of the young girl. But\nher real object was to test the truth of those qualities which were\nascribed to her. Accordingly she said, \u201cVerily, my child, it will\ntrouble you greatly, but I am wearied with my long journey and would be\ngratified if you would bring a glass of water, with which to quench my\nthirst.\u201d\n\nThen the maiden graciously arose and hastened to bring water unto this\nguest from a far country. And everywhere that her light feet touched\nthe earth, soft grass sprang up. This caused astonishment and delight\nin the mind of the queen, who took the cup when it was presented to her\nand, as the young hostess made obeisance in its presentation, contrived\nto spill a few drops of the water upon the beautiful bowed head.\n\nThe drops immediately rolled off as gold pieces. At this the queen\u2014as\nif in a paroxysm of weariness\u2014caught the girl by the wrist and held so\ntightly that her nails entered the soft flesh. Although no cry came\nfrom the sweet lips, tears were forced to form in her eyes. These tears\nafterward dropped upon the ground in exquisite pearls.\n\nThen the visitor seemed to recover herself and related a story of her\nadventures while on the way thither. The tale was so amusing that the\nyoung girl began to smile. At which instant a rose appeared near each\nexquisite cheek and dropped upon the rug on which the visitor sat.\n\nThere was now no longer any doubt in the mind of the queen. The object\nof her journey had been gained. She therefore discovered her rank to\nthe parents; after which she said to them: \u201cVerily, we have heard of\nthe beautiful qualities of this, your daughter. By the will of Allah,\nand according to the law of the Prophet, I would marry her unto my son,\nthe prince. What is your will concerning this?\u201d\n\nThen were the parents greatly astonished and pleased. The mother,\ncoming to speech, made this reply: \u201cO, my queen! we will not refuse our\ndaughter to such as you. Your orders are upon our heads. And may Allah\ngraciously give his blessing!\u201d\n\nThen the queen engaged the daughter unto her son; after which she gave\ndirection, saying: \u201cWith the half of my slaves and the half of my guard\nwill I now return. With those that remain do you conduct your daughter,\nwith all speed, to our palace. Verily, we shall make haste with the\npreparations for the wedding and the festivities.\u201d\n\nThereupon the lady queen arose, embraced the maiden most tenderly, made\nher adieus, and, taking the half of her slaves and of her guard, began\nher homeward journey. When, after many days, she reached the palace,\nthe prince came to welcome her and to ask, eagerly, concerning the\nresult of her quest.\n\n\u201cMost happy am I to answer thee, O, my son!\u201d was the glad reply.\n\u201cVerily, it is according to that which the vision revealed unto thee.\nThere liveth such a maiden as thou hast believed in, and all those\nbright qualities belong unto her. One who sees her desires to look\nagain\u2014of such beauty is she possessed. I have been so fortunate as to\nengage her unto thee. She will come to thee presently.\u201d\n\nWhen the prince learned this, great fear lest evil should befall her\nwhom his soul desired came upon him. His mind became filled with\nsadness; his hands and feet began to tremble. He bent to kiss his\nmother\u2019s hand, after which he sat down and was lost in meditation. As\npreparations for the wedding began, he could look only with grave and\nlonging eyes along the road over which his betrothed was to come.\n\n\n\nLet these remain here, while we return to the other place in the story.\n\nHeavy silken garments were prepared, with all skill, for the maiden who\nhad been engaged to the prince. They were bound into a great package.\nAll things necessary for the journey were made ready, when the\nmother\u2014wishing to make certain changes in her own wardrobe\u2014called the\nwoman who had been nurse to her daughter and said unto her: \u201cVerily, I\ngive into your care a most precious charge. Take my daughter\u2014whom\nbefore this I have intrusted to you\u2014watch over her most carefully, and\nwith these slaves and guard, conduct her safely to Yemen, to the palace\nof the king. After a few days her father and I will follow, with all\nspeed.\u201d\n\nThereupon the nurse asked permission that her own daughter might\naccompany them, as the way was long, the distance very great and her\nheart would be sore at the parting. Permission was granted, and the\nlittle company embarked.\n\nAt evening, when the bride-to-be asked for food, the nurse made answer:\n\u201cFearing that harm might come to thee from eating of the ship\u2019s\nrations, I prepared such food as is best for one who journeys, for the\nfirst time, upon the sea.\u201d So saying, she cut off some slices of salted\nsausage, which she had prepared especially for an evil purpose, and\ngave them to the girl.\n\nIn about half an hour the maiden became very thirsty. \u201cO, mother,\u201d she\nasked of the nurse, \u201cgive me some water, I pray!\u201d\n\nTo this the woman made reply: \u201cIt is not well that you should have\nwater now.\u201d And, although the same request was spoken frequently, no\nwater was permitted to come near the maiden.\n\nAs the night wore on, her thirst became more violent; until, at last,\nshe was maddened with it and cried: \u201cGive me water or let me die!\u201d\n\nThen the evil woman said: \u201cMy girl, if you will let me take out one of\nyour eyes, you shall have water; but, otherwise, you shall have none.\u201d\n\nTo which, after this cruel reply had been repeated many times, the\nsufferer made answer: \u201cIt is possible to live with only one eye; but\nimpossible to live without water. Take thy desire and give unto me\nmine!\u201d\n\nThe woman, overjoyed, made haste to remove one of the eyes; after which\nshe permitted her charge a slight draught of water. But this could not\nlong appease such thirst as had been created by the salted sausage.\nAgain the poor girl moaned: \u201cVerily, mother, I am thirsty!\u201d To which\nwas made no answer.\n\nAs the hours wore on and the suffering grew past all endurance, the\nwoman said again: \u201cVerily, girl, if you will give me the other eye, I\nwill give you as much water as you can wish.\u201d\n\nWhat could the poor girl do? Beside herself with thirst and maddened\nwith pain, she hesitated but a little; then, losing all self-control,\nsobbed: \u201cAlas! what evil is come upon me! I am powerless in your hands.\nDo unto me whatever you will, only permit me to quench this thirst,\nwhich devours my throat and causes my tongue to swell.\u201d\n\nThe woman, delighting in evil, removed the other eye, and, afterward,\ngave all the water desired by the sufferer. It was swallowed eagerly;\nbut, alas! although her thirst was assuaged, she had been made blind!\n\nNow, all this happened while the slaves and the guard were in another\npart of the ship, and only the wicked nurse and her daughter were near\nto her who was to become bride to the young prince.\n\nAs the ship neared land, the nurse removed the bridal clothing from her\ncharge and put it upon her own daughter, whose face she covered with a\nveil. The clothes of her own girl were then put upon the maiden and her\nface was covered, as before.\n\nUpon landing, the nurse said to the others: \u201cDo you remain here for a\nlittle, while I conduct my daughter to the house of a relative, where\nshe will stay until my return.\u201d\n\nShe then led the maiden without the city and left her alone, upon a\nmountain. After that, she wrote a letter to the parents of the maiden\nand gave it to the master of the port, with the command that he should\nfind, upon the next incoming ship, the persons to whom it was addressed\nand deliver it to them. The letter read as follows:\n\n\u201cDo not continue your journey. Your daughter died upon the way to this\nport. She was buried in the deep sea. As for me, my grief is so great\nthat I shall never return.\u201d\n\nHaving done this, she hastened to rejoin those whom she had left; and\nthe little company proceeded upon its journey to the palace. The\nnurse\u2019s daughter guarded the secret well, so that no one dreamed of the\nsad thing that had happened. With all speed they pressed upon their\nway, and were soon met by the people of the palace, who conducted the\nwoman and her daughter into the presence of the queen.\n\nNow, the lady queen, after greeting the girl\u2014who was brought to her in\nmost splendid attire\u2014regarded her attentively and said to herself:\n\u201cThis is not the one who so charmed me in the quiet garden. There is\nsomething wrong. Let us see unto what the end will bring us.\u201d\n\nWith this seeming discovery she sat down to meditate; while the girl,\nwho desired to become a princess, was led to her own room, and everyone\nabout the palace made haste with preparations for the wedding.\n\nThat evening they married the nurse\u2019s daughter to the prince. And all\nof the guests drank a royal drink from cups that were brilliant with\ngems. Afterward, the prince said to her who had become his bride, \u201cI\nwonder greatly that, with all these festivities, not once have you\nsmiled.\u201d\n\nThen, although she smiled at his word\u2014which was a command, coming as it\ndid from a prince\u2014there occurred nothing at all unusual. Neither roses\nnor the fragrance of roses filled the air about her cheeks.\n\nAt this the prince, beginning to doubt, said to himself, \u201cMost\nwonderful things have been told me concerning the maiden who was to\nbecome my princess; not one of which has manifested itself since the\ncoming of this person.\u201d After reflecting thus, he determined to speak\nof that which disturbed his mind.\n\n\u201cMy princess,\u201d he said, very gently, \u201cit was related to me that when\nyou laughed, roses formed near your cheeks. But nothing of that kind\ncame to pass with your laughter just now. What is the meaning of this?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d was the careful answer, \u201cthat which has been told you is\ntrue; but it only happens once during each year.\u201d\n\nThus were the questionings of the prince quieted for a little.\n\nWhen it was morning and the princess was led to the bath, the queen\nmother came to accompany her. While one of the slaves washed the face\nof the girl, the mother approached with a cup of water. \u201cPermit me, my\nchild,\u201d said she, and straightway poured the contents of the cup upon\nthe girl\u2019s head. Not a gold piece made its appearance.\n\nAt this, although she uttered not a word, the queen\u2019s suspicions were\nstrengthened. However, taking the girl\u2019s hand, she led her from the\nbath and together they hastened to the palace, where the one who had\nbeen made princess sat down quietly, by herself.\n\n\n\nLet these people stay here while we return to the helpless one, who had\nbeen deserted upon the mountain.\n\nHer poor blind eyes could not cease their weeping until, as the result\nof her tears, a wall of pearls, as high as a man, piled itself before\nher. A muleteer, who was coming from the other side of the mountain,\nfollowed his path until it led him near to the suffering one. He was\nlost in astonishment and pity at what he saw. When he could recover\nhimself, he approached the maiden and said: \u201cAi, my girl, what fate has\nbrought you to this plight?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, baba\u201d (which, being interpreted, means \u201cfather\u201d), \u201cdo not ask me!\nProvidence has ordained it. I must be patient.\u201d\n\nThereupon the muleteer, by her direction, gathered up the pearls and\nput them into the donkey\u2019s panniers; after which he took the blind girl\nby the hand and led her to his own home. \u201cWife,\u201d said he, \u201ctake good\ncare of this poor maiden, whom I found in great distress. Let no more\nharm come to her!\u201d\n\nThe wife noted the extraordinary beauty of the stranger and was deeply\ntouched at her suffering. She led her into an inner chamber and cared\nfor her as if she had been their own child. After a time, when these\npeople gently questioned her, the poor girl related her story from\nbeginning to end.\n\n\u201cAlas! what a pity!\u201d they both exclaimed.\n\nAnd their sympathy was so sweet to her that, lifting her face toward\nthem, a sweet smile passed over it. At this, roses bloomed near her\ncheeks.\n\nThe muleteer and his wife were speechless with astonishment. But she,\ntaking the roses in her hands, held them toward the old man. \u201cKind\nbaba, if you would try to help me out of this sorrow, take these roses,\nlay them in a basket, and, calling aloud that you are selling roses out\nof season, go past the palace of him who should be my husband. Should\nyou be asked how great is your price for them, you must say that you do\nnot sell for money, but that you will give each handful of roses, only,\nin exchange for an eye.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it, my poor child,\u201d answered the kind old man. \u201cWith the morning\nI shall do as you request.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, upon the morrow, the muleteer, with the roses in a basket\nupon his shoulder, set out upon his journey. As he neared the palace he\nbegan to cry: \u201cRoses! roses out of season! I am selling roses that are\nout of season!\u201d\n\nThe false one heard the cry and said to her mother: \u201cThere is a man\nwith roses. Let us buy some that I may give them to the prince. I will\ntell him that they grew in my cheeks this morning. Perchance I shall\nfind more favor in his sight.\u201d\n\nThose two\u2014with the evil hearts\u2014ran quickly to the door of the palace\nand summoned the muleteer as he was passing. When he heard the voices\nhe turned. They motioned him to come. He approached, and let down the\nbasket from his shoulder.\n\nAs the beautiful flowers caught the eyes of the girl she asked eagerly,\n\u201cWell, gardener, for how much will you sell the roses?\u201d\n\nTo which came the answer, as directed: \u201cFor money will I not part with\nthem. Only for an eye will I exchange each handful.\u201d\n\nThe mother and daughter looked at each other. \u201cDo not fear,\u201d said the\nmother, in a low voice, \u201che cannot know.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, mother,\u201d replied the daughter, in a whisper, \u201calthough you\ndid not know it, I placed the eyes of the one whom we destroyed in her\nbox. Do you detain him while I hasten to bring them. The prince must\nhave roses to-day!\u201d\n\nSo saying, she hastened and speedily brought the eyes, gave them to the\nsupposed gardener, and received the exquisite roses in return.\n\nThe muleteer delivered the roses, and, without tarrying, hastened home,\nwhere, with his wife, he almost ran to the room of their adopted\ndaughter. \u201cRejoice, thou wronged one!\u201d cried they both. \u201cThy sight will\nbe restored.\u201d\n\nThe maiden was overjoyed at this. She arose and, taking pure water,\nperformed ablutions; after which she prostrated herself twice, to\nobtain the favor of Allah. Then, raising her hands, she prayed.\n\nAllah was gracious. The prayer was heard. The blind girl reached forth\nher hands and the muleteer let them touch the box in which were the\nprecious things. She took first one, then the other, and replaced it.\nAt that very instant, by the will of Allah, sight returned unto her and\nshe looked out upon his earth. So kind was he that her eyes were\nbetter, even, than before. Thereupon, with joyful heart, she returned\nthanks unto him; after which she prayed.\n\nSome time passed, and whenever the maiden laughed, roses bloomed about\nher cheeks; wherever she walked, soft grass sprang up joyfully; and\nwhenever she bathed, great coins of gold ran down off her head. She\ngrieved at the loss of her own mother, but patiently waited the will of\nAllah. Meanwhile, the kind-hearted muleteer seemed to her like a\nfather, and she grew very fond of the old couple. As for those who were\nsheltering her, they became so rich, through the presence of this\nmaiden, that they built a great house and filled it with servants, both\nmen and women. And in this house, the most beautiful apartment of all\nwas set apart for the young girl whose coming had so enriched them.\n\nBut, as the days went by, the maiden grew sad and made of the baba a\nstrange request. \u201cFather,\u201d she said, \u201cI would have you build me a tomb,\nmade all of shim-shirak stone. Within there shall be a golden casket.\nAnd the doors of the tomb shall be wrought so marvelously that they\nshall speak. Once every hour they must open; and as they turn in each\ndirection, they must say, again and again, \u2018The beautiful one who did\nnot have her desire!\u2019\u201d\n\nThen was the muleteer sad of heart. \u201cMy daughter,\u201d he answered, \u201clet\nthe tomb be as you desire. If Allah wills, it shall be builded with his\nblessing.\u201d\n\nStill heavy of heart, he arose and went to the top of the mountain,\nwhere, at great cost, he caused such a tomb to be made as had been\ndescribed. It was all of shim-shirak stone, and within was a golden\ncasket. Also the doors opened of themselves and repeated the words that\nhad been commanded.\n\nAfter having finished the tomb, the old man found it so perfect that he\nstayed for a long time to admire. Then he went home and said to his\nfoster daughter: \u201cBehold! I have made the tomb as you requested. I beg\nthat you will be sad no longer.\u201d\n\n\n\nLet us leave these three persons here, while we return to the intruders\nin the palace.\n\nAs soon as the wicked daughter of the wicked woman had secured the\nroses from the supposed gardener, she arrayed herself in the most\nbeautiful of the robes which had been stolen from the other, and,\ntaking the roses in her hands, carried them to the prince.\n\nNow, the roses were marvelously beautiful, and their fragrance was\nsomething passing sweet. When, therefore, the prince had received them,\nhe laid them against his face, and it seemed as if he could never have\nenough of them. When she who had brought them saw this, it began to\nappear to her whence these flowers had come; and, as the prince was so\nenamored of their sweetness as to forget her very presence, anger and\nfear began to stir her breast. All the night through, she lay and\npondered upon the roses, the strange price, and the rapture of the\nyoung prince.\n\nWhen morning dawned she hastened to her mother with the startling\nannouncement: \u201cMother, most surely the girl, whom we have supposed\ndead, is yet alive. She is not far away. At any moment she may\noverthrow our plans. Hasten! Let us send a witch to find her, and,\nafter that, to remove the amulet from her arm. Then, surely, must she\ndie.\u201d\n\nThroughout the night the mother had been troubled in like manner, and\nof herself had resolved that something must be brought about to prevent\ntheir undoing. Therefore she was quite ready to accept the advice of\nher daughter, and ordered a slave to conduct her to the tent of a\nwitch, to whom she told a false story and ended with the order her\ndaughter had suggested.\n\nNow, the witch, as well, was evil-minded. She listened carefully and\npromised to accomplish the difficult task, for the great sum of money\nwhich was offered her. When the woman had gone from the tent, she made\nincantations. Afterward she set out, and did not pause until the very\ndoor of the muleteer\u2019s house was reached. It opened at her knock, and\nshe was led upstairs, into the room where the muleteer, his wife, and\ntheir foster daughter received their guests. Here she was graciously\nadmitted and bidden to sit down.\n\nAfter a little while it became evening, whereupon the witch said: \u201cAi!\nmother, I have journeyed a long way. It is now late. I am afraid to\ncontinue my journey at night. Indeed, the very reason of my call was to\nask you if you would permit me to pass the night under your roof.\u201d\n\nThe muleteer\u2019s wife was not pleased with this. She had not been pleased\nwith the presence of the witch. Still, it is incumbent upon the\nfaithful to be hospitable. Accordingly, she answered: \u201cVery well,\nmother. Here is a room. Enter it and lie down in peace! But first wait\nuntil the evening meal is prepared. We would have you partake of it\nwith us.\u201d\n\nVery greatly was the witch pleased with this. She watched stealthily,\nto learn which was the maiden\u2019s room, and, after that, went to her own\nand lay down. Soon, all the household were in their beds and asleep.\nWhen midnight came, the witch arose and stole to the maiden\u2019s door,\nentered it, and went directly to the bed upon which the young creature\nlay in a sound, sweet sleep. Creeping closely to the bedside, she\nunclasped the gold band from the girl\u2019s arm, then hastened to her own\nroom, put on her cloak and sandals, and left the house.\n\nFrom thence she hastened to the palace, and in the very early morning\ndelivered up the stolen jewel to the mother of the false princess. It\nwas received with great rejoicing by both of the evil plotters. They\npermitted themselves to be happy again, now that they felt assured of\nthe death of her whom they had feared.\n\n\n\nLet these remain quiet while we turn to the muleteer\u2019s wife.\n\nWhen morning came she arose and, with misgiving, went to the room which\nhad been given to their weird visitor. It was as she feared. The room\nwas empty. Then, hoping against fear, she looked to see if the woman\u2019s\ncloak could be found. That, too, had disappeared. Thus was her fear\nconfirmed and her perplexity increased. She then went to seek her\nfoster daughter; but, finding her asleep, would not waken her, and\nreturned to her own room.\n\nThe hours dragged by. It was near noon, and the maiden, an early riser,\nhad not appeared. The foster mother began speaking to herself: \u201cThis\nchild, whom Allah graciously sent to us, used always to arise very\nearly. Now, to-day\u2014when the person to whom we gave food and shelter has\nacted so as to perplex my soul\u2014does this daughter delay her daily\ncoming to me. I will go and awaken her.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, filled with vague alarm, she hastened to the door and\ncalled with tender voice, \u201cO, my daughter, why do you sleep so long?\u201d\n\nNo answer came to her words. Again she called, and again listened in\nvain. Not the slightest sound greeted her anxious ear. She entered the\ndoor, approached the bed, and leaned over the unconscious figure. But,\nleaning and listening, she found that not the faintest breath passed\nthose quiet lips. In desperate haste she clasped the cold hands and\nbegan to chafe the delicate feet. Alas! they were like ice.\n\nThen, indeed, did the heart of the muleteer\u2019s wife become sore. She\nthrew herself upon the floor, began beating her head against it, and,\nas she did so, she mourned: \u201cAi! my girl, my girl is dead! Henceforth\nshall the world be accursed unto me!\u201d\n\nHer husband heard the cry. He hastened to her and begged to know the\ncause of such grief. Whereupon she answered: \u201cAi, my lord, our girl,\nwhom we love and whom we had taught to love us, is dead. Alone, in the\nnight, did she die. I cannot contain myself for grief!\u201d\n\nWhen the muleteer heard this, and after he had assured himself of its\ntruth, tears, like rain, began to flow from his eyes. Then the whole\nhousehold came to join in mourning the death of the beautiful girl.\n\nAfter a time, when they could restrain their grief, they prepared her\nbody and laid it in the tomb which she, with sad prophecy, had caused\nto be builded. This done, these good people did not mend their grief,\nbut continued to mourn the gracious presence which had been lent to\nthem for a little while.\n\n\n\nLet us leave them now, and return to the plotting mother in the\nprince\u2019s palace.\n\nWhen this evil-minded person learned, through inquiries which she\ncautiously set on foot, that the one whom she had wronged was dead, it\nbecame unto her as if all the world were her own. And, without seeming\nto realize that Allah knew of the evil which she had committed, she\neven dared attribute her fortune to him! \u201cO, praise be to Allah!\u201d she\ncried. \u201cAt last we are freed from fear!\u201d\n\nLater on, the prince heard\u2014through some visitors at the court\u2014such part\nof the dead maiden\u2019s history as was known to the world: that about such\na time she had been found in great distress by the muleteer, whose kind\nheart had prompted him to take her to his own home, where she had\nbecome as a daughter in the house. And that immediately upon her\ncoming, the Fates had blessed the old man and his wife, until they had\nhouses and lands, men and women servants. But after all this had come\nto them, and when life seemed complete, the blackest of grief had\novershadowed them in the death of their adopted child.\n\nThis tale wrought deeply upon the mind of the prince. He sighed in his\nsoul and became very sad. After that some strange fantasy possessed\nhim. He could no longer endure the presence of the girl who had come to\ndwell in his palace.\n\nOne day, when his soul was more than usually sad, together with his\ncompanions, he went out to wander upon the mountains. After several\ndays they came to the foot of one that was higher than the others in\nthe range. It was evening. Wearied with this aimless pacing hither and\nthither, they sat down to rest. All at once a faint, faint voice\nreached the ear of the prince. And the words that it spoke were these:\n\u201cThe Beauty who did not have her desire! The Beauty who did not have\nher desire!\u201d\n\nWithout a moment\u2019s pause to consider whether it might not be a lure\ninto danger, the prince, who was brave of heart, arose with his\ncompanions and hastened to the summit of the mountain. There he came\nupon a tomb of shim-shirak stone, so brilliant as to dazzle the eyes of\na beholder. And its doors, opening of themselves, both inward and\noutward, were repeating softly the words that had arrested his\nattention.\n\nAll this aroused great wonder in the minds of the prince and his\ncompanions. They questioned concerning the building of so magnificent a\nburial place, and whether any body had been placed therein. After a\ntime, as was quite natural, a sad curiosity prompted the prince,\nhimself, to enter.\n\nOnly a golden casket, with closed lid, met his gaze. Presently he\napproached, and, as the lid was unfastened, raised it and discovered,\nwithin, a young woman who was like the full moon for beauty; and beside\nher a child which reflected her brightness. The child nestled against\nthe arm of its mother.\n\nAt this sight the prince\u2014who had been prepared for any marvelous\nunfolding\u2014became even more tender of heart. His eyes filled with tears,\nand he gave thanks for, at least, the preservation of the infant.\n\nHe lifted the child very tenderly, wrapped it in the snowy silken\ncovering, and, holding it closely in his arms, rejoined his companions,\nwho awaited him without the tomb.\n\nThey all returned directly to the palace. As they entered, the prince\nsummoned the queen, the girl who had come to him, her mother, and gave\ncommand that the child be recognized as one of the chief members in the\nroyal household. To the girl he said:\n\n\u201cYou are young and strong. It is my will that you devote yourself to\nthe care of this babe. See that he does not cry, while I go outside and\ngive orders concerning his ablutions.\u201d\n\nNow, the child, being strong and well grown, had freed itself from the\ndetaining hands of the prince and slipped to the floor. After his\ngoing, it wandered, with uncertain, childish footsteps, about the room,\nplaying with whatever object attracted its attention. In this way it\nwent up to an open drawer in which lay the bracelet, which the witch\nhad removed from the arm of its own mother. In a moment the bright\nobject was in the tiny hands.\n\nThis sight caused a great shock to the girl who was tending him. She\nflew to recover the precious trinket; but the child would not let go of\nit. He tightened his hold and, opening his mouth, began to scream\nlustily.\n\nThe prince heard the cry. He came within and asked, angrily, why she\nwas making the child cry. To which she made reply: \u201cBut, my lord, the\nbabe has my bracelet. It is only because I would take it from him that\nhe cries.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it were twenty bracelets, let him play!\u201d was the response.\n\nBut as is often the manner with children when in a strange place, this\none, having once begun, would not cease his crying. Nothing would\nappease him. It seemed as if he would cry his little heart out.\nThereupon the prince took him in his arms, called his companions, and,\nwith all speed, hastened to the tomb of shim-shirak stone.\n\nIt was the end of the hour. And the doors, opening inward and outward\nof themselves, were uttering the same plaintive words which had greeted\nhis ears at the first.\n\nThe prince quickened his pace, entered the tomb, raised the lid of the\ngolden casket and laid the child where he had found it, beside the\nmother. As he did this, the bracelet, of which the little fingers had\nnot once let go, touched the white arm of the woman. At the contact her\nmouth began to quiver, and, from the waist downward, she became alive.\nHer feet grew warm and stirred.\n\nThis marvelous occurrence was most unexpected. Everything was as it had\nbeen at the finding of the child save\u2014ah! there was the bracelet! And,\nas he scanned the arm more closely, the prince was convinced that it\nhad been accustomed to the wearing of a band, the exact width of that\nwhich the child, in its grief, had brought away from the palace.\n\nImmediately upon noting this, the prince was filled with more wonder.\nHe felt assured that the bracelet must be an amulet from which some\nlife-giving power emanated. He therefore took it from the child\u2019s\nhand\u2014who, strange to relate, yielded it up willingly\u2014and clasped it\nabout the lifeless arm.\n\nHis thoughtfulness was rewarded. While he stood, breathless, a slight\nconvulsion stirred the figure of the woman. She sneezed, and after that\neffort, made a slow movement and sat up in the casket.\n\nThe child clung to her with a new zeal, and she, gathering him tenderly\nto her bosom, turned with wide-open eyes to regard the tall young\npersonage who stood beside her. That he was of royal birth was\nevidenced by his bearing. The evidence was continued in his costume.\nThe mystery of life and death was upon her; therefore were her thoughts\nclear. At once she was impressed that this must be the prince of whom\nshe had been the promised bride.\n\nThe prince, upon his part, already had been won. How much more\nstrongly, then, was his heart drawn to her when he beheld her living,\nbreathing, moving? He made courtly obeisance and thus addressed himself\nto her:\n\n\u201cMy queen, is it permitted me to ask before whom I have the honor to\nstand? And whose is this child which already possesses my heart?\u201d\n\nTo which the Beautiful One, looking first at him and then at the child,\nmade answer:\n\n\u201cMy prince, I left my mother at Stamboul, and, with slaves and guard,\nin charge of my former nurse and in company with her daughter, I was\ncoming to be your bride. Upon the way, the nurse, who had been\ntrustworthy until then, became jealous for the advancement of her own\ndaughter. First, she took out my eyes; then she exchanged our clothing,\nand, finally, left me upon a mountain, alone, to die of grief and\nstarvation.\n\n\u201cBut Allah heard the falling of my tears. He caused a kind old muleteer\nto pass that way, who, when he espied me, was moved with compassion and\nled me to his house, where both he and his wife received me as if I had\nbeen their own child.\n\n\u201cShortly afterward I caused some roses, that had bloomed at my cheeks,\nto be cried before your palace; with the command that they must not be\nsold for gold, but that only by the exchange of an eye, for each\nhandful, could they be obtained. The evil ones saw the roses. They\nwould secure them as a present to your Royal Highness. Eagerness\nweakened their wisdom to such extent that they accepted the condition,\nand thereby did I recover my eyes. As I put them in place, by Allah\u2019s\ngrace, they became seeing.\n\n\u201cFinally, the roses which I sent were given to you, who received them\nand experienced a strange influence. At that very time a golden-winged\nmessenger appeared to me, bearing this child in his arms and saying:\n\u2018He will be kept for you until you shall lie in your tomb. Do not fear!\nAll will yet be well!\u2019\n\n\u201cThen I caused this tomb to be builded, and, shortly after, a witch was\nsent by my undoers, who stole this life-keeping amulet from my arm. At\nthat moment I died. They laid me in this tomb, where I have remained\nuntil, at your approach, the golden-winged messenger again approached\nand left the child beside me. I could stir neither hand nor foot. As to\nthe child, O, prince! it is yours. It was created in Paradise, when you\nwere holding the roses to your face.\u201d\n\nAs this tale unfolded itself and the willing listener was convinced of\nits truth, he wept so bitterly at all her sufferings that the tears\nmight have been of blood. Then, recovering himself, he clasped the\nnarrator to his heart.\n\nHe then lifted her out of the casket, gave her his arm to lean upon,\nand, taking the child upon his other arm and surrounded by his\nattendants, conducted her to his palace.\n\nAfter his queen mother had received them, and, summoning slaves, had\nmade the mother and child comfortable in a most luxurious apartment,\nthe prince commanded that the wicked nurse and her daughter should\nappear before him; when he ordered the chief headsman to strike them\ndead.\n\nThe man gave them each so heavy a blow that their bones rattled. Their\nsouls were dispatched to Hades and their bodies were thrown out to the\ndogs. Then the prince rejoiced greatly, saying: \u201cPraise be to Allah\nthat, at last, he has freed me from those evil vixens! Now has my head\nbecome clear again.\u201d\n\nAfterward, he sent fleet messengers to bring the parents of her whom\nthey had thought dead. And he also called the kind muleteer and his\nwife. In the presence of all these and of his court, was he married to\nthe Beautiful One whose light footstep caused the grass to grow upon\nthe driest earth; whose laughter filled his life with roses, and whose\ntears\u2014even tears of joy at her newly found happiness\u2014became pearls\nbefore his eyes.\n\nThe wedding festivities extended throughout the kingdom. They continued\nduring forty days and forty nights. The prince and his beautiful wife,\nand the child which had been given to them, lived happily ever\nafterward. With the great sums of gold which rolled from the head of\nthe true princess whenever she performed her ablutions, the prince was\nable to pay great debts which the late war had entailed upon his\ncountry. Thus were his people relieved of the heavy taxes. Salaam!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE CRYING POMEGRANATE AND THE LAUGHING BEAR\n\n\nThe narrator of tales relates that, once upon a time, there lived a\nking who had nine daughters. And because there was no son, he made a\nvow that he would condemn his wife to death if their next child were\nnot a boy.\n\nTime came and went until another child was born to the king. And,\nalthough this one, also, was a little girl, the queen, with the careful\nassistance of her faithful nurse, concealed the fact, and the child was\nsupposed to be a boy. The king rejoiced greatly, giving thanks to\nAllah, because he believed that a son had come to him, who could\ninherit the kingdom.\n\nBut after a number of years had gone by, and the time came when the\nchild was to be enrolled in the royal army corps, the queen knew that\nher deceit would be discovered. She shut herself up in her room and\nwept bitterly.\n\nThe child was greatly disturbed at her grief, and begged to come in and\ncomfort her. \u201cMy mother,\u201d it said, \u201cwhy do you weep so? What is there\nthat should trouble you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my child!\u201d the queen answered, \u201cof all who weep there is no one\nwho has sadder cause than I. And the cause of my sorrow is this: When\nyou were a little baby it was told the king, your father\u2014who greatly\ndesired a son to inherit his throne\u2014that you were a boy. He has\nbelieved it until this day. Now he will learn the truth, and I shall\nlose my life.\u201d\n\nBut the child\u2014being very wise as well as loving\u2014comforted her mother\nwith these words: \u201cDo not fear, dearest mother! I will go to my father,\nthe king, and ask him to delay this ceremony for another year.\u201d\n\nThe next morning, therefore, the child, weeping bitterly, went into her\nfather\u2019s presence and kissed his hand.\n\n\u201cWhy do you cry, my son?\u201d asked the father. \u201cTears are for girls. They\nshould not be seen upon the face of the king\u2019s son.\u201d\n\n\u201cO! my father! I am still little. Yet you are going to make me one in\nthe royal army. Therefore do I weep.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, well, my son,\u201d said the king, \u201cdry your tears! We will postpone\nthis matter until your next birthday.\u201d\n\nAt these words the girl kissed her father\u2019s hand gratefully and\nreturned to her mother with rejoicing. The queen was glad, indeed. She\ntook the child in her arms and kissed her eyes.\n\nThe year passed most swiftly, and, at its end, the mother was so racked\nwith fear that, again, she began to cry. Upon this the child made bold\nto approach her father, who, for her sake, delayed the initiation for\nanother year.\n\nBut when the third year came, the queen, knowing in her heart that\nthere could be no hope, went to her room and gave herself up to such\nbitter tears that the child was not able to restrain her own. So they\ntwo wept together.\n\nThen the mother said: \u201cAi, my daughter! Although your father, the king,\nhas delayed this important ceremony for two years, I am certain that he\nwill not defer it a third time. You are now large and well grown. There\nis no longer any respite for me. To-morrow I shall be put to death.\nThis is the last day of my life.\u201d\n\nBut the girl was determined to cheer her mother, at all cost. \u201cAi,\nhonored mother!\u201d she made answer. \u201cIf my father summons me I will beg\nfor a half hour\u2019s grace, when I will go to the stable, mount a swift\nhorse, and fly away.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what will become of you, my child?\u201d\n\n\u201cDearest mother, do not be anxious about me. I will go to foreign lands\nand dwell. It will be a small sacrifice to make for your happiness.\u201d\n\nThe next morning tents were pitched in a great open square; and when it\nbecame known that the royal ceremony was to take place, an immense\ncrowd of people collected.\n\nThe king called for the supposed prince, and said: \u201cMy son, you are now\nfourteen years old. The long-postponed initiation will take place\nto-day.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, my honored father, I am now ready. Will you grant that I may\nfirst ride, on horseback, about the square, to view the people and the\ngrand preparations? After that you will do with me according to your\nwill.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, my son,\u201d answered the king. \u201cGo! Show their prince to my\npeople!\u201d\n\nThe supposed prince then flew to embrace her royal mother; after which\nshe went to the stables and selected a most beautiful coal-black steed.\nAs she stood by the horse\u2019s head, tears flowed down her cheeks.\n\nAt this occurred something most strange. The beautiful horse, seeing\nthe tears of the princess, began to speak: \u201cAi, my sultana! Why do you\ncry?\u201d\n\nNow, the princess was surprised that, while all about supposed her to\nbe a prince, she should be addressed as sultana. However, she was too\ndistressed to cavil at anything; so made answer:\n\n\u201cNo one has greater cause for grief than I. Ever since my birth, my\nfather has believed me to be a boy. Now, at the performance of this\nceremony, he will be told what you already know. In that hour he will\ncause my mother to be put to death. I have half an hour, only, in which\nto escape. My father has given permission that I should ride about the\nsquare to view the people. At the end of that time, I have decided to\nmake my escape.\u201d\n\nWhen the princess had confided this sorrow and perplexity to the horse,\nhe spoke again: \u201cSultana,\u201d he said, \u201cthere is no cause for grief. Mount\nmy back and, with the favor of Allah, I will bear you to other lands.\nBut, first, accept a bit of advice. When the time comes that we are to\nfly, hold to my neck with all your might. Also keep fast hold upon the\nreins; because my speed is so great that, if a bullet be shot off\nbehind us, it could not overtake me. Bear this in mind and act\naccordingly!\u201d\n\nThereupon the young girl mounted the beautiful coal-black steed and\nrode to the public square\u2014from one end to the other of it\u2014while all the\nsoldiers stood watching one whom they believed to be their prince.\n\nWhen the half hour had elapsed, the horse gave a spring, from the\nadmiring soldiers, and was off like the wind.\n\nWhen the people saw this they believed that the spirited creature had\nbecome frightened, and that the prince could not manage him. A crier\nwas sent to the king, while the soldiers set out in pursuit.\n\nBut they found no trace of the horse, nor of his rider\u2014not so much as\nthe prints of hoofs in the road. Then they returned; for they felt that\nsearch was hopeless. The king and all his people went into mourning for\nthe prince; and the soldiers were ordered back to their stations.\n\n\n\nNow let us come to the princess.\n\nIn one day the strange horse brought his rider into a country whose\ndistance was a six months\u2019 journey from her own kingdom. Here he\nstopped and said to her:\n\n\u201cSultana, this much of your rescue have I been able to accomplish for\nyou. I can go no farther. Hereafter you must save yourself.\u201d\n\nAt this the princess, realizing her lonely condition, dismounted,\nsaying: \u201cO, my beautiful deliverer! First, it was Allah who saved me,\nthen he sent me to you, and now I am left to myself. I will go on; but\nif danger befall me, what am I to do?\u201d As she spoke tears gathered in\nher eyes.\n\nThe horse answered: \u201cAi, sultana! take three hairs from the forelock\nwhich hangs over my eyes. Should trouble perplex you, rub them together\nand I will come to your aid.\u201d\n\nThe princess took the hairs, gratefully, and put them in her bosom.\nThen, flinging her arms about the horse\u2019s neck, she thanked him for all\nhe had done to help her and bade him adieu.\n\nAs she withdrew her arms, he disappeared.\n\nThe princess traveled on and on, until she entered another country. It\nwas evening. Before her stood a grand palace, at the side of which was\na large kitchen. Hastily removing the marks of royalty from her\nclothing, she entered and asked of the cooks: \u201cMy masters, will you\ntake me as an assistant?\u201d\n\nBut they were in haste and answered her roughly: \u201cAre you blind? Can\u2019t\nyou see that we are up to our elbows in work? What should we do with a\nlad like you?\u201d\n\nHowever, with all the persuasion at her command, she entreated to be\nallowed to try; and, finally, was accepted and set to running of\nerrands, upstairs and down. After a little, she asked one of the men\nwhy they were cooking such enormous quantities of food and in such\nhaste.\n\n\u201cAi, my son,\u201d was the reply, \u201cdo you not know that every six years a\ndragon comes to this country and feeds on the king\u2019s liver? To-morrow\nnight is the time of his next coming. It is thought possible that he\nmay be tempted to eat of other food, if enough is spread in the\nbanqueting hall. That is why we are in such great haste. Possibly we\nmay save the life of our king.\u201d\n\nThe princess was so amazed that she bit her finger, to learn whether,\nindeed, she were awake.\n\nAll that night she was not permitted to sleep, but worked as hard as\nshe could, serving the cooks. When morning came she stole away, went\ninto the other part of the palace, and climbed the stairs. There, in a\nroom by herself, she saw a sultana who was dressed from head to foot in\nblack. Without letting herself be seen, the young explorer went to\nanother room, in which was seated another princess. This one, likewise,\nwas dressed in black, and all the room was draped in mourning. Leaving\nthis, she went to still another room, in which a sultana, who was\narrayed from head to foot in scarlet, was seated upon a divan. The\nprincess went on, noiselessly, until she came to the chamber of the\nking. The court physician had administered a powder to him, and the\nking lay unconscious.\n\nDuring all this, more time had elapsed than the princess dreamed. It\nwas now evening, and time for the coming of the dragon. She knew, by\nsavory odors that the feast which she had helped to prepare, was spread\nin the banqueting hall. It seemed to her that a time had come when she\nshould apply for aid. Her heart was trembling with hope and fear; but\nshe took the hairs from her bosom, rubbed them together, when\u2014O, joy,\nthe beautiful horse stood before her once more.\n\n\u201cMy princess, art thou in need of me?\u201d he asked. \u201cAnd what is it that\nthou requirest?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf it be in your power, my noble deliverer, give me a sword so sharp\nand strong that should I strike an enormous dragon with it, he must be\nsevered in two.\u201d\n\nWithout moving from the spot, the horse turned his head and the\nprincess saw a sword among his caparisons. \u201cTake it, my sultana!\u201d he\nanswered. \u201cUse it well. And remember that you must not strike a second\nblow, in the same place.\u201d With this warning he disappeared.\n\nThe princess grasped the sword. Going directly to the king\u2019s chamber,\nshe hid herself in a corner.\n\nThe palace was deserted. It seemed strange that the people should leave\ntheir beloved king to his fate; but this was in the agreement by which\nthe whole country had been spared. In the middle of the night a great\nnoise burst forth through all the sky. The moon and stars became\nobscured. Everything was black as pitch. Immediately afterward, with\nloud snorts, an immense dragon appeared in the middle of the room.\n\nScarcely had he appeared when the young princess seized the sword with\nboth hands and crying, \u201cYellah!\u201d struck him such a blow that his head\nwas severed from the body.\n\nThen a terrible sound came from the body of the dragon; and this sound\nwas like a voice, which formed itself into these words: \u201cO, valiant\nyouth! Let me know, by striking again, whether you are, indeed, a boy.\u201d\n\nBut the princess remembered the warning of the horse and remained\nstanding perfectly still, until the soul of the dragon had left his\nbody and gone to Hades, its rightful place. She then cut off one of his\nears, put it in her pocket, and, hiding the sword in her clothing,\nreturned to the kitchen and renewed her tasks, running up and down\nstairs according to the directions of the cooks.\n\nWhen morning dawned the king recovered from the effects of the powder,\nwhich the court physician had given him, looked about him and exclaimed\nwith great astonishment at finding himself still alive. He saw the\npitch-black body of the dragon lying headless in the middle of his\nchamber. Even in that condition, one could hardly view it without\nlosing his wits. He gave thanks unto Allah for his escape; after which\nhis mind was lost in wonder as to who had killed his mortal enemy.\n\nAfter a little he went out of the palace. The whole populace had\ngathered to express grief at the calamity which they supposed had come\nupon them; but when they saw their beloved king, safe and sound, they\nwere beside themselves with joy and cried: \u201cPraise be to Allah! Our\nCaliph lives!\u201d\n\nAfter they had shouted thus until they were exhausted, the king found\nvoice to ask who it was that had killed the dragon. Upon this the\npeople came forward, one by one, each claiming to have accomplished the\nbrave feat \u201cI killed it, my lord!\u201d cried each one, in turn.\n\nThe king knew that this could not be true; but he was so glad to be\nalive, that he gave backsheesh to each, even to the cooks. Everybody\nreceived a present who went before the king.\n\nThe cooks, noticing that their assistant did not go, said to her: \u201cWhy\ndo you stand here listless? See! all we have presents from the king. Go\nand receive one for yourself.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am not of this kingdom. Your sovereign will not receive me,\u201d was the\nreply.\n\n\u201cWhy should he not receive you?\u201d cried they all. \u201cSurely he will give\nyou, too, something.\u201d\n\nThey continued to urge until the young princess went forward, as the\nothers had done, and, when she had come near to His Majesty, said to\nhim, \u201cO, my padisha! it was I who killed your adversary, the dragon.\u201d\n\nBut, according to her prediction, the king repulsed her, saying, \u201cHow\nis that you can claim to have done this thing, seeing that you are not\nof my people?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy padisha,\u201d answered she, \u201clet me prove the truth of what I say and\nthe falsehood of that which all these others have said to you. Here is\nan ear, which I cut from the head of the monster as soon as he was\ndead. Let us go and look at the dragon. You will find that his right\near has been cut off.\u201d\n\nAccordingly they went, and, behold! it was as the girl had said.\n\nThen the king turned to her and exclaimed, \u201cMy son! ask whatever you\nwill and it shall be given you!\u201d\n\n\u201cMy padisha,\u201d was her quiet response, \u201cI ask that Allah may continue\nyour life unto you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou art most courteous, my son; but I desire that thou ask something\nfor thyself.\u201d\n\nThe same request was repeated. A third time the king made his royal\noffer; then the supposed youth made answer: \u201cMy padisha, I would like\nit if you would give to me the maiden in the scarlet robes, who sits\nupon a divan in an upper room in your palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut already I have offered to her many youths\u2014brave as well as\nhandsome\u2014and she will have none of them. Why do you ask for her? She is\na cruel coquette. In the other rooms, arrayed in black, are my two\nother daughters. I will give you one of them.\u201d\n\nBut the princess answered: \u201cO, king! my fancy prefers the one in\nscarlet raiment. If you will give any to me, let it be this one.\u201d\n\nSo the king had no choice. And, since he realized that to the valor of\nthe one who made the request did he owe his life, he sent a summons;\nand the girl who was dressed in scarlet came into his presence and\nstood before him, showing deep respect.\n\n\u201cAi, my daughter!\u201d said the king. \u201cThis youth desires to marry you. I\ncommand that you accept him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy honored father,\u201d was the reply. \u201cI pray you give me a little time.\nLet me dream over the matter, and, to-morrow, you shall hear the\nresult.\u201d\n\nThis slight request was granted, and the king\u2019s daughter returned to\nher own apartment. When night came on and all was still in the palace,\nthe one who had killed the dragon, stole quietly to her door and\nwatched through the keyhole, to see what she would do.\n\nThe girl, who was arrayed in scarlet, set a golden basin, filled with\nvarious kinds of perfumed waters, in the middle of the floor. Almost\nimmediately, a dove flew in through the open window, bathed in the\nwater and turned into a beautiful youth, whom the girl embraced\ntenderly; after which the two sat down beside each other.\n\n\u201cAi, my lord, light of my eyes!\u201d said she. \u201cTo-day my father summoned\nme into his presence and declared that he would bestow me, in marriage,\nupon a youth of mean condition. I persuaded him to give me this night\nof grace in which to think upon the matter. In reality, I wished to\nconsult with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy princess,\u201d answered the youth, after he had thought for some\nminutes, \u201cyour father should not expect to marry you to one who is not\nwilling to do some valiant deed to win your hand. There is a magic\nmirror, which the jinns have in charge. No one is capable of securing\nit from them. It has often been tried. Now, to-morrow, you must say\nthat you will marry this presumptuous one, if he will bring you the\nmagic mirror.\u201d\n\nWhen morning returned, the youth again took on the form of a dove and\ndisappeared through the window. After that, the one who had been\nwatching them went away. She saw, very clearly, that the princess who\nwore the scarlet raiment was under an evil enchantment. And her love\nfor the deluded one was increased by her pity.\n\nThe king\u2019s daughter, arrayed all in scarlet, went to her father with\nthe condition. \u201cVerily, my king!\u201d she said, \u201cin a certain place, where\nthe jinns have charge of it, is a magic mirror\u2014into which whoever looks\nwill thenceforth be happy. I would possess this mirror. If the youth\nwho seeks my hand will bring it to me, then will I marry him.\u201d\n\nUpon this the king summoned the assistant of the cooks and said to her:\n\u201cMy son, it is as I told you. This foolish daughter is amusing herself.\nNow, before she will marry you, she demands that you bring to her a\nmirror, the securing of which will entail great danger.\u201d\n\nThe reply came without hesitation: \u201cMy padisha, let it please you that\nI go and bring the mirror unto your daughter.\u201d\n\nThe king, assured that this would end the matter, gave most willing\nconsent. \u201cLet it be so, then!\u201d he replied. \u201cGo and bring it.\u201d\n\nHaving obtained royal permission to leave the palace, the supposed\nyouth went beyond the sight of any, took the magic hairs from her bosom\nand rubbed them together. Immediately the horse appeared and was\ngreeted most gladly.\n\n\u201cO, you beautiful creature! In a certain place, protected by the jinns,\nthere is a mirror of which I am in need. You, who are so powerful,\nbring it to me, I pray!\u201d\n\n\u201cVerily, I would gladly do as you desire, O, my princess! But it is not\npermitted me to touch the mirror. I will help you to obtain it for\nyourself. But you have much to do. Let me ask that you mount my back.\u201d\n\nThis done, they were off like the wind.\n\nAfter going for some time, they came to a high mountain. Here the horse\nstopped quite still, saying: \u201cMy princess, I have brought you as far as\nis permitted me. Dismount and go to the mountain opposite, where you\nwill come upon the haunt of the jinns. Observe them carefully. If their\neyes are shut, be assured that they are awake; but, should their eyes\nbe open, you may believe them asleep. Enter softly. You will see the\nmirror hanging above their heads. Secure it, and return to me with all\nspeed, without once looking behind.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d was the answer, \u201cI will do my best.\u201d\n\nThen she climbed to the top of the mountain indicated, and easily found\nthe place where lived the jinns. Approaching noiselessly, she saw the\nmirror hanging above their heads and noted, carefully, that their eyes\nwere open. Knowing this to be assurance that they were asleep\u2014although\nit required great faith in the word of the horse\u2014she went in boldly,\ntook the mirror, turned about, and, as soon as she was beyond hearing,\nran toward the horse without once looking behind.\n\nShe was no sooner out of the place than the jinns wakened, discovered\ntheir loss, and looked about until they espied the flying figure of the\ngirl.\n\n\u201cYouth!\u201d they shouted, \u201cbring back our mirror!\u201d And as they said the\nwords, they rolled down stones that were like a broken mountain for\nsize.\n\nBut the princess, without casting the slightest glance backward, ran\nuntil she reached the side of the horse. As soon as she was upon his\nback, he gave a great bound and was off like the wind, leaving the\njinns behind, gnashing their teeth in useless rage.\n\nAfter a time they two reached the palace, where the princess\ndismounted, and the instant her feet touched the ground, the beautiful\ncoal-black steed vanished. She then entered the palace and went\ndirectly into the presence of the king.\n\nHis Majesty was surprised at seeing her, and supposed that she had come\nto say that the foolhardy undertaking had been abandoned. But, instead,\nafter receiving obeisance, these were the words he heard:\n\n\u201cBehold, O, king! I have brought the mirror which you asked of me.\u201d\n\nThe king\u2019s amazement was great. He summoned his daughter\u2014who came in,\nwearing the same brilliant garments\u2014and said to her: \u201cLook! This youth\nhas brought the mirror which you requested!\u201d\n\nFor the moment the girl was too amazed to speak. However, quickly\nrecovering herself, she received the mirror, and made still another\nrequest for delay, while turning it about in her hands:\n\n\u201cO, my kingly father! I beg you to grant another night\u2019s dreaming;\nduring which I may think upon this strange feat. To-morrow shall my\nanswer be ready.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet it be as you desire,\u201d replied her father. \u201cTake another night in\nwhich to think upon the matter.\u201d\n\nThen the king\u2019s daughter withdrew. The seeming youth, also, made\nobeisance and went out from the king\u2019s audience chamber to hide away\nfrom the cooks until evening, when, as before, she stole to the door of\nthe one to whom had been delivered the mirror, and renewed her watch of\nthe night previous.\n\nAfter the golden basin had been placed in the middle of the floor, the\nsame snow-white dove flew in at the window, alighted in the perfumed\nwaters, bathed, and came forth a youth\u2014handsome, brave, and strong as a\nlion. He embraced the king\u2019s daughter, who said to him:\n\n\u201cO, joy of my heart! light of my eyes! my lord! Sad news have I to\ntell. The youth of mean condition went to the home of the jinns and\nreturned with the mirror you described. I knew of nothing to do, except\nto beg my father for another night in which to think upon the matter.\nHow shall we punish this presumptuous fellow?\u201d\n\n\u201cAha! then he was able to procure the mirror! But do not let that vex\nyour soul, my princess! We will ask of him something of which no human\nbeing is capable. In another place, under the charge of the giants, is\na rare and costly diamond. None so large ever has been seen by human\neyes. Request this youth to procure the diamond for you, and when he\nhas failed you will be free to marry me.\u201d This he said without the\nslightest intention of marrying anyone.\n\nDuring all this, the other princess was listening without. She could\nsee that the one who had been a bird was not in real earnest. And she\nwas all the more determined to rescue the maiden who had won her heart\nunconsciously.\n\nA little later, as the time came when persons were admitted to the\npresence of the king, the scarlet princess approached him and said: \u201cMy\nfather, since this youth who asks my hand has no fortune to offer me,\nlet him procure something which is very precious. There is, in a\ncertain place under the charge of the giants, a diamond, the like of\nwhich has never been possessed by mortals. Command that he go forth and\nsecure that. Then will it not seem strange that he should ask the hand\nof one who is the daughter of a king.\u201d\n\nHer father\u2019s judgment was affected by the specious reasoning. He sent\nfor the supposed youth, and, after receiving his obeisance, said to\nhim: \u201cMy son, the giants have a wonderful diamond in charge, of which\nmy daughter is very desirous. It is fitting that you bring it to her,\nbefore you receive her hand in marriage.\u201d\n\nWith a low bow, \u201cYour orders shall be obeyed, my lord, or I will lose\nmy life in the attempt,\u201d answered the one who had been summoned. She\nthen turned and quickly left the palace.\n\nAfter having gone beyond the sight of any, she took the hairs from her\nbosom and rubbed them together; whereupon the beautiful horse appeared\nand listened to the request that had been made.\n\n\u201cI will do all that I can,\u201d he made answer. \u201cThe real accomplishment of\nthe undertaking lies with you.\u201d\n\nAfter the maiden had mounted him, the coal-black creature became like a\nfire in the image of Asdar. As he started off, a mighty cloud of dust\narose.\n\nIn a little while he had reached the foot of a high mountain, where he\nstopped and signified to the princess that she must dismount; after\nwhich he said: \u201cFollow this crooked path until you reach the cave of\nthe giants. If all is quiet and you see no great eyes gleaming in the\ndarkness, enter. In the middle of the cave you will see a large stone.\nTouch this lightly with the little finger of your left hand, and it\nwill open so that you will discover the diamond, shining in a great\nspace within the very center. Put the precious gem in your bosom and\nreturn to me, without stopping. Should you but pause, this will be the\nlast day of your life. Also, be careful not to waken the giants; for\nwhatever curse they call down upon you will come true.\u201d\n\nWeighed down with the importance of following these instructions, the\nbrave young princess set out in the path indicated to her, and soon\ncame upon the cave inhabited by the giants. Entering, she caused the\nstone to open, after the manner described, secured the great, guttering\ndiamond, and turned to fly back with it.\n\nWhile she was speeding along, the sleeping giants wakened, discovered\nthe great stone standing open\u2014which, in her haste, the princess had\nneglected to close\u2014found that their most precious treasure had been\nstolen, and hastened after the departing figure.\n\nBut the flight had been so swift that the giants, being slow at\nrunning, saw that they could not overtake her. Therefore they called\nout: \u201cO, divine youth! If you are a boy, may you become a girl! And if\nyou are a girl, may you, at once, become a boy!\u201d\n\nThe swift young figure did not tarry, nor so much as slacken its speed\nfor a breath. Running up to the waiting and anxious horse, she cried,\ngleefully: \u201cBehold! thou valiant helper! Here is that which, without\nthee, I could not so much as dreamed of possessing.\u201d\n\nBut the horse did not notice the precious thing. \u201cDid I not hear voices\ncalling after thee, my prince? Have the giants pronounced any strange\nthing upon thee? Because, if they have, you never can be rid of it.\u201d\n\nThe answer was most joyous: \u201cThey did pronounce a most strange thing,\nindeed, my deliverer! But not a curse. At last I have the desire of my\nheart; the desire of my weeping mother\u2019s heart and the great desire of\nmy father, the king. I need no longer be ashamed to enter his presence;\nsince, now, I am really his son! Praise be to Allah, who is gracious to\nall!\u201d\n\nAt this the horse was delighted, equally with the youth, and replied:\n\u201cVerily, my prince\u2014since you are, indeed, a prince\u2014from this time\nforth, whatever you may wish, I will do it; without in the least\ndisappointing you.\u201d\n\nUpon this the delighted pair flew back to the palace, as if upon the\nwings of the wind; where, as usual, the coal-black steed immediately\ndisappeared.\n\nThe young prince entered the palace, and, after seeking audience with\nthe king, presented himself before the throne, made low obeisance, and\nannounced the success of his journey.\n\n\u201cHere, O, padisha! is the diamond which you have required at my hands.\u201d\n\nThe king was dazzled with the magnificence of the great gem. With all\nspeed he sent for his daughter, to whom he said: \u201cVerily, my child,\nthis valiant youth has secured the priceless jewel which you demanded.\nWhat new trial of his patience and ardor will you now invent?\u201d\n\nThe almost fainting girl responded: \u201cAi, my father! for the love of\nAllah, grant to me one more night. To-morrow, surely, I will give you a\nfinal answer.\u201d\n\nThe king permitted himself to be curious concerning the new device\nwhich the heart of his daughter would invent; therefore he answered:\n\u201cIt is but a day. To-morrow bring me thy answer.\u201d\n\nThe princess returned to her room, and the young prince concealed\nhimself until night came on, when he went to her door to observe what\nwould come to pass. Everything occurred as on previous evenings. The\nsnow-white bird, after plunging in the perfumed waters, became a youth,\nas beautiful as the moon. The two embraced, after which the princess\ncried: \u201cO, my dear harbor of refuge! my lord! The ill conditioned youth\nhas brought the diamond to-day, as he brought the mirror yesterday.\nWhat will become of us?\u201d\n\nBut the young prince smiled at her distress, comforting her with a\ncaress, and answered:\n\n\u201cDo not be troubled at this, my princess! Since my father is king of\nthe fairies, can it be impossible for me to find a way out of this\ndilemma? In the middle of our pleasure garden stands a crying\npomegranate tree, and near it a laughing bear. The moment any person\napproaches the tree, or even stretches out a hand toward its branches,\nthe tree begins to cry. And when the bear hears the crying of the tree,\nhe is filled so with delight that he begins to laugh. As a consequence,\nno one, except the gardener and the keeper, can go near them.\n\n\u201cTo-morrow I will ask my father to command that all the soldiers in his\nkingdom take up their arms. I will station them about the tree. Should\nthis presumptuous youth dare to appear, it will mean instant death to\nhim.\n\n\u201cWhen he comes again, announce that you have but one more request. Tell\nof the tree and say that you have desired it long. Pride in those two\nachievements will disarm his wisdom. He will undertake to gratify you,\nand will meet the death which he deserves for having aspired to the\nhand of a king\u2019s daughter.\u201d\n\nLater on, at the break of day, a bird flew out of the window and did\nnot pause until it had reached the pleasure garden of the king of the\nfairies. There, turning into his rightful form and appearing as prince\nof the fairies, he commanded all the soldiers of the kingdom to take up\ntheir arms. Then he set them to watch about the pomegranate tree.\n\n\n\nLet us come again to the scarlet princess.\n\nEarly in the day she entered the audience chamber of her father and\napproached him, saying: \u201cO, my king! In the pleasure garden of a\ncertain palace stands a weeping pomegranate tree, and beside it is a\nlaughing bear. Should this youth be able to grant a third desire of my\nheart and bring me the tree, I will be able no longer to deny his suit,\nbut, assuredly, will marry him.\u201d\n\nWhereupon the king, having already gained much, became desirous of\npossessing this most curious object. He summoned the youth and said to\nhim:\n\n\u201cMy son, in the pleasure garden of the king of the fairies stands a\nweeping pomegranate tree, and beside it a laughing bear. If, for her\nsake, you will bring this tree to me, then will I give my daughter to\nyou with my own hand.\u201d\n\nTo which the young prince made modest answer: \u201cVerily, O, king! the\nother requests have I fulfilled. If Allah grant wisdom and strength, I\nwill bring you, also, this tree.\u201d\n\nThereupon he took leave of the king and went without the palace. When\nquite alone he rubbed together the hairs which were wont to bring the\nhorse to his aid. Immediately the beautiful creature appeared and asked\nthe prince what he desired.\n\nThis third request of the princess and her father was repeated, to\nwhich the horse made answer: \u201cMy master, the accomplishment of this\nfeat will be somewhat difficult. Nevertheless, if need be, let my life\nbe given for your happiness\u2014for, should you fail, it will mean death to\nme. But you have lacked neither discretion nor valor in preceding\ntrials. Come! let us see what can be brought about.\u201d\n\nThe prince mounted, and, like Asdar, emitting flames from mouth and\nnostrils, the horse flew upon his way.\n\nAfter going for some time, they entered another country, where they\ncame upon three children who were disputing, bitterly, over their\ninheritance, which consisted of a goatskin, a cap, a whip, and an\narrow.\n\nThe horse came to a halt and said: \u201cThese articles are very necessary\nto us, O, prince! See if you can persuade the children to yield them to\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe prince went up to the three. \u201cChildren,\u201d he said, \u201cwhy are you\nquarreling thus? Would you have me divide the articles between you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes!\u201d cried all three.\n\nTaking the arrow, he said: \u201cLook! I will throw this. Whichever of you\nbrings it first, shall have the inheritance.\u201d\n\nAll agreed to this proposition of the young stranger.\n\nThen the prince threw the arrow with all the strength of his arm; and,\nwhile the children ran off in search of it, he laid three gold pieces\nfor each child upon the ground, took the skin, the cap, the whip,\nremounted the horse, and again was upon his way.\n\nWhen the children returned and found the gold, they rejoiced greatly.\n\n\n\nAfter going and going, the horse came to the palace of the fairy king,\nwhen he said: \u201cMy prince\u2014who art now, indeed, a prince\u2014put on the cap,\nmount upon the goatskin, and strike it with the whip. Thereupon you\nwill arise in the air and descend in the garden, where stands the tree\nwe have come to seek. With one motion you must pull it up by the roots\nand immediately bring it to me.\u201d\n\nThe prince did as directed. After he had struck the goatskin, he became\ninvisible. He arose into the air, sailed slowly until above the garden,\nwhen the skin began to descend.\n\nWhen his feet touched the marble stones he decided to enter the palace,\nwhere great was his surprise to see the girl with the scarlet clothing,\nsitting beside the one who had been a bird the night before.\n\nThe newcomer was still invisible; so, approaching, he sat down beside\nthem. After a little, dinner was brought. While those two were eating,\ntheir invisible guest, being very hungry, sat upon the other side of\nthe table and ate with them. They were surprised to see the food\ndisappear from the other side of the platter.\n\n\u201cPrincess,\u201d exclaimed the fairy prince, \u201cmy portion is in front of me;\nyours is before you; but whose is the other?\u201d\n\nAnd they were lost in astonishment.\n\nWhen the meal was over, they sat down upon the divan which stood before\nthe window.\n\nNow, the scarlet-robed princess had given an embroidered handkerchief\nto the fairy prince, which the invisible prince took from the divan and\nhid in his bosom.\n\nWhen the two discovered that it was gone, they began searching for it.\nEverywhere in the room they looked; but nowhere could it be found.\n\nThe invisible prince then remounted the goatskin, struck it with his\nwhip, mounted into the air, and sailed out of the window. By this time\nit was night. As the prince reached the point directly above the\npomegranate tree, he seized and pulled it up by the roots.\n\nAt this the tree began to cry; and the bear, delighted with the misery\nof the tree, began to laugh with all its might. So the brave prince\nsuddenly thought that he would like the bear as well. Seizing hold of\nthat with his other hand, he ascended into the sky bearing them both.\n\nWithin, from the window, the fairy prince and the scarlet-clothed\nprincess saw the tree and the bear ascending, as if without hands. In\ngreat frenzy they called to the soldiers:\n\n\u201cStrike! Stand not still!\u201d\n\nAnd the soldiers, seeing no one whom to attack, became confused and\nfought one with another. They believed, in the dim light, that an enemy\nhad come upon them. During it all, the two stood at the window,\nhelpless. When they saw the tree disappear, they exclaimed:\n\n\u201cAlas! Alas!\u201d\n\nThen the fairy prince said to the maiden: \u201cIt must be he who took the\nhandkerchief you gave me. Now, he has taken the weeping tree. I am\nbecome helpless. No longer will I hold you from one so valorous. Marry\nwhom you will!\u201d\n\n\u201cThis strange youth has become my fate,\u201d replied the princess.\n\nShe went out, mounted her camel, and rode to her father\u2019s palace, where\nshe entered his presence and stood before him with the greatest\nrespect.\n\n\n\nLet us come again to the prince.\n\nAfter securing the tree and the bear, he returned to the horse,\nremounted, and set off for the palace; where he alighted, entered the\npresence of the king, and set down before him the pomegranate tree,\nwhich had been crying all the time. The bear, also, came following\nbehind, laughing merrily at the discomfiture of the tree.\n\nBowing three times, the prince then straightened himself to his full\nheight. \u201cBehold, O, king; this third object which has been asked of\nme!\u201d\n\nThe king was amused and gratified. He descended from his throne to\ngreet the prince, and cried: \u201cBravo, my son! You have done exceedingly\nwell. To whom should I give my daughter if not to the one who saved my\nlife from the dragon, who brought the magic mirror, the precious\ndiamond, and who now has added an endless source of amusement by\nbringing this tree and the bear?\u201d\n\nThen the scarlet-clothed princess drew near, fell upon her knees before\nher father, and confessed that she had been enchanted by the fairies.\nShe begged her father\u2019s forgiveness for having listened to their\napproaches, thus giving them power over her. She protested that the\nspell was broken; that the courage and patience of a true, human prince\nhad won her heart.\n\nSo the two were married. And the festivities continued forty days and\nnights, during which the young husband revealed his own station to all\nwho were at the wedding. Upon the forty-first day he took his princess,\nand set out for the palace of his own father with a retinue. When this\nwas reached, he left his wife and servants without and went within, to\nseek his mother, the queen.\n\nGreat was the joy of those two at meeting. It seemed that they never\ncould lose their embrace. Finally, the queen led her newly found child\nto the king, where he related all the wonders that had been wrought for\nhim.\n\nThe king commanded that the princess be brought. The two were married\nagain, according to the rites of the kingdom, and another festival of\nforty days and nights was celebrated.\n\nAfter that, the prince went away one day, rubbed the three hairs, and,\nwhen the beautiful steed appeared, fell upon his neck, weeping tears of\ngratitude and sorrow.\n\n\u201cI return to thee these hairs,\u201d he said, \u201cO, most noble and unselfish\ncreature! Without thy aid I could not have accomplished my happiness,\nneither that of my adored mother, nor of my honored father. I will not\nkeep the talisman, fearing that some evil person may come into\npossession of them and ask ignoble things of you, who are most noble.\nGo! and may Allah be praised for your services!\u201d\n\nWhen the prince returned he sat by himself during the remainder of the\nday, in deep meditation and grief. But when the evening meal was\nbrought, he permitted his wife and mother to win him from his sad\nthoughts.\n\nSo they all lived happily ever after.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE BIRD OF AFFLICTION\n\n\nThe tellers of stories say that, once upon a time, there lived a king\nwho was wise and just. And this king had a daughter who was so very\nfond of the dowager queen that she was always to be found in her\ncompany.\n\nOne day, during hour after hour, the queen sat lost in thought. At\nlength, the princess approached and asked of what she was thinking.\n\n\u201cO, my child!\u201d the queen replied, \u201cI have an affliction. It is upon\nthat I am thinking.\u201d\n\n\u201cO, queen mother!\u201d again asked the princess, \u201cwhat is this that you\ncall an affliction? Will you not buy one for me, also, that I may be\npermitted to sit beside you and meditate in your company?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf thou so desire. But, first, I must provide myself with money.\u201d\n\nThen the princess made haste to lay all that she possessed before the\nqueen, who, taking five or six pounds of the gold, went to the market\nand purchased a bird of affliction. The slave who accompanied her bore\nit to the palace, when the queen called the young girl and delivered it\nto her, saying:\n\n\u201cHere, my princess, is a bird of affliction. It is yours. Take it.\u201d\n\nThe princess found great pleasure in the bird. Both day and night she\nplayed with it. After a few days, with her maids, she went to a great\npleasure garden. The bird was taken with them, and when they reached\nthe head of the fountains its cage was hung upon the limb of a tree.\n\nPresently the bird began to talk. It said: \u201cAi, sultana, will you not\nlet me out for a little? I would fly about and look at the country with\nthe other birds. I will return to you.\u201d\n\nThe princess, being truthful herself, had not learned to doubt those\nwhom she loved. She believed the bird, opened the door of his cage, and\nlet him go forth. After about two hours, while the maids were amusing\nthemselves in a distant corner of the garden and the maiden was\nenjoying herself alone, watching the sparkling waters of the fountain,\nthe bird returned. She greeted him joyfully and held out her hand that\nhe might alight upon it.\n\nThe bird came nearer, suddenly turned into a jinn, laid rough hold upon\nher, and carried her off.\n\nAfter a flight of two hours, he left her upon the top of a very high\nmountain. And as he disappeared, he cried: \u201cThere! have you learned\nwhat an affliction is? Wait and see others of the same sort which I\nshall bring to you!\u201d So saying, he turned into a column of air and\ndisappeared.\n\nWhen she had recovered from her terror, the princess looked about her.\nAll was barren and desolate. She began to wander about in the hope of\ndiscovering some signs of life. Hungry and forlorn, she wandered day\nafter day, until, finally, meeting a shepherd, she said to him: \u201cGood\nshepherd, if you will give me the clothes you have on, I will give you\nthese silk ones, with all my ornaments.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd agreed to do so. The princess then retired within some\nencircling rocks, and when the shepherd\u2019s clothes were thrown over to\nher, took her own off and tossed them without. Then dressing herself in\nthe coarse garments, and tucking her hair under her cap, she set out to\ncontinue her wandering.\n\nAfter going a long way, she came to the far outskirts of a town. The\nfirst building she reached was a coffeehouse, which she entered, and\nsaid to the owner, \u201cFather, will you take me as an apprentice?\u201d\n\nThe coffee-maker, being a little short-sighted, looked at her\nattentively, then answered that he had been desirous of a helper and\nengaged her at once.\n\nTime passed, and all went well until, one day, the coffee-maker said to\nhis apprentice: \u201cI am going home to-night. Do you sleep in the\ncoffeehouse. Do not let anyone steal the goods. Take care of\neverything!\u201d Having thus commanded, he went away.\n\nWhen it became quite dark, the lonely girl locked the coffeehouse and\nlay down in a corner. After a time she persuaded herself that there was\nno cause for fear, and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, while\ndeep sleep held her senses, the bird which the queen dowager had\npurchased in the market entered, and broke all the nargilehs\n(water-smoking pipes) and all the cups that were in the place, into\nlittle bits. Then he went up to the girl and wakened her roughly.\n\nWhat did she see? Everything that had been in the coffeehouse when she\nwent to sleep was destroyed. Seized with terror, she covered her eyes\nwith her hands to shut out the unhappy sight.\n\nBut the bird rejoiced at her misery, and cried out, with glee: \u201cThere,\ndo you see? Only wait a little longer. Then you will behold other\nafflictions of the same sort. They are upon the way to you!\u201d So saying,\nhe flew off.\n\nAll the remainder of the night the poor girl sat in her corner in dread\nof the morrow. When morning came she was racking her mind to find an\nanswer, to give the master when he should come and question her about\nthe matter.\n\nThe coffee-maker arrived early, and\u2014what should he see but every one of\nhis possessions broken into tiny bits! He believed it to have been done\nby the malicious action of the girl. Dealing her a dreadful blow, he\nseized her by the collar, and threw her out of the house.\n\nAt this she wept bitterly and protested her innocence, but the enraged\nman would not listen. There was nothing left for her but to seek\nanother place.\n\nPresently she reached a tailor\u2019s shop, gathered courage, and entered.\nNow, it so chanced that this was the time of a great feast. Many orders\nhad come from the palace, on account of which all the tailors were busy\ncutting and sewing. As a consequence, when the head tailor was asked if\nhe would take a new apprentice, he made ready answer: \u201cCertainly. I\nhave need of one. Come in and you shall have plenty of work.\u201d\n\nAll went well for a few days, and the poor girl hoped that the bird of\naffliction had not learned of her whereabouts. But, alas! one day the\ntailor went to his home and commanded her to remain behind in charge of\nthe shop.\n\nFear seized upon her so that she could not sleep until near the middle\nof the night, when a sort of stupor overcame her, and, sure enough! at\nexactly the same hour as before, the bird entered and did not rest\nuntil he had torn up all the clothes that were in the place.\n\nThen he wakened the girl and bade her look about. And what could she\nsee but all the garments\u2014the beautiful gold-embroidered ones, as well\nas the plain\u2014every one, and the uncut pieces of cloth, all torn into\nlittle bits!\n\nWhen her scared eyes had taken it all in, the bird laughed hoarsely and\nsaid: \u201cThere, my sultana! Do you see? And after this you will learn\nwhat other sort of affliction I shall bring to you!\u201d Having said this,\nhe flew away.\n\nThe morning came, and also the master of the shop. He entered in haste,\nfor there was much to be done that day, and looking about him\u2014what\nshould he see? All the gorgeous garments, which were to go to the\npalace that morning, and every piece of cloth which had not been\ncut\u2014all, alike, were torn into tiny bits!\n\nUpon seeing this, the distracted man began to beat his head on the\nstones and cry: \u201cAlas! all my work has been brought to waste! And not\nonly my labor is lost, but all these costly pieces of cloth have been\ndestroyed!\u201d Despair lost him his senses. He fell to the ground in a\nfaint.\n\nThe apprentice hastened to bring water with which to bathe his temples\nand to chafe his hands and feet. After some time consciousness returned\nto him, and he began asking the girl who it was that had wrought such\ndestruction. But, however much he questioned her, she made absolutely\nno answer.\n\nConsequently, after pondering upon the matter, the tailor said to\nhimself: \u201cThe boy has no money that I can take in payment for my loss.\nShall I take his soul from him?\u201d Then he dealt a heavy blow, intending\nto take the life of his apprentice, and hurled the supposed boy out of\nthe shop.\n\nThe poor creature was stunned, but not killed. After a little, she\nrecovered sufficiently to be able to make her escape. Weeping sadly at\nher hard lot, she went until a chandelier maker\u2019s shop was reached,\nwhere she asked, with trembling, if she could be taken as an\napprentice.\n\nBut the master of the shop answered her roughly. \u201cGo away!\u201d he cried.\n\u201cGo away, boy! What could I do with you? I don\u2019t need anyone to look\nafter me; neither do I want to look after a boy.\u201d\n\nHowever, after some time, when he saw that the poor creature would not\ngo away, he yielded to her desire and took her for his apprentice.\n\nTime passed and all went well. The poor girl began to hope once more.\nBut upon one day, among other days, it became necessary that the master\nshould go away to attend to some very important business. He gave the\nstrictest injunction to his apprentice that the shop must be taken good\ncare of\u2014that everything should be so guarded that no possible harm\ncould come.\n\nWhen night came on, the apprentice was more than usually careful in\nlocking every entrance. After that she lay down in a corner.\n\nIn the middle of the night the same bird came and did all the evil to\nwhich he had been accustomed. A stupor was upon the sleeper, so that\nshe did not hear the crashing of glass nor the breaking of wrought\nmetals. It was not until the bird had wakened her, that she knew of the\nhavoc that had been wrought.\n\nAs she looked about her, the same words were spoken that had greeted\nher ears when other troubles came upon her: \u201cThere, my sultana! Do you\nsee? Wait until the other afflictions come. I shall bring more to you\nof the same sort.\u201d With these threatening words he flew away.\n\nWhen morning came the apprentice opened the shop, as usual, and awaited\nthe coming of her master, which was not long delayed. The chandelier\nmaker came, and\u2014what should he see? So many chandeliers as there were\nin the shop! And all of them in utter ruin!\n\nThe anger and despair of the poor man brought him to such a state that\nhe looked about for a place to hang himself. In so doing he discovered\nthe apprentice, hiding behind some boxes in a corner. He seized a\nstick, gave the poor creature a sound beating, and threw her out of the\nshop.\n\nAgain the poor girl went off crying. This time she thought in her\nheart: \u201cInto whatever shop I have gone, so much harm has been brought\nby the bird, and so many times have I been beaten, so many blows have I\neaten! After this, in order that no harm may be brought upon others, I\nshall stay by myself. I will go and wander from mountain to mountain.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she took the path leading in that direction. When evening\ncame, she found herself very hungry and thirsty. Also, she had made the\nunhappy discovery that wild animals, most ferocious beasts, inhabited\nthe mountain upon which night had overtaken her. To escape these she\nclimbed to the top of a tree, where she slept, as best she could,\nduring the night.\n\nWhen it became morning, just after dawn, the son of the king of that\ncountry went out on the mountain to hunt and saw the apprentice curled\nup in the tree. The light being yet dim, he believed that he had\ndiscovered a strange kind of bird. So he shot an arrow at it, which\nflew wide of its mark and hit the tree instead.\n\nWhen the prince came nearer he saw, to his horror, that it was not a\nbird at which he had shot, but a human being. Fear seized upon him. He\ncalled out, \u201cAre you an animal or a jinn?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am neither the one nor the other,\u201d the girl replied. \u201cI am a man.\nFear of the wild beasts drove me to seek refuge here.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen descend. And with my arrows I will protect you,\u201d answered the\nprince.\n\nAfter he had assisted her down, he was touched with sympathy at her\nmiserable state, and at once conducted her to the palace. When they had\narrived there, and the stranger was led to the bath, she told the slave\nthat she would like a woman servant to be sent to her. To this one she\nrevealed the truth that she was not a man, but had been obliged to wear\nthe clothing of one, for the sake of safety. The slave woman then\nbathed and dressed her in garments that were fitting.\n\nWhen this had been done, all those who were in the bath were surprised;\nfor the one who had come to them as an apprentice lad, seemed now as\nthe fourteenth of the moon for beauty. Her like had never been seen in\nthe palace.\n\nThe slaves led her from the bath and into the presence of the prince,\nwho, at sight of her loveliness, became as if intoxicated in his mind.\nHe remained thus for more than an hour. When his reason returned he\nwent directly into his father\u2019s presence.\n\n\u201cMost revered father!\u201d said the prince. \u201cYesterday I went out to hunt\nand found a most strange thing\u2014a maiden who had been frightened by the\nwild animals and had taken refuge in a tree. What could I do? It is the\nprovince of the brave to succor the weak. Therefore I assisted her to\nthe ground and brought her home with me. Since she has been relieved\nfrom terror and refreshed with the bath, she appears to me as the\nloveliest and most desirable maiden in the whole world. She is become\nmy fate. I beg that you will permit me to marry her.\u201d\n\nHardly could the king restrain his astonishment at this. \u201cWhat childish\ntale are you telling me, my son? Lead hither the maiden! Let me look\nupon her!\u201d\n\nThe prince made haste to command her coming, for he was assured, in his\nheart, that even the king must admit her loveliness.\n\nAnd it was so. When the maiden had entered, and after she had answered,\nmodestly, his greeting, the king was so pleased with her that he no\nlonger wondered at the desire of his son. He yielded to importunity and\ngave his consent to the marriage.\n\nImmediately the wedding was arranged. During forty days and forty\nnights the celebrations continued. Upon the forty-first day the prince\nwas married to the beautiful princess.\n\nThey were very happy together. Near the end of the first year a little\ndaughter was born to them. Then did their happiness seem complete.\n\nSome time elapsed. The child grew and had perfect health. One night,\nwhen the prince, the princess, and all of their attendants were asleep,\nthe bird, which had bided its time patiently, came into the chamber\nwhere lay the child and its mother. He smeared the mouth of the\nprincess with blood, took the child under his wing, and wakened her\nroughly.\n\n\u201cSee!\u201d he cried. \u201cI am carrying off your child. Wait a little! You will\nlearn what other afflictions are in store for you!\u201d\n\nAs he uttered these cruel words he flew away; leaving the princess\nspeechless with grief, and unconscious of the blood-stains upon her\nlips.\n\nMorning came. The prince arose to find his child gone and the mouth of\nhis wife smeared with blood! He was amazed at the sight, but did not\npermit himself to speak until he had gone into the presence of his\nfather, to whom, with great effort to control his grief, he confided\nthe state of affairs.\n\nThe king\u2019s surprise knew no bounds. \u201cMy son,\u201d he asked, \u201cwhence came\nthis girl? Where did you tell me that you had found her?\u201d\n\n\u201cUpon a mountain, my father.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, although she has conducted herself becomingly and has seemed\nmost gentle and sweet, undoubtedly there is savage blood in her veins.\nOne can never tell when this may manifest itself. If she will eat her\nown child, whom she loved, she may, at any time, become possessed with\nthe desire to eat other people.\u201d\n\nHowever, the love which both the king and the prince had for the\nprincess, and her own undoubted grief at the loss of the child, caused\nthem to hesitate as to what course to pursue. Day after day went by,\nand nothing was done about the sad matter.\n\nAfter a considerable time another daughter was born to them, and, in\nthe same way as before\u2014though both the prince and the princess, each\nwithout letting the other know of it, had charged the nurse and\nattendants to be extremely watchful\u2014the bird came, took the child,\nagain smeared blood upon the mouth of the princess, and flew away.\n\nWhen morning came, the prince found the same sad state of affairs which\nhad bewildered him before. He could not restrain his grief, the\nknowledge of which was borne to his father.\n\nThe king was moved with great indignation, along with his sorrow. He\ngave command that the savage woman should be put to death.\n\nWhen the prince learned of this command, his grief at the loss of the\nchild was swallowed up in the greater one of losing his wife. All his\nlove for the beautiful girl, whose life with him had only these two\nblots, swept over his heart. He hastened to his father, prostrated\nhimself before him, and begged that, once more, her life might be\nspared.\n\nThe king, seeing the grief of his son, and experiencing a like\ntenderness in his own heart, was gracious once more and annulled the\nsentence.\n\nTime came and went. At the end of another year a boy was born to the\nyoung couple. When the boy had reached the age of the other children\nwhen they disappeared, the prince began to reflect, saying within\nhimself: \u201cShould the savage instincts take possession of the princess\nand she, unconsciously, destroy this child, nothing would prevent my\nfather from commanding and insisting upon her death.\u201d\n\nThinking thus, he made up his mind to remain awake all night and watch.\nAfter the princess had gone to sleep, the prince took a needle in his\nhand, and held it in such a manner against his chin that, should he\nbecome sleepy and nod, the point would enter the flesh and waken him.\nFinally, however, a strange, heavy sleep, against which he had no power\nof resistance, overcame him, and the needle dropped from his hand.\n\nAbout twelve o\u2019clock the bird came, after it had smeared blood upon the\nmouth and nose of the mother, and took this third child; upon which it\nwakened her, saying: \u201cVerily, my sultana, I am going to take your boy\nfrom you. Hereafter you shall see me again. There are other\nafflictions. I will bring them to you.\u201d\n\nThe princess tried, frantically, to detain him. But it was impossible.\nNeither was she able to cry aloud. Dumb with terror, she remained\nhelpless while the bird disappeared with her youngest child.\n\nWhen morning came and the prince arose\u2014what should he find? That his\nlittle son was gone, no one knew whither; and that the mouth and even\nthe nose of the princess were all covered with blood. Horror possessed\nhim. He was frantic with grief, and the king, learning within the hour\nof the dreadful matter, sent an order to the chief executioner that the\nprincess must be killed immediately.\n\nIn obedience to the royal command, the executioner bound the hands of\nthe princess behind her and led her toward an open square. But the\nroyal prisoner was so fair and seemed so innocent and heartbroken, that\neven the heart of the executioner was touched. When they were beyond\nsight of those in the palace, he said to her:\n\n\u201cO, my princess! I cannot put you to death! Fly from here. Go in any\ndirection you choose; only do not return to the palace. And may Allah\ngive you peace!\u201d Thus speaking, he set her free.\n\nThe unhappy young woman went away weeping bitterly. Grief at the loss\nof her husband\u2019s love, and terror as to the fate of her little ones,\nbroke her heart. Knowing not whither, she unconsciously pursued the\npath by which the prince had rescued her when upon the mountain.\n\nBut even then she was not to escape. Presently the bird appeared.\n\n\u201cAi!\u201d she cried. \u201cAnd art thou come again? Hast thou not afflicted me\naccording to thy wish thus far? Leave me now, I beseech thee! to mourn\nover all thou hast taken from me!\u201d\n\nBut the bird lifted her by her clothing and flew off with her.\n\nAfter some time they came to a palace which was all covered with\nprecious stones\u2014one never before seen by human eyes nor described by a\nhuman tongue. It was so beautiful that the eyes of any beholder must\nbecome dazzled at the sight of it.\n\nInto the garden of this palace the bird descended with his burden. As\nsoon as their feet touched the marble wall he gave himself a shake, and\nat once turned into a young prince who was like the full moon for\nbeauty.\n\nWhen the princess saw this transformation, her terror was changed to\namazement. The prince then took her hand to lead her up the steps into\nthe palace, when a servant met them, leading three children whose faces\nshone like the beams of a star\u2014so fair were they to look upon.\n\nWhen the princess saw them her heart beat fast and her eyes filled. But\nthe prince would not permit her to tarry. He conducted her\u2014the children\nfollowing them\u2014up the stairs, through a hall inlaid with precious\nstones, and into a spacious salon. Here, after seating her, he sat down\nbeside her.\n\nDuring all this time the children had not once removed their eyes from\nthe beautiful princess, whom they had met upon the staircase.\n\nThen the prince of the fairies spoke; and these are the words that he\nsaid: \u201cMy sultana, unto you I have done many injuries. I also took your\nchildren from you and caused that you be delivered over to the\nexecutioner. But not once did you tell those who afflicted you that it\nwas I, and not you, who had done the evil. You were patient and endured\nall without complaint. Consequently, I caused this palace to be built\nfor you. Everything is yours. And the children, whom I took from you,\nhave been carefully nourished. These children, whom you now see, are\nthose whom you have mourned as lost. All three are yours. And,\nhenceforth, I am your slave.\u201d\n\nUpon hearing this, the princess embraced the little ones, kissing them\non the eyes and pressing them to her breast. And the children threw\ntheir arms about their mother\u2019s neck, weeping most piteously at the\nremembrance of their grief at being torn from her.\n\nIn this reunion of mother and children whole new worlds seemed to be\nopened up to them. They could not bear to be separated from each other,\nneither day nor night.\n\nLet these four remain in the summerhouse of the magnificent palace,\nglad in their reunion, while we return to the other prince.\n\nThe poor young man was torn with grief\u2014now, over the death of his\nchildren; then, because of the reawakened love for his wife; and again,\nbecause he believed her to be dead. Both day and night he gave himself\nup to lamentations.\n\nNow, there was an old clown, whose duty it had been to come every day\nand tell amusing stories to the prince. But one day his opium gave out,\nand he obtained a half hour\u2019s leave to go to the market.\n\nWhile upon the way he looked before him and saw a palace, so\nmagnificent as to make him rub his eyes in astonishment and exclaim:\n\u201cThis palace! When was it built? Here have I been passing by, at any\nhour of every day, and there has not been seen the slightest sign of\nsuch splendor. Is this a dream, or some trick played upon me?\u201d\n\nThinking thus within himself, he began to walk around its walls and\ninvestigate. While he was doing this, the fairy prince and the princess\nwere sitting with the children, in the summerhouse. The fairy prince\nlooked out through the gateway and saw the clown from a distance.\n\n\u201cMy sultana!\u201d he said, \u201chere is the prince\u2019s clown. If you command, we\nwill have him within and, perhaps, gain some amusement.\u201d\n\n\u201cI would have that done which will please you,\u201d was the careful answer.\n\nAccordingly, as the clown was examining the outer walls of the palace,\nthe fairy prince threw an enchanted rose down upon him; which the\nclown, seeing, picked up, and when he had smelled it said: \u201cO, how\nsweetly does this rose smell! Say, you, there! Can you, also, smell?\u201d\nAnd, although there was no sense in the words, he kept repeating them.\n\nIt became noised about the streets that the prince\u2019s clown was losing\nhis senses. And all who saw him, to the number of fifty or sixty\npersons, stopped to hear the foolish utterance and to shake the head,\nsaying, \u201cAlas! yes; the clown is crazy!\u201d\n\n\n\nLet us return to the true prince.\n\nAfter two hours had passed without the return of the clown, he began to\nbe troubled, and ordered the chamberlain to go out and learn what had\nbecome of the old man; also, to bring him back to the palace.\n\nThe chamberlain had gone but a little way, when he noticed a large\ncrowd in the public square and went near, to learn the cause of the\ngathering. To his surprise, he saw that the clown was in the very\nmiddle. Making his way to this side, he said, \u201cThe prince sends for\nyou.\u201d\n\nOnly the words caused by the enchantment came in answer: \u201cYour rose\nsmells sweet. Can you also smell?\u201d But this time was added, as the\nspeaker looked at the chamberlain: \u201cIf they throw a rose to you, from\nthe palace yonder, be warned! Do not pick it up!\u201d\n\nThese words served only to arouse the curiosity of the chamberlain. He\ndesired to look more closely at this marvelous palace.\n\nThe fairy prince saw him approaching and said to the princess: \u201cAha! we\nhave here the prince\u2019s chamberlain. Shall he be invited to enter?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour will should answer that, my lord!\u201d was her reply.\n\nThen the fairy prince gave command that the gates of the palace should\nbe opened and, when the chamberlain entered, servants approached to\nconduct him up the stairs into the palace.\n\nThe host commanded that the chamberlain\u2019s clothes of state should be\nremoved before entering his presence. Accordingly, the chamberlain was\nconducted to another room; but when he attempted to remove his turban,\nbehold! it could not be loosened from his head.\n\nHe sat down in astonishment at this strange matter. And the servants\nwent to their master, with news that the prince\u2019s chamberlain could not\ntake off his turban!\n\n\u201cWhat manner of man is this, that he cannot remove his turban?\u201d cried\nthe fairy prince, in assumed anger. \u201cPut the fellow without!\u201d\n\nSo they led the chamberlain to the gates of the palace, when, as he\nstooped to put on his shoes, behold! his turban fell from his head!\n\n\u201cWell, well!\u201d he said to himself, as he picked it up. \u201cYou are a great\nfellow! You could not take off your turban when inside the palace; why\ndo you remove it when you are outside?\u201d\n\nSo he threw the troublesome thing upon the ground, hastened to where\nthe clown was standing, and, in a low tone that could not be heard by\nthose standing near, told him his story. This caused the curiosity of\nthese two to increase greatly.\n\n\n\nLet us return to the prince.\n\nAfter he had sent the chamberlain to bring the clown and neither of\nthem had returned, he called the lord of the treasury and commanded him\nto find the two and bring them, straightway, into his presence.\n\nSo the lord of the treasury went out, as the others had done, and,\nseeing the same crowd in the public square, joined it and took notice\nof the state in which were those two whom he had come to seek. He drew\nnear to them and inquired the cause.\n\n\u201cIf a rose is thrown to you from the newly builded palace,\u201d answered\nthe clown, \u201cbe advised; do not smell of it!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if, by chance, you enter this palace,\u201d added the chamberlain,\n\u201cremove your turban before going in.\u201d\n\nThe lord of the treasury, unwisely, turned to look at the palace; and,\nas he looked, his will became weak. He, also, was drawn toward it.\n\nWhen the fairy prince saw this, again he turned to the princess: \u201cHere\nis the lord of the treasury!\u201d he cried. \u201cShall he, also, be made\nfoolish in mind?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is you who know best,\u201d answered the princess.\n\nAccordingly, the lord of the treasury was admitted, who carefully\nremoved his turban as he entered.\n\n\u201cLet him take off his state garments and enter my presence in\nnightclothes!\u201d commanded the one who had drawn him thither.\n\nThe lord of the treasury attempted to obey, but found that he could not\nremove his coat. However hard he tugged at it, not one fraction of an\ninch would it budge!\n\nThe servants ran to tell this to their master, who exclaimed: \u201cWhat\nsort of man is this, who cannot remove his coat? Does he expect me to\nbelieve such a foolish statement? Put him out, quickly!\u201d\n\nThe servants made haste to obey, and the bewildered lord of the\ntreasury had taken scarcely a step when, of itself, his coat fell from\nhis back!\n\n\u201cWell, well!\u201d exclaimed the amazed man. \u201cSince you would remain on when\nI was within the palace, why do you come off now that I am without?\u201d\n\nIn anger he threw the coat upon the ground and went to join the others.\n\n\n\nTime passed by, and the prince, whose people loved to obey him quickly,\nbecame very much excited with wondering what could have become of his\nmessengers. He went out to seek them himself, and presently came upon\nthe three.\n\n\u201cWhat is the meaning of this?\u201d he demanded. \u201cWhy have you all tarried\nso long?\u201d\n\nAt which question the clown made reply: \u201cIf the people in the new\npalace throw a rose to you, do not smell it!\u201d\n\nAnd the chamberlain added: \u201cIf you enter there, remove your turban\nbefore you pass the threshold.\u201d\n\nWhile the lord of the treasury murmured: \u201cLeave your coat behind when\nyou go.\u201d\n\nAt these strange answers the prince nearly lost his head. He felt that,\nas their prince, it was his duty to solve the mystery. So he turned\nand, without one word, went swiftly to the palace and demanded\nadmission.\n\nThe moment he stepped inside, the fairy prince, the princess\u2014who could\nhardly restrain her joy at seeing him\u2014the three children, and all the\nservants came forward to do him honor.\n\nSpeechless with astonishment, he suffered himself to be conducted up\nthe grand staircase and into the reception room. The eldest child\nbrought a chair, which it presented with deep obeisance; the second\nspread a serviette upon his knee; while the tiny one, kneeling,\nproffered a golden tray upon which was a costly plate. Upon the plate\nwere some pears, and a spoon lay beside the plate.\n\nThe surprise of the prince continued to grow; but, commanding himself\nand wondering if he could be dreaming, he asked, \u201cShould pears be eaten\nwith a spoon?\u201d\n\nWhereupon all the children made answer in chorus: \u201cShould one believe\nthat a loving mother would eat her own children?\u201d\n\nAt this answer the prince became dumb.\n\n\u201cLook!\u201d they continued. \u201cWe are all your children. And this is our\nmother, who loves us.\u201d\n\nAt that moment the fairy prince appeared and said: \u201cAi, my prince! may\nyour eyes become luminous! This is, indeed, your princess. And these\nare your children.\u201d\n\nWhen he had said this, the children threw themselves upon their\nfather\u2019s neck. Then the princess came forward and embraced her lord.\nAnd to the very depths of their souls were these five persons happy.\n\nWhen their rapture had become somewhat calm, the fairy prince again\napproached and, making obeisance, said: \u201cI am your slave. Long ago I\nwas purchased for the princess, with her own money. Before that time I\nhad been very wicked. My own mother, the queen of the fairies, had\ncursed me. As a consequence, I was thrown into this condition. I beg\nyour royal pardon for all I have unwittingly caused you to suffer.\n\n\u201cNow, if it be your good pleasure, and if you, graciously, will grant\npermission, I will return to my own country and seek out my own father\nand my mother. Perchance they may care to see me once more.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince these later acts were not your immediate fault,\u201d replied the\nprince, \u201cyou have the gracious permission of my princess and myself. Go\nin peace and refrain from future evil-doing!\u201d\n\nAccordingly, the fairy prince bade them adieu and went away, leaving\nthe beautiful palace, with its setting of costly gems, unto the others.\n\nThen the princess caused a messenger to carry the news of her final\ngood fortune to her own father; who rejoiced, greatly, that the\ndaughter, whom he had mourned as dead, was still alive and living in\nthe estate due to her birth. He sent royal presents and his blessing.\nThen were the prince and princess married again; and their second\nwedding was celebrated during forty days and forty nights. They lived\nhappily ever afterward.\n\nAnd may Allah grant the same to us!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE WATER-CARRIER\n\n\nThe tellers of stories and narrators of tales say that, once upon a\ntime, there was a king who had only one child and that a daughter.\n\nNow, it happened that the king\u2019s vizier, whose house was directly\nopposite the palace, was likewise circumstanced with regard to his\nfamily. And, moreover, the two young ladies had each a room in the very\nfront of her dwelling, and each was very beautiful.\n\nOne day the two were sitting at their respective windows, furtively\nregarding each other across the street, when a tall and handsome\nwater-carrier chanced to pass. Seeing him thus, the king\u2019s daughter\nspoke.\n\n\u201cO, water-boy, water-boy! Which is the more beautiful, the vizier\u2019s\ndaughter or I?\u201d\n\nThe water-carrier gazed upon each in turn, then answered: \u201cMy princess,\nboth of you are very beautiful; but, since one must not lie to the\nchild of his king, the vizier\u2019s daughter is the more so.\u201d\n\nThis testimony so wrought upon the jealous princess that she became ill\nin consequence, and was unable to rise from her bed. The king was\ngreatly disturbed at this. He summoned the court physician and the\nother learned men, who came to discover what was her ailment and to\ncure her, if possible.\n\nThe princess gave gold pieces to these men and ordered them to tell her\nfather that this illness would prove fatal, unless the vizier\u2019s\ndaughter were killed and some of her blood given as a medicine.\n\nThe physician was a weak man and afraid to anger the daughter of his\nking. He went to her father with the cruel request. Immediately a\ncommand was sent to the vizier. But that fond and daring father killed\na little kitten and sent its blood instead.\n\nThen, becoming afraid, he summoned a carpenter and had a walnut box\nmade and beautifully fitted up, inside; into which he put his daughter\nand then ordered his faithful servant to take it to the market and sell\nit, regardless of the price.\n\nPlacing himself in the shadow, the anxious father waited to note the\ndisposal of the box with its precious contents. He had not waited long,\nwhen the water-carrier, whose truthfulness had caused all the mischief,\ncame by and stopped to look at the walnut box.\n\n\u201cHere is a handsome fellow, whose heart surely will be touched into\npity and love at sight of my daughter,\u201d thought the vizier; so he made\na sign to the servant, who asked the young man if he would not like the\nbox.\n\n\u201cSurely I would like it,\u201d was the response. \u201cBut the wood is valuable\nand the parts are well joined. The price will be high.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, no,\u201d answered the servant. \u201cI am worn with waiting and must be\noff at once. Give me five paras and the box is yours.\u201d\n\nThe water-carrier smiled. \u201cAha! I see the price is naught to you. I\nwill give you three.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake it and hasten! For I am needed already, at a great distance.\u201d\n\nThe purchaser gave him the money, called a porter, and ordered him to\nbring the box along with him to his house.\n\nOffering a prayer to Allah for the safety of his child, the vizier,\nfollowed by his servant, hastened away; while the porter strapped the\nbox upon his back and then followed the water-carrier, until, in\nobedience to his direction, he placed it in the young man\u2019s room, where\nit remained that night.\n\nAfter the young man had gone out, the next day, to follow his\navocation, the vizier\u2019s daughter unlocked the box from within, opened\nit, stepped out, and looked about her. The whole house was in disorder.\nShe was a girl of very tidy habits and decided to make the bed, sweep,\nand put at rights the whole place generally. This she did and, when the\ntime approached for the return of her young owner, lay down again in\nher box and locked it from within.\n\nImagine the surprise of the water-man when he returned in the evening\nand found everything in delightful order!\n\n\u201cI wonder who has been here?\u201d he thought. Then, being very tired with\nlong walking, he went to bed and slept soundly all that night.\n\nMorning came. \u201cI must get a locksmith to open this walnut box for me,\u201d\nhe said; then went out upon his daily round.\n\nNo sooner had he gone than the maiden unlocked the casket, arose, and\ndid as on the day preceding. At evening she lay down in the walnut box,\nas before.\n\nThe young man entered, saw everything in beautiful order, and stood for\nsome time thinking. Then he went to the box and tried the lock. It\nwould not yield.\n\n\u201cIf anyone is within, let him come forth!\u201d commanded the water-man.\n\nBut, though he waited long, no sound was heard in answer. He then went\nto bed and slept peacefully until morning, when he arose earlier than\nusual.\n\nThis caused the heart of the girl in the walnut box to tremble.\nHowever, she remained quiet, and soon found that wisdom had impelled\nher silence; for the young man returned very shortly, with a fine piece\nof meat, which he had gone to the butcher\u2019s to buy. Laying it down upon\na table, he said:\n\n\u201cIf Allah approve, I will cook this to-morrow.\u201d Then he took up his\nwater skins and went out for the day.\n\nThe maiden no longer feared discovery. She arose, swept the house, as\nupon other days, cooked the meat, carefully covered and laid it away;\nthen, seeing many pieces of soiled clothing about, she said: \u201cIt is\nbetter to wash clothes than to be killed at the caprice of a princess,\u201d\nand began busying herself in that way when, most unexpectedly, the\nmaster of the house entered!\n\nAt sight of him the poor girl covered her face and cried: \u201cAlas! alas!\u201d\n\nBut the water-man recognized her and was filled with joy. He asked how\nher condition had become so changed; and, after hearing her story, went\nnearer to her and said:\n\n\u201cAi, my princess! You are mine; but I, also, am yours. Let us be\nmarried!\u201d\n\nThe young woman gave her consent, a few of the neighbors were summoned\nhastily, and, with due ceremony, they were married and lived very\nhappily until, both of them fearing discovery, the husband loaded forty\ndonkeys with merchandise, placed his wife upon another, and sent her to\nthe home of his mother, with whom the young woman lived for some time.\n\nHowever, it is a true saying that the beauty which causes envy in the\nhearts of others seldom brings happiness to its possessor. Some of the\nwomen of the place became jealous of the newcomer and wrote a letter to\nthe husband, telling him that his wife had forgotten him and was in\nlove with another.\n\nThis so incensed the young husband that he sent word that he was coming\nhome, bought a dagger, and set out to kill his wife. As he approached\nthe house he saw her coming to meet him, with silver candlesticks in\nher hands.\n\nBut when she saw that his face was dark and threatening, and that he\nwas drawing a dagger from his belt, she ran to the bank of a stream\nwhich flowed in front of the house, sprang into it, and was carried\naway toward the sea.\n\n\u201cLet her go!\u201d cried all the neighbors, who had come out to watch the\naffair. \u201cShe is not worthy of a good home nor of a kind husband.\u201d\n\nNow, farther down, there were fishermen upon the banks of the stream.\nAs the drowning girl was swept along by the current, the nets caught\nher, and the fishermen, feeling something heavy in the nets, made haste\nto draw them in. Their surprise upon finding a girl, instead of a heavy\ndraught of fishes, was very great. They hastened to work over her until\nshe had come to life, when\u2014because she was very beautiful\u2014they began to\nquarrel as to whom she belonged.\n\nFinally, as they were coming to blows, one of them said: \u201cLet me throw\nthis arrow; then let all of us run after it. Whichever finds it first\nshall have the prize.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, he threw the arrow, and all of them started off. While\nthey were engaged in seeking it the girl caught the opportunity to run\naway. And as the one who threw the arrow was very strong of arm, they\nwere so long in finding it that she had accomplished a goodly distance\nbefore they discovered their loss.\n\nThe poor girl ran and ran, until she met a Jew, who laid rough hands\nupon her and said: \u201cAi, my girl! as you seem to belong to no one, I am\ngoing to take you. You shall not be let to run wild in this manner.\nHenceforth you are mine.\u201d\n\nThen the despairing girl held up the two silver candlesticks\u2014which had\nbeen in her hands all the time\u2014and while he was securing them in his\npack, she ran again, until she came to a fountain, where she sat down\nexhausted.\n\nWhile she was sitting thus, the son of the king of that country came\nby, and, seeing her, sat down and talked with her. Notwithstanding her\nweariness and all through which she had passed, her attractiveness was\nso great that, after he had been beside the fountain but a little\nwhile, he asked if she would accompany him to the palace and become his\nbride.\n\nTo this she made answer: \u201cMost gladly will I do this that you ask, O,\nmost noble prince! if you first will grant a request of mine.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is granted already, my princess! Now tell it to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince it is beside this fountain, and because of it, that I may have\nbeen found by you, may I ask that an agreeable place may be built here\nin which travelers may drink of the water and rest a little? And, since\nyou seem pleased to look at me, will you have my portrait put into the\nbottom of the basin, so that all who lean over to drink in the fountain\nmay see it?\u201d\n\n\u201cAll this will I have done at once, my princess,\u201d answered the prince.\nHe then took her by the hand and together they went to the palace.\n\nThe fountain was builded as described, and, not far away, a tiny tower\nwas put up from which the prince and the young woman whom he had found\ncould see all those who came to drink at the beautiful fountain.\n\nNow, it very soon happened that the fishermen, passing that way,\nstopped to drink of the water which flowed clear and bright. As they\nleaned over the marble basin they saw the girl\u2019s image, and each fell\nto the ground in a faint.\n\nWhile they were lying thus the Jew approached, and, in stooping to\ndrink, he, too, lost his senses and fell down beside the others. Last\nof all came the water-carrier; and no one needs wonder that\nconsciousness left him upon the instant.\n\nNow, the one whose portrait had so distressed them all\u2014the evil each\nhad done her being so upon his conscience that he felt the image had\ncome to wreak vengeance\u2014was watching from the window of the little\ntower.\n\n\u201cMy prince,\u201d said she, gently, \u201cwill you graciously come and look\ntoward the fountain?\u201d\n\nUpon seeing the fallen bodies of the men, he turned to her, saying:\n\u201cThere is some mystery here. These men have wronged you in some way.\u201d\nAnd without waiting for an answer he commanded that they all be put in\nirons.\n\nWhen they had recovered consciousness and were safely lodged in prison,\nthe prince and the young woman went in to look at them.\n\n\u201cO, prince, gracious and kind!\u201d said she. \u201cThese fishermen drew me out\nof the water, and, while they quarreled over me, I made my escape. This\nJew met me in my flight, treated me roughly, and would have made me his\nslave, but, while he was dazzled with the silver candlesticks in my\nhand, I fled again. This water-carrier was my husband. Without granting\nme the privilege of proving myself innocent, he believed evil reports\nwhich jealous persons related to him, and came prepared to kill me. It\nwas because of this that I tried to drown myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs all this possible?\u201d exclaimed the astonished prince. \u201cThen the Jew\nand the fishermen shall be punished with forty stripes and forty days\u2019\nimprisonment. As for the water-carrier, do you decide what shall be\ndone with him. In this matter your word shall be my law.\u201d\n\nThereupon the water-carrier fell down at the woman\u2019s feet and kissed\nthe hem of her raiment. \u201cKill me, O, my beloved!\u201d he cried, \u201cfor,\nindeed, I am worthy only of death. But first grant thy forgiveness! It\nwas the madness of my love which drove me to kill thee, when those evil\ntidings came. I had been diligent in business, praying Allah to grant\nme success, so that I might build a fitting home for thee and me. And\nmy efforts were crowned with the answer to my prayer. At the very time\nwhen the tidings came, I was about to come to thee with the precious\nnews; and, therefore, was the more easily incensed. But I ask not for\nmercy, O, my beloved! Do as thou wilt with me. It will be just.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, if the prince will be gracious still, and I return unto thee,\nwilt thou, henceforth, learn the truth before thou sharpenest thy\ndagger?\u201d\n\n\u201cCanst thou believe me, O, my wife? A thousand times, yes!\u201d\n\nThen the prince, whose eyes were full, gave the woman to her husband.\nThey returned home, were married all over again; the wedding was\ncelebrated for forty days and forty nights, after which they lived long\nand happily. Salaam!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE COFFEE-MAKER\u2019S APPRENTICE\n\n\nThe tellers of stories and narrators of tales relate that, once upon a\ntime, there was a valiant youth who had fallen into very poor\ncircumstances, which it seemed impossible to mend. Therefore he decided\nto try his fortunes in other lands; and, the thought occurring to him\nthat he would not like every chance passer to discover his identity, he\ndisguised himself and fared forth.\n\nAfter going and going, for a long time, he found himself in another\ncountry; and, being weary, he entered the coffeehouse of an old, old\nman whom, after he had refreshed himself with the unsatisfactory\ncoffee, he asked permission to serve as an apprentice.\n\nThe proprietor of the little shop regarded him sadly and replied: \u201cAi,\nmy son! the coffeehouse is old and does not attract customers\u2014as you\nsee. I have only one or two. They bring me in not more than five or ten\nparas (ten paras = one cent) a day; out of which I must buy bread for\nthe evening. That is all I have to live on. Even should you offer to\nserve me for nothing, how could I take you?\u201d\n\nBut this did not abash the young applicant. \u201cFather,\u201d he replied, \u201cI\nask nothing whatever from you. Only I beg that you permit me to thrust\nmy head into this refuge, that I may know myself to be out of harm\u2019s\nway.\u201d\n\nIt would have required a harder heart than beat in the old\ncoffee-maker\u2019s bosom, to deny so simple a request. \u201cVery well, my son,\u201d\nhe answered. \u201cRemain! and may peace be upon us! We will get on with\nwhatever Allah sends.\u201d\n\nThe youth then kissed his master\u2019s hand and went into the shop, where\nhe sat down to think upon his new estate and to plan what he could do\nto increase the fortune of his discouraged master.\n\nWhen evening came, the old man arose. \u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201cI am going\nhome now. When you are ready to sleep, lock the house carefully.\u201d With\nthese words he went away, leaning heavily upon his stick\u2014for he was\nvery old.\n\nThe apprentice locked the door after him and lay down above the\ncounter, where, after a little, he composed himself to sleep.\n\nExactly at midnight there was a knock upon the door. The sleeping youth\nwakened but did not arise. Another moment and the door\u2014which was\nlocked\u2014opened, without difficulty, and a dervish entered with a salaam!\n\nThe astonished apprentice returned the salute, without feeling quite\nsure whether he were asleep or awake.\n\n\u201cArise, boy!\u201d commanded the midnight visitor, \u201cand make me a cup of\ncoffee; but expect no money for it.\u201d\n\nThe boy, thus commanded, arose at once and made the coffee, which the\ndervish drank without a word, and directly left the shop. The\napprentice looked after his departing figure and said: \u201cMay Allah grant\nsuccess to your journey!\u201d\n\nAfterward he relocked the door, lay down in his place, but could not\nsleep again that night. When morning brought his master to the shop,\nthe two greeted each other, but no word concerning the strange visitor\nof the night before passed between them.\n\nThe day passed slowly enough to the apprentice lad, and, when the shop\nwas closed at night, he lay down and went to sleep as before. \u201cSuch\noccurrences come not often in pairs,\u201d he said to himself. \u201cI shall have\npeace to-night.\u201d\n\nBut exactly at midnight there was the same knock which had startled him\ntwenty-four hours earlier. He had only time to sit up in his place when\nthe door opened, noiselessly, and two dervishes entered, made each a\nsalaam, and commanded: \u201cArise, youth! Prepare us two cups of coffee;\nbut expect no money for them.\u201d\n\nTheir command was obeyed; the coffee was drunk in utter silence; after\nwhich they departed, without a word of thanks or so much as a glance\ntoward the one who had served them.\n\n\u201cMay Allah grant success to your journey!\u201d said the youth, as he closed\nthe door after them and returned to his place; where he lay until\nmorning thinking about the strange visitors and wondering what he would\nbetter do.\n\nThe following day passed as the first one had. After the old\ncoffee-maker had gone at night, the lad locked the door and piled\neverything he could find in front of it.\n\n\u201cMy master\u2019s goods shall not be devoured in this thankless way, if I\ncan prevent it. Should these midnight visitors be Allah\u2019s messengers,\nnothing I can do will obstruct their coming; so this will do no harm.\u201d\nFeeling quite sure that he would not be disturbed, he went to sleep.\n\nExactly at midnight came the same knock, followed by a great noise as\nthe barricade tumbled away from the door to give space for the entrance\nof three dervishes, who made salaams and said, as with one voice:\n\u201cArise, lad! Make us three cups of coffee; but do not expect us to give\nyou money.\u201d\n\nThe surprised youth arose, made and served the coffee. As they received\nit each one arose. The first one said: \u201cIn whatever coffeehouse this\nyouth chooses to be, may the coffee and sugar boxes never be empty! May\ntheir contents continue level with the top!\u201d\n\nThe second dervish said: \u201cIn whatever coffeehouse this youth chooses to\nbe, may customers never be lacking! Like ants may they flock thither!\u201d\n\nBut the third dervish said: \u201cMay all things whatsoever this youth\ndesires to know, be told to him by a little bird!\u201d\n\nAfter these strange words the three left the shop; and the boy, wishing\nthem the customary good speed, locked the door, put the scattered\narticles in their proper places, and lay down in his place. But if it\nhad been difficult for him to sleep after the strange occurrences of\nthe previous nights, how could it be other than impossible this time?\n\nHe arose earlier than usual and opened the door, to\nfind\u2014verily!\u2014customers, like ants, without; waiting, in varying degrees\nof impatience, to be served.\n\n\u201cPraise be to Allah!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cThe prophecy of the second dervish\nis fulfilled!\u201d\n\nGreeting them courteously, he hastened to the stove to prepare the\ncoffee, and, as he opened the boxes, behold! they were full to the top!\n\nWithout in any degree lessening his speed to serve the customers, his\nthoughts ran upon all that the dervishes had said. He could not pause\nan instant, for, as soon as one was served, another came to take his\nplace; so that when the master approached, what was there but a sight\nthat made him rub his old eyes, to make sure that they were not\nimagining vain things?\n\n\u201cWhat mystery is this!\u201d he exclaimed, and remained still, perfectly\novercome, having strength only to put his finger between his teeth, in\norder to assure himself that it was, indeed, he, and that he stood\nbefore his own shop. \u201cEvery day and every day I had one customer\u2014or\nperhaps two\u2014never three. There certainly must be some magic about\nthis!\u201d\n\nApproaching nearer, with difficulty he found a place by which to enter;\nbut, within, there was none in which to sit. So he turned to the busy\nyouth and said: \u201cMy son, the coffee and sugar must be exhausted.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have provided both,\u201d was the cheery response. \u201cLet me persuade you\nto sit down, my master, and look to your own comfort and enjoyment.\u201d\n\nThe bewildered proprietor retired to a corner and sat down; while on,\nthrough the day, his apprentice continued to labor.\n\nAt night, when it was time to close the shop, the master went to the\nmoney drawer; and there\u2014above all wonders!\u2014what should he see? It was\nlevel to the top with money!\n\nThe gratified man almost went out of his senses. He cried: \u201cBravo! my\nlad. Thy feet are the bearers of good fortune!\u201d Then, in his joy, he\nkissed the youth\u2019s eyes.\n\nThe money sacks were filled, and the delighted master took them home.\nThe apprentice cleared up the shop and retired to his place above the\ncounter, where he slept undisturbed until morning.\n\nDuring several months the youth remained in the coffeehouse and\ncontinued his services to the customers, who came in such great numbers\nthat there was no place to put the money. When this had come to pass he\nsaid: \u201cMaster, I desire to return to my own country once more. Will you\ngrant permission?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my son! I do not like to part with thee. Not only hast thou\nbrought great riches to me and my family, but I have come to love thee\nfrom my heart.\u201d\n\nNevertheless, when the request was repeated, he replied: \u201cVery well;\ngo, my son! And may Allah prosper you as he has prospered me!\u201d\n\nThereupon the boy kissed the old man\u2019s hand; who went out and bought\nhim a suit of clothes, the like of which he had never seen. The\ngarments were rich with gold embroidery; and precious stones made them\nfit for a prince. When the old man had delighted his eyes with looking\nat his apprentice in his new garb, he let him fare forth.\n\nAfter days of journeying, and before he had come into his own country,\nthe young adventurer decided to stop for a while. He hired a\ncoffeehouse, and, no sooner had he opened it, than so many customers\nflocked thither that it was almost impossible to count them. In short,\nthis coffee-maker became famous throughout the town; so much so, that a\nvery rich man\u2014one noted in those parts\u2014was unable longer to control his\ncuriosity and made a visit to the coffeehouse of which he had heard\nsuch flattering reports.\n\nWhile the youth was preparing an especially delicious cup for him, the\nvisitor sat in almost open-mouthed admiration of his attractive young\nhost. After drinking the coffee he astonished the young man with these\nwords:\n\n\u201cAi, master coffee-maker! I have a daughter whose hand many are seeking\nin marriage. If Allah wills, and you so desire, I will give her to you.\nWhat say you?\u201d\n\nWhen he had recovered himself, the youth bowed low and said, \u201cVerily,\nhonored sir, would it be possible for me to refuse a daughter whom you\nwould give to me?\u201d\n\nOther conversation followed, during which the visitor was more deeply\nimpressed with the desirability of this young man for a son-in-law. He\nproposed to take him to his own house, and, once there, summoned\nguests, and the two young people were married that very day. The guests\npartook of costly refreshments, wished unalloyed happiness to the young\npair, and departed.\n\nWhen the festivities were over and the bridegroom had a moment in which\nto withdraw from everyone, he summoned the little bird, whose services\nthe third dervish had promised, but of which he had not felt the need\nbefore, and asked if his wife would love him.\n\nThe little creature hopped close to his ear and chirped into it, \u201cHow\nis it possible for her to love you, when she already is in love with\nher own cousin?\u201d\n\nThis answer decided the youth to abandon his new relations and return\nto the coffeehouse; which he accordingly did.\n\nThe rich man and his family asked each other, \u201cWhat manner of man is\nthis, who leaves his wife upon the very day of their marriage?\u201d\n\nBut all their questioning would not induce the return of the\nbridegroom. \u201cIt were better to consult your daughter before giving her\nin marriage to a stranger,\u201d was all he would vouchsafe in explanation.\n\nShortly after, another rich man came and made the same proposal,\nallowing no time for serious thought or for consultation with the small\noracle.\n\n\u201cThere can be hardly such another case,\u201d said the youth to himself, as\nthe rich man pressed his suit; so the matter was accepted and carried\nout as was the other. But when the small bird was summoned, it answered\nthat the father had married his daughter to the coffee-maker, well\nknowing that her heart had been given to a son of their neighbor.\n\nSo the second time the bridegroom left the house of his father-in-law\nand returned again to his own place.\n\nOne day, not long after, as he was walking by the seashore, meditating\nupon the strange way in which life was leading him, he came upon a\nshepherd accompanied by his daughter. The shepherd\u2019s lassie was young\nand very winsome. It was not strange that the lonely young coffee-maker\nshould look at her a second and even a third time, or that he should\naddress the father with:\n\n\u201cAi, good shepherd, is this your daughter?\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks be to Allah, yes!\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, O, shepherd and dear! according to the law of the Prophet, will\nyou marry her to me?\u201d\n\nTo which the father made answer, \u201cMy lord, is a shepherd\u2019s daughter\nworthy to marry such an one as you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have found her so,\u201d was the answer; and, after further words, he led\nthe two to his own home and engaged the girl to himself.\n\nAfterward he consulted the bird, which assured him that the shepherd\u2019s\ndaughter had never seen anything of the world; that her life had been\nplain and simple, and that her heart was pure and good.\n\nAt this the young man was filled with delight. He cried, \u201cI have found\nthe one whom my heart has been seeking all my life.\u201d\n\n\n\nLet these stay here while we go to the rich men, whose daughters this\nyouth had slighted.\n\nWhen they learned that he, who had spurned their daughters, was about\nto marry a simple shepherd lass, they became filled with indignation\nand determined to bring him before the law.\n\nUpon receipt of the summons the accused young man went, most willingly,\nto appear in court. There he found gathered together, with their\nfriends, all those who were against him. After the assembly was called\nto order, the plaintiffs arose and said, each after the other:\n\n\u201cVerily, O, coffee-maker! you married my daughter in accordance with\nthe divine law; but you left her at once after the marriage. I demand\nyour reason for such action. What fault have you against my daughter?\nNow I learn that you are about to marry\u2014and with satisfaction\u2014a\nshepherd\u2019s daughter. Is such an act worthy of you? Know, then, that I\nam bringing a suit at law against you.\u201d\n\nUpon the utterance of these words the faces of all in the room became\nsevere and threatening.\n\nHowever, the youth arose and made courteous answer: \u201cMy masters, let\nyour lady daughters be called! Examine into this matter well. If I have\ncommitted a fault, let me receive equal punishment!\u201d\n\nAccordingly, while all waited, swift messengers were sent, and the\nyoung women came, each in her own fine carriage. After all present had\ngazed upon them, taking note of their gorgeous apparel and\nself-consequent airs, they turned to the accused man, who summoned the\nlittle bird and, receiving it upon his finger, held it up before them\nall and asked concerning the characters of the two who had just\nentered.\n\n\u201cThey are vain, selfish, and worldly,\u201d was the delicate, chirped\nanswer. \u201cThey would make unfaithful wives.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you hear, my masters? And you, assembled people? Would you take\nsuch an one into your lives and close to your hearts?\u201d\n\nAlthough he waited, no one answered. Some shook their heads.\n\n\u201cAnd, if you would not, how can you expect it of me? And, furthermore,\nI would add that should any of you have doubt concerning the\ntruthfulness of this little diviner, do not hesitate to express it;\nand, in proof, I will call upon him to tell your characters and those\nof your wives.\u201d\n\nBut they all arose in dismay, crying: \u201cO, no; my son! We will not ask\nsuch foolish questions. Our time is precious. We would not vex the\nlittle creature with further words. Take this gold and go in peace!\u201d\n\nThey hastened out, one after another, leaving the coffee-maker and his\nlittle bird alone.\n\n\u201cAi, my birdling!\u201d he said, smiling, \u201cthere is not one who dares\ndispute thee. Let us, also, depart!\u201d\n\nSo saying, he returned to his own house, where, during forty days and\nforty nights, he celebrated his marriage with the daughter of the poor\nshepherd.\n\nSo these two had peace and their hearts\u2019 desire of happiness, and lived\nhappily ever afterward. Salaam!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE CANDY-MAKER\u2019S APPRENTICE\n\n\nThe tellers of stories and narrators of tales say that, once upon a\ntime, there lived a woman who had a son and a daughter who were dearer\nto her than all else upon the earth. She was so anxious concerning them\nthat they were never permitted to go upon the streets.\n\nOne day, to her great disquiet, it became necessary for her husband to\ngo to the Hejaz, and that the son should accompany him.\n\n\u201cI am leaving you and the girl under the protection of the priest,\u201d\nsaid the father, in an effort to lessen her anxiety. \u201cIf you should\nhave need of anything, ask it of him.\u201d So saying, accompanied by the\nson, he took leave of his wife and daughter and set off to the Hejaz.\n\n\n\nLet us come to the priest.\n\nOne day, when he went up to the minaret to give the call to prayer, he\nlooked down into the garden of this man and woman, and saw there the\ngirl who had been intrusted to his care.\n\nNow, the girl was very lovely. And when he saw her, she was engaged in\ncaring for the flowers in the garden. As she did so a soft melody came\nfrom her lips. It was like the humming of a bird.\n\nThe priest\u2019s heart was touched. He forgot his vows and fell in love\nwith the maiden. When he had reached home, the picture of the peaceful\ngarden, with its gentle occupant among her flowers, stood ever before\nhis eyes; and the music of her song rang through and through his heart,\nuntil he lost all wisdom and made up his mind that he would meet the\nmaiden, at all costs.\n\nHe sought out a poor and aged woman among his parishioners, and, giving\nher a sum of money, told her to bring the daughter of the man who had\ngone to the Hejaz to some place where he would be able to talk with\nher.\n\n\u201cThat will be very difficult,\u201d the woman replied. \u201cThe mother of this\ngirl has never permitted her to leave the house and garden.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you want the money,\u201d insisted the priest, \u201cyou must bring it about\nthat I can speak to this maiden. Otherwise\u2014\u201d and he reached out his\nhand to take back the gold.\n\nThis decided the woman, who was very poor. \u201cVery well,\u201d she hastened to\nsay, \u201cto-morrow, at such a time, I will bring this maiden to the house\nof my friend yonder.\u201d\n\nThen they parted.\n\nThe next day the aged woman took a make-believe bundle of towels and\nother bathing necessities, and went to the home of the mother, where\nshe asked that the daughter be permitted to accompany her to the\nopening of a new bathing house.\n\n\u201cThere will be fine performances there,\u201d said she, \u201cand very many\nbeautiful girls of high degree will bathe there to-day, and afterward\nwatch the performance. Let your daughter go with me, to join the\nothers. She should see something of life. I will take good care of her\nand bring her back early in the evening.\u201d\n\nBut the answer was: \u201cMother, up to this time my daughter has not been\none of those who gad about to different places. Just two days\nago\u2014counting yesterday and to-day\u2014her father went to the Hejaz. Should\nI let her go out during his absence, people will say that as soon as\nthe father is away, then my daughter and I begin to walk the streets.\nThey will be surprised and scandalized.\u201d\n\nThe old woman became importunate. \u201cVisiting the bath is quite different\nfrom running about to other places,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one will talk.\nBesides, I am not asking you to go; I am only asking why your daughter\nmust remain at home, when the daughters of so many of your neighbors\ngo? Do not refuse! I shall take her with me, whether or no!\u201d\n\nWith words like these she succeeded in persuading the mother and, after\na little, set off accompanied by the girl. They soon reached the house\nappointed for the meeting, when the girl expressed surprise at not\nfinding many people entering. But her companion assured her that it was\nyet early, and that others would come speedily. She directed the\nunsuspecting girl to enter and await her coming, as she had an errand\non the next street and would return speedily. At this she hastened\naway, leaving the girl with nothing to do but as she had directed.\n\nSo the maiden entered the strange house and was surprised to see there\nthe priest of her own quarter of the city. She went directly to him and\nasked if that were the bath house in which the performers were to\ndisplay feats of strength and skill; and again expressed surprise that\nno others were there.\n\nThe reply was more surprising still: \u201cShould no others come, you and I\ncan spend a pleasant hour together. There is water in the next room;\nbathe, if you wish; afterward I will bathe also.\u201d\n\nThe poor girl was confused\u2014first, at meeting the priest, then at the\nconsciousness that she had been deceived; but she soon collected\nherself.\n\n\u201cWith your gracious permission,\u201d she said, \u201cI will wash your head\nfirst.\u201d\n\nHe expressed gratification at this; and the girl went slowly\u2014thinking\nall the way\u2014to bring a basin of water, with soap and towels. After her\nreturn, and when the priest had seated himself before her, she soaped\nhis hair thoroughly, and then poured water upon it, so that the soap\nran down into his eyes. Then, as he became blinded with pain and rage,\nshe made her escape to her own home.\n\nThe mother expressed delight at her early return; but questioned\nwhether she had enjoyed herself.\n\n\u201cVery well, indeed,\u201d was the reply\u2014given to save her mother from\nvexation. \u201cThe bath was perfect.\u201d\n\nAfter his calls for help had brought assistance, the priest went home\nvowing vengeance. Accordingly he sat down and wrote to the young girl\u2019s\nfather, saying that, since his departure, the daughter whom he had so\ncherished was running about the streets and had become a disgrace to\nthe town.\n\nWhen this letter was received by the father, he cried: \u201cAlas! what\nhumiliation! It were better that the girl were dead!\u201d\n\nAfter long dwelling upon the frightful news a sort of frenzy took\npossession of him. He commanded his son to go home, cut off the head of\nhis sister, dip her white garment in the blood, and return with it to\nhim.\n\n\u201cGo! go at once!\u201d he commanded; and the unwilling boy set off.\n\nAfter traveling all the long way he arrived at his native place. During\nthose days of the journey, love for his sister and horror at the\ncommission put upon him filled his soul. He determined to assure\nhimself of the truthfulness or untruthfulness of the accusation and,\neven should it prove true, to rescue his sister if possible.\nAccordingly he began at one end of the town and asked all whom he met\nwhere he would be most likely to find his sister.\n\n\u201cSurely, in her own home,\u201d each replied. \u201cNo one has ever seen her\nelsewhere.\u201d\n\nReceiving only answers like this, he reached his own home and knocked\nat the gate.\n\n\u201cWhy, it is my brother!\u201d exclaimed the sister, as she looked through\nthe lattice. Then, flying down the stairs, she greeted him joyfully and\nescorted him up the staircase, asking eagerly where her father was.\n\nThe boy, seeing that the mother was not in, answered: \u201cHe is on the\nway. Come, let us go to meet him!\u201d\n\nThey hastened out. The youth led the way to a mountain, where he said:\n\u201cMy sister, I have sad news to tell you. A letter was sent to our\nfather by the priest in whose charge he left you, saying that you were\nconstantly running about the streets and had become a disgrace to the\nplace. Upon hearing this he was made into another man. His grief and\ndisappointment put the heart out of his body. He sent me here to kill\nyou. And, to assure himself of my obedience, he commanded that I should\ndip your white garment in your blood and bring it to him with all\nspeed. This\u2014O, sister of mine!\u2014is the reason for my coming.\u201d\n\nThe girl was speechless when she heard these words, and even did not\nthink to contradict the report. The boy hastened to kill a young lamb,\nwhich he found in a flock near-by, dipped the garment of his sister in\nthe warm blood, and then said to her:\n\n\u201cAi! my sister, this is our day of parting. It will be necessary for\nyou to go into a strange land. And may Allah be with you! May he be\nyour helper!\u201d\n\nThey embraced each other and separated. The desolate girl wandered,\nweeping, from mountain to mountain, while the boy took the garment that\nhad been dipped in lamb\u2019s blood, and returned all the long way to the\nHejaz and gave it to his father, saying:\n\n\u201cHere, my father! Receive the bloody garment of your daughter, which I\nhave brought in fulfillment of your command.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow shall my house be saved from the tongue of slanderers!\u201d were the\nonly words of the father as he received the token which meant, to him,\nthe death of his only daughter.\n\n\n\nLet these remain here while we return to the wandering girl.\n\nAfter walking and walking from one mountain to another, she came upon a\nspring, beside which grew a tree. She drank of the delicious water,\nthen sat down in the shade of the tree to rest. But it was evident that\nwild animals were upon the mountain, and with the coming of evening the\nhelpless girl wondered what she should do. As she looked about her, the\ntree seemed to lean down its branches as if in invitation. Taking this\nas a sign, she climbed near to its top and remained there that night.\n\nNow, it so happened that the son of the king of that country had been\nhunting for ten days and nights. Upon the morning he came to the\nspring, dismounted, and led his horse down to drink. The horse was\nabout to touch his lips to the water when he saw the reflection of the\nyoung girl upon the surface, drew back suddenly, and would not be\npersuaded to drink. All the urging of his master was of no avail,\nalthough the prince knew that the poor creature was much in need of\nwater.\n\nThe surprised young man glanced about him in wonder at the strange\noccurrence, when he caught sight of the girl, sitting in breathless\nfear of being discovered.\n\n\u201cAre you a maiden or a fairy?\u201d he asked, his heart beating.\n\n\u201cI am only a maiden.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is much better. May it please you to descend. And if you will do\nme the honor to accompany me to my father\u2019s palace, this will be my\n\u2018bag\u2019 for to-day.\u201d\n\nAfter assisting the affrighted girl to the ground he took her upon the\nhorse behind him, and together they rode to the home of the prince.\n\nStrange as it may seem, the king was not angry when his son told the\nstory of his rescue of the maiden, and asked permission to marry her.\n\n\u201cLet me see this strange game which you bring home after ten days of\nhunting, my son,\u201d he asked, smiling. And the maiden, when brought into\nhis presence, was so gentle and modest that he gave his consent to the\nwedding.\n\nTherefore, according to the will of Allah and the law of the Prophet,\nthese two young people were married, and their wedding feast lasted\nforty days and forty nights.\n\nIn due course of time three children were born to them. This increased\nthe happiness of the prince and his gratitude to Allah at having been\nled to the tree beside the spring upon the mountain.\n\n\n\nWe will leave these children while we attend to their mother, who had\nbeen made princess.\n\nOne day the memory of her own mother\u2014who had so cherished her\u2014came to\nher so strongly that tears, like drops of rain, began to flow from her\neyes. The prince, coming in, saw her sorrow, and asked, with concern:\n\n\u201cWhy do you grieve thus, my princess! Are you not happy with all I have\ndone to make you so?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord, as I sat sewing to-day, I thought of my own mother. Desire to\nsee her again wrings my heart.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs your mother yet alive?\u201d He asked this because he had respected the\nsilence of his wife about her family, and had not questioned her\nbefore\u2014feeling almost certain that some sad tragedy had come into her\nlife. Therefore he asked, \u201cIs your mother yet alive?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my lord! I trust so; though it is long since we parted.\u201d\n\nThen the prince exclaimed: \u201cWhy have you not spoken of it until this\nmoment? The desire of your heart shall be granted. Either we will bring\nyour mother here or you shall go to her. Choose, my princess! We will\ndo whichever your soul prefers.\u201d\n\n\u201cMy lord,\u201d was the answer, \u201cmay Allah prolong your life and give you\nhealth and happiness! If you will grant permission, let me go\nto-morrow, with my children, and see her face once more, with my own\neyes, and at the same time show her my three little sons.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be so!\u201d returned the prince. \u201cI will send my vizier, with a\nnumber of soldiers, to conduct you and the children to your own\nmother.\u201d\n\nMorning came, and the prince, true to his promise, called his vizier\nand intrusted the princess to his care. Soon they were ready to set\noff\u2014the mother, with her three children, in a carriage, the vizier on\nhorseback, and a battalion of soldiers as escort.\n\nBut the princess was to meet other sorrows. They had not journeyed far\nwhen the vizier\u2014who had not spoken a word\u2014put his head in at the\ncarriage window and asked, \u201cWill you marry me, or shall I kill the\nchildren?\u201d\n\nThe princess was amazed beyond the power of speaking.\n\nThen the vizier said: \u201cYes; certainly you will marry me. We will not\nreturn to the prince. I have suborned these soldiers. They will obey my\ncommands. I have gold. We can go into another country. There is no\nreason why this should not be.\u201d\n\nBut the princess refused. Then the vizier seized one of the children,\nkilled it, and threw it beside the road.\n\nAfter some time he repeated his question, received the same answer,\nand, notwithstanding the entreaties of the princess, took the second\nchild, and, later on, the third. The poor woman was in despair.\n\nThen the vizier said to her, \u201cVerily, I will kill you, too, unless you\nwill become my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI pray you to give me half an hour\u2019s grace in which to perform my\nablutions and say my prayers. There must be a spring by that tree\nyonder.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, it is granted,\u201d said the vizier.\n\nHe ordered the carriage to halt, tied a rope around her waist\u2014so that\nshe could not escape\u2014and permitted her to go as she had requested.\n\nThe princess went to the spring, untied the rope, fastened it about the\ntree, and fled around to the other side of the mountain.\n\nAfter some time the vizier pulled the rope; but, as it did not yield,\nhe thought the princess was saying her prayers, and waited. After a\nwhile he said to himself: \u201cIt has been more than a half hour. What an\ninterminable prayer she is saying! I will go and see about this.\u201d\n\nAs he went over the little knoll, which had hid the princess from him,\nhe discovered that his prey had escaped. Wild with anger, he turned\nabout and made all haste to the palace, where he said to the prince:\n\n\u201cMy lord, as we were resting by the way, Her Royal Highness, the\nprincess, took her sons and stole away from the carriage. Is it not\ntrue, O, my prince! that no good thing can be expected from a wild\nmountain girl? That which comes from the mountains will return to\nthem.\u201d\n\nWhen the prince received this news his mind took leave of his body and\nhe fell down in a faint. Upon recovering he went into mourning, as if\nfor the death of his wife and children.\n\n\n\nLet these stay here while we inquire into the fate of the second-time\nwanderer.\n\nAgain did she go on and on, from mountain to mountain, weeping bitterly\nover the loss of her beloved children. She felt in her heart that a\nreturn to her husband would be futile, because the cruel vizier would\nhave filled his mind with falsehoods. After long wandering she came\ninto her own country, where she disguised herself, and, entering the\nmarket place, came upon a shop that was almost in ruins. It belonged to\nan aged maker of sweets.\n\nAfter greeting him courteously she asked, \u201cFather, will you take me as\nan apprentice lad?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my son!\u201d was the sad answer, \u201clook about you and see! I cannot\nearn sufficient for myself. How can I give wages to another? Besides,\nwith my other woes, I have forgotten how to make the sweets!\u201d\n\nThen the young woman answered gently: \u201cFather, I ask no wages from you.\nIf you will permit, I will work as best I can, and whatever Allah\nkindly sends to us we will live upon together.\u201d\n\nWhen the aged vendor of sweets heard these pious words, his heart was\ntouched. \u201cSurely this lad has felt affliction,\u201d he said to himself.\nThen unto her: \u201cVery well, my son. Come with me, if thou wilt.\u201d\n\nThe new apprentice kissed her master\u2019s hand and entered the shop. After\na little, she rolled up her sleeves, went to the stove, and began to\nmake candy, as she had done when a little girl in her own home. This\nlabor brought such sad thoughts that it was with great difficulty she\ncould refrain from weeping aloud.\n\nWhen the candy was finished she placed a portion before her master. He\ntasted a bit and said, in surprise: \u201cAi, my son! these sweets are very\ngood. Peace be to your hands! May Allah keep you from further harm!\u201d\n\nAfter this commendation of her work, the apprentice washed off the\nstone, which served as a counter for the display of the goods, and\narranged the sweets upon it. Customers who were passing, paused to note\nthe beauty of the candy-maker\u2019s lad, and, although they had no thought\nof buying, were impelled to do so. They found the sweets so delicious\nthat all who purchased once were sure to come again. In short, the fame\nof the candy-maker\u2019s apprentice and of the sweets which she compounded\nwas spread abroad, by those who traveled that way, until it reached all\nlands.\n\n\n\nLet her stay here, engaged in her new work, while we return to the\nprince.\n\nOne day, while thinking of his wife and children, he began\u2014as at other\ntimes\u2014to sigh; and the tears fell, like rain, from his eyes. Arousing\nhimself, he sent for his vizier, to whom he said: \u201cMy heart is breaking\nfor Her Highness, the princess. Surely I must find her or kill myself!\u201d\n\nThe wicked vizier was alarmed at this and answered: \u201cMy prince, the\nwoman did not care for you. She left you and ran to the mountains. All\nthose tears for her mother were only a part of the plot to run away.\nHow, then, can you desire her?\u201d\n\nBut, however much the vizier said\u2014and he added much more\u2014it made no\nimpression upon the intentions of his master; who commanded that\npreparations should be made, with all speed, and that they should enter\nupon the search without delay.\n\nAccordingly they started toward the mountains. The vizier did not lead\nthe way past the spot where the princess escaped; but went on and on,\nin order to save himself. Thus it was that they entered the country\nfrom which the girl had fled, at first, when her father would have had\nher killed.\n\nBeing very hungry, they asked a child if there were not some cook\u2019s\nshop in the neighborhood.\n\n\u201cNo, my lords!\u201d answered the child. \u201cThere is no cook\u2019s shop near. But\na little farther on is a candy-maker, whose apprentice makes such\nsweets that no one is able to equal them.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us go there!\u201d commanded the prince; and, accordingly, they went on\nuntil they reached the shop.\n\nWhen the princess saw her husband and the vizier coming, she recognized\nthem at once; but, pulling her cap over her eyes, she hid herself from\nthem.\n\nThe prince addressed her: \u201cCandy-maker, I pray you, give us a few\ncents\u2019 worth of sweets!\u201d\n\nTo which the princess made answer: \u201cMy masters, if you will deign to\nbecome our guests for the night, I will make you such a batch of sweets\nas you have never tasted, and will tell you an amusing story besides.\u201d\n\nWhen the prince heard these kind words, from one in a strange land, he\nwas gratified and answered: \u201cThat will do very well. We will stay.\u201d\n\nThereupon the prince and the vizier gave their horses to the groom,\nentered the candy shop, and sat down.\n\n\n\nLet them stay there while we come to the people in the town.\n\nNow, it seems that the evening of this very day had been chosen by the\npeople, upon which to have a grand candy festival. They were wondering\nwho should make the necessary sweets, when some one suggested that they\ntry to persuade the candy-maker\u2019s apprentice to put aside the regular\ncustomers of the shop and work for them during that evening.\n\nAccordingly, several of the men went to the shop and asked the\napprentice if she would go with them to their quarters and prepare\ncandy for the people, who had sent out invitations for a grand festival\nthat evening.\n\n\u201cI am your servants, gentlemen,\u201d replied the apprentice, \u201cbut we have\nguests this evening. It is not fitting that I should leave them.\u201d\n\nTo which the men answered pleadingly: \u201cO, master candy-maker, let us\npersuade your guests to accompany you. There is room, over our heads,\nfor all.\u201d\n\nWhereupon the apprentice, turning to the guests, said: \u201cMy masters, we\nare invited to a candy festival. If you like, we will go. These\ngentlemen promise that you will be amused.\u201d\n\nThe prince was pleased with anything that might lead him to forget his\ngrief for a little, and readily agreed to the proposal. The aged\ncandy-maker expressed willingness to look after the shop alone; and the\nprince, the vizier, and the apprentice accompanied the men to the place\nof the festival.\n\nUpon reaching it, the prince and the vizier were conducted up the\nstairs into the grand reception room; while the apprentice remained\nbelow to attend to her duties.\n\nWhen the sweets were finished she gave portions to all guests, who were\nin the rooms leading from the garden, and then went up the stairs with\nher brazier of coals and kettle of candy.\n\nShe had barely entered the great upper room when she discovered, not\nonly the prince and his vizier, but men from her native quarter of the\ntown assembled there; among them were her father, her brother, and the\npriest who had wrought her so much evil.\n\nShe hid her consternation under assumed activity, placed the pot of\ncoals in the middle of the room, and busied herself with preparing the\ncandy. Presently she said:\n\n\u201cMy masters, why do you sit silent? It was promised me that there would\nbe amusement here. Let everyone relate any anecdote that comes to him;\nthus may you be enabled to find enjoyment and rid me of the\nembarrassment of having so many eyes fixed upon my work.\u201d\n\nThe restraint, which had been upon all the guests, was removed by this\nhint from the apprentice. They immediately began to relate stories from\nthe outside world\u2014everyone telling that which first occurred to his\nmemory. After they had amused themselves in this way for some time, one\nof them cried out:\n\n\u201cAi, you apprentice! Since you are the one who set us to talking, now,\nyourself, tell us a story and let us listen!\u201d\n\n\u201cMy masters,\u201d answered she, \u201cI have one habit. Whenever I tell a story\nI do not permit anyone to leave the room. So if anyone here wishes to\ngo without, let him do so before I begin.\u201d\n\nAt this they all cried out that no one wished to leave. So the\napprentice sat down directly in front of the door and began.\n\nFirst she related the story of the bath house, and all the while the\npriest was listening. As he became assured that he was about to be\ndiscovered, he made believe that he was ill and arose to go, crying\nout:\n\n\u201cMy head! O, my head!\u201d\n\n\u201cKeep your seat, fellow!\u201d commanded the narratress. At which all the\nothers said the same.\n\nThen she told the story of the vizier to whom was intrusted a princess\nand her three children. The prince, listening but not knowing that it\nwas the story of his own wife and children, felt his eyes grow full.\n\nThe people were all touched by the two stories; and when the teller\nfelt assured that they were aroused to the necessary pitch, she arose\nand said:\n\n\u201cO, my people! Be it known that I am that twice-wronged one. My enemies\nare this priest and this vizier. This is my father; this, my brother;\nand this\u201d\u2014here she fell upon her knees before him\u2014\u201cO! this is my prince\nand husband!\u201d\n\nWhen she had said this she went forward, and the prince covered her\nwith his mantle; while the rest of the company sat quiet, biting their\nfingers to learn whether, indeed, they were waking.\n\nWhen the prince could command himself, and the people had become\nassured of the truth of these stories, they took the priest and the\nvizier away and put them to death.\n\nThe princess kissed the hands of her father and brother, embraced her\nmother, who, hearing of the matter, had come, trembling, to learn if it\nwere true; and, after a few days, returned to the palace with her\nbeloved, true prince.\n\nThey were married over again, with festivities which lasted forty days\nand forty nights. They also had their hearts\u2019 desire in the gift of\nchildren, to take the place of those who had been lost. Salaam!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRYSTAL KIOSK AND THE DIAMOND SHIP\n\n\nThe narrators of tales and the tellers of stories relate that, once\nupon a time, there was a king whose children died, one after another.\nHis grief was so great at this that all the wise men and physicians of\nthe kingdom came together in council and inquired, most diligently, of\nthe nurse who had cared for each child in turn. After long debating\nthey decided that the air of the outer world had caused the death of\nthe little princes and princesses; and they solemnly advised the king\nto build a great room deep within the earth, to have ready should Allah\ngraciously favor him with another child.\n\nAccordingly the king commanded such a room to be prepared. All the four\nsides were well guarded, and the top was nearly covered with an\nastonishingly great window, to let in the sunlight and moonlight and\nthe rays of the little stars. And into this room was placed all manner\nof beautiful toys and every precious thing that could add to a child\u2019s\npleasure.\n\nNot long afterward a dear little princess was born to the king and\nqueen; who, you may suppose, was no sooner born than she was hurried\ndown into the beautiful room which awaited her, and a nurse was\nappointed to care for her.\n\nThe king and queen spent many happy hours in the room below the earth,\nwatching the growth of their little daughter, whose perfection of\nbeauty was without equal and cannot be described. Also, she was gentle\nand patient, and had been taught, from the first, that although others\ncame to her she must not expect to go to them.\n\nFinally, to the great delight of her royal parents and\u2014you can well\nimagine\u2014of those who had advised this course, the child grew to be\nhealthful and strong, and reached the age of fourteen years without\nonce having left that underground abode.\n\nBut one day, when royal ceremonies detained her parents and the nurse\nwas long in coming, a feeling of sadness came upon her; which was so\nstrong that it impelled her to make a great pile of all the chairs and\ntables in the place, upon which she climbed to the highest point in the\nwindow.\n\nLooking out thus she could see bits of trees and plants. She had heard\nthe dash and roar of waves. Feeling deeply interested in the little she\nsaw, and desiring to learn more of all that was above her own abode,\nshe struck a great pane of glass with the stick used in climbing and,\nafter the pieces fell down in a shower, put her head out through the\nopening.\n\nUpon one side of her stretched the great blue sea; and the sun, shining\nupon it, made so brilliant a light that her unused eyes refused to look\nlong.\n\n\u201cThen there are two worlds,\u201d she said, wonderingly, \u201can upper and a\nlower. And although the lower is very sweet and comfortable, the upper\nis magnificent and boundless! I wonder that those who come to me can\nremain there, shut away from all this wonder!\u201d\n\nLong she remained there, drinking into her soul all the loveliness that\nstretched all about her. When her body became wearied standing upon the\ninsecure pyramid, she climbed down slowly and went and sat down in her\naccustomed place.\n\nWhen the nurse entered she discovered that the topmost pane of the\nwindow was broken. \u201cGracious Allah!\u201d she cried in terror. \u201cWhat has\nfallen through the roof of your room, my princess? Had you been\nunderneath, it might have killed you.\u201d\n\nThereupon the princess began to speak: \u201cCalm yourself! Nothing has\nfallen through my window; and, outwardly, I am unhurt. But my soul has\nbecome loosened. It no longer will remain pent in this prison house.\nTake me out of this place, or, verily, I shall kill myself with\nlonging.\u201d\n\nThe nurse returned no answer. She turned and fled to the king, before\nwhom she stood and related, one by one, the words which his daughter\nhad spoken.\n\nThe king was thrown into great torment of mind at this news. Again he\nsummoned the doctors and learned men in council. They shook their heads\nat the revelation which had come to the princess; but, after\nquestioning the nurse carefully and pondering long, they gave this\nadvice:\n\n\u201cO, king, let your daughter, our princess, be removed from her\nunderground abode. But let the removal be most gradual, so that her\neyes may become accustomed to the unobstructed light of nature. Also\nlet her walk, each day, a little farther upon the earth\u2019s surface, and\nthen return to her accustomed dwelling place. With care and patience,\nit is our belief that the princess will, ere long, be able to remain\nthe entire time upon, instead of under, the earth.\u201d\n\nEach day, after this welcome decision, her nurse led the young girl up\nthe staircase and into the rose garden, where everything delighted her\nunaccustomed eyes.\n\n\u201cIt is like entering paradise after death!\u201d she exclaimed.\n\nBut, most of all, the sea enchanted her. Hour after hour, as the days\nwent by, she sat gazing upon its changing waters. The king, noticing\nthis, asked her one day:\n\n\u201cWhat is it, my daughter? That thou lovest the sea is plain. But there\nis desire in thine eyes. What wouldst thou, my child?\u201d\n\n\u201cO, my royal father!\u201d she said, turning to him, \u201cthis sea is so\nsplendid that I am thinking of a place from which it would seem fitting\nto view its waves.\u201d\n\n\u201cTell me the place you would have, my daughter, and I will set my\ncarpenters at work upon it to-morrow,\u201d answered the king, who could\nnever cease delighting his eyes with sight of his child\u2014dwelling, like\nother children, upon the surface of the earth.\n\n\u201cThen, since thou wouldst grant my heart\u2019s desire, O, my father! build\nme a crystal kiosk beside this sea which stretches before us. All the\ndivans shall be of gold set with diamonds, and the chairs and tables\ngilded. My heart so longs for this that, unless it be granted, I fear\nthat death will come with my longing for it.\u201d\n\nBut the king became sad. He felt that evil was upon him. \u201cAlas, my\ngirl!\u201d he cried at first. \u201cStill, let the kiosk be made, according to\nyour wish.\u201d\n\nThereupon he summoned the workers in crystal, who set about building\nthe kiosk. At the end of a year, at exactly the hour of the day when\nthe command was given, the work was finished. Word was sent to the\nking, who went to look at the completed structure and found it so\nbrilliant as to dazzle the eyes of all beholders. The wonder was that\nhis workmen had not become blind during the year. Only the colored\nglasses, which they wore suspended before their eyes, had protected\nthem. All the country about was illumined with the brilliance of this\nkiosk, which no tongue could describe.\n\nWhen the king returned to the rose garden and sat down beside his\ndaughter, she knew, by his face and the manner in which he regarded\nher, that her request of a year before was fulfilled. Kneeling before\nhim, she kissed his hand; whereupon he said to her:\n\n\u201cYour crystal kiosk is finished, my daughter. And since it is your wish\nto leave the palace, choose a number of servants from among those most\nfaithful, and go, dwell there! And may peace and happiness attend all\nyour days therein!\u201d\n\nThe princess knelt before her father again, kissed his hands three\ntimes, then, rising, summoned her maidens, and, entering into the\nkiosk, took up her abode. There, surrounded by these maidens, she\nlived. And most of all, she loved their daily walks beside the sea.\n\n\n\nLet these now stay here, happy day and night, while we turn away to\ntake notice of the outer world.\n\nEvery day people came\u2014some in boats and some in litters\u2014all to see the\nwonderful kiosk. The fame of it reached far away\u2014even into other lands.\n\nSo it came to pass that the son of the king of Yemen heard of it and\nwas astonished at the wonderful descriptions, which all who gave them\ninsisted were in no degree comparable with the real splendor.\n\nAll this wrought upon the young man\u2019s mind until he went to the king\nand said: \u201cMy revered and beloved father! the Sultan of Stamboul has\nbuilt a crystal kiosk beside the sea, which is so beautiful that it has\nbecome one of the wonders of the world. May it be your high pleasure\nthat I should go and view this marvel, which has been accomplished by\nman. It will not require great length of time. Within three or four\nmonths I shall return.\u201d\n\nThe king was pleased that his son felt a desire to know of the world,\nand gave his consent to the plan. The prince, accompanied by a few of\nhis most intimate companions, went on board an outgoing ship and began\nthe journey.\n\nDay and night, without stopping, went the ship. After a considerable\nspace of time, one morning, as the prince and his companions were\nstanding upon the deck of the vessel, a most wonderful vision appeared\nupon the very edge of the horizon. So brilliant was it that the whole\nearth seemed illumined with the light thereof.\n\nThen the prince turned to his companions, saying, \u201cVerily, this which\nappears in the distance must be the object we seek.\u201d\n\nSeveral more days passed. The ship sailed nearer and nearer, and every\nday the wonder grew. Finally, when they were but a little distance, and\nafter the captain had trimmed his vessel so as to view it from three\nsides, the bewildered prince exclaimed: \u201cDo I look upon a vision\nunearthly, or am I dreaming a dream?\u201d\n\nWhen it became evening the ship let down her anchor.\n\n\n\nWe will leave the prince upon the deck of his vessel, while we return\nto the princess within the kiosk.\n\nShe had noticed the approach of the ship and had marveled at its\nstrange maneuvers. Finally, when it came to anchor directly in front of\nher dwelling, she set herself to examine it closely. But the name could\nnot be made out; and while she, with her maids, were lost in conjecture\nas to whom it could belong, she saw the prince walking back and forth\nupon the deck.\n\nNow, the prince was a youth who resembled the full moon in beauty; and,\nas this princess was unacquainted with young men, she became greatly\ninterested and felt a strange drawing of the heart toward him.\n\nAnd the prince\u2014as if feeling the gaze upon him\u2014stopped in his walk and\nlooked directly at the kiosk, where he saw the princess standing in all\nher beautiful garments, and with the light of the setting sun shining\nfull upon her. The sight was so unexpected and bewildering that he lost\nconsciousness and fell down in a swoon.\n\nAfter a time he recovered and looked eagerly at the window which had so\nentranced him. But the princess was not there.\n\n\u201cO, let me see her once again!\u201d he exclaimed, and set himself to watch\nfor her coming.\n\nHis companions, seeing him quiet and meditative, did not approach; but\nremained in another part of the ship. One, two hours went by, and the\nstillness caused him to fall asleep.\n\nBy this time the princess again appeared at her window and, seeing him\nthus, thought he must be ill, sighed \u201cAlas!\u201d and wept bitter tears.\n\nThe spirit of the wind caught one of her tears, carried it over to the\nship, and laid it upon the prince\u2019s cheek, thus causing him to waken at\nonce.\n\nWhen he looked across the water, saw the princess, and knew that she\nwas weeping for him, a pleasant joy wakened within his heart. But his\ncompanions\u2014seeing that he was awake\u2014approached and said:\n\n\u201cO, prince! It is you who have caused tears to flow from the eyes of\nthis wonderful creature. Call out to her that we are going away, and,\nif she loves you, we will see that she will do some marvelous thing.\nShould she accept your going calmly, you may know that she is a siren,\nwhose business and pleasure it is to lure men to their destruction.\u201d\n\nAfter more words of this kind, the young men so wrought upon the mind\nof their prince that, looking over to the window of the kiosk where\nstood the princess, he cried:\n\n\u201cHere is the ship, O, princess! And yonder is Yemen!\u201d\n\nThen he commanded the captain; the ship was made ready to sail, and\nsoon started off in the direction of his home. After some time it\nreached Yemen, and the king was rejoiced that his son had arrived\nwithin the appointed time.\n\n\n\nLet us return to the princess.\n\nWith her eyes streaming like fountains, she went to her father and\nsaid: \u201cO, my king and father! thou who hast granted all my requests\nthus far, something more would I ask of your love.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is granted thee, O, my child!\u201d answered the king, sadly, for he\nfeared that a time of separation had come.\n\n\u201cThen let me ask for a ship that shall be studded with diamonds without\nand whose inner rooms shall be set with precious stones\u2014with rubies\ngleaming in the pillars thereof. Forty white slaves, all very young,\nhandsome, and wearing gorgeous apparel, must care for it. If this\ncannot be granted, I fear that my soul must leave the body!\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, my daughter,\u201d replied the king. \u201cWhose desire but thine\nshould thy father grant? Let the ship be made as you request.\u201d\n\nThe princess knelt before him and kissed both of his hands three times.\nThen the king summoned his ship carpenters and jewelers, who set at\nwork that very day.\n\nIn two years\u2019 time the strange order was fulfilled. The ship, with its\nbefore unheard of magnificence, was delivered to the king, who, in\nturn, delivered it to his daughter.\n\n\u201cAi, my father!\u201d said she. \u201cSince you have been so gracious, will you\ngrant that, with my maidens, I should go for a voyage? If Allah grant\nhis favor, my return shall not long be delayed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou knowest, my daughter, that thou art the most precious possession\nof my whole life. Although it grieves me greatly to part with thee, I\ncannot refuse anything thou askest of me. But do not keep my eyes long\nwatching the restless roadways of the sea. And may Allah give you safe\nguidance!\u201d\n\nThe two then embraced and kissed each other upon the eyes. After which\nthe princess, taking with her forty white boy slaves and forty maidens,\nwith all the necessary furnishing, went aboard the diamond ship and\nremained there that night.\n\nWhen morning came the captain commanded a salute, ordered the flag\nhoisted, and set sail in the glorious light; while all of the people\nwho crowded the shore exclaimed, \u201cWhat a clever princess we have!\u201d And\nthey sent a hundred thousand bravos after her.\n\nWhen the ship was well under way, the princess herself assumed command.\nThe captain\u2014who was a wise old seaman\u2014obeyed her joyfully, and was\npleased when all the slaves and maidens of her suite were drilled like\nsoldiers.\n\nAt last they reached Yemen\u2014for, as you may guess, that was their\ndestination\u2014and entering the harbor they cast anchor and remained there\nthat night.\n\nThe director of the port was notified of their arrival. He went out\nupon the quay to look at the ship. When the magnificent creation met\nhis eyes he exclaimed:\n\n\u201cI am lost in wonder! Whose royal ship is this? Never has one been seen\nlike it. May Allah protect it from the Evil Eye!\u201d\n\nThen he turned and hastened to the palace, where he informed the shah,\nsaying: \u201cMy padisha, yesterday a ship arrived in port, of such\nmagnificence that no tongue can describe it. Diamonds and precious\nstones gleam in every part. Your majesty should gaze upon it\u2014for,\nindeed, it is fitted only to be seen by the eyes of royalty.\u201d\n\nThen the shah sent his vizier to learn what visitor had come to his\nkingdom; and the vizier, nothing loath, entered a little boat and was\nrowed directly to the diamond ship.\n\nWhen the princess saw the boat approach, she caused the entire crew to\ndress themselves in scarlet clothes, and, as the boat reached the\naccommodation ladder, they drew up to meet the vizier and escorted him\nto the captain\u2019s cabin; where he sat down and began to talk very\npolitely.\n\n\u201cO, my lord bey,\u201d said he, \u201cthe shah awaits my return. Your servant has\ncome to secure such information as may be granted. Will you deign to\ngive your honored name, that I may convey it to the king?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am the son of a merchant,\u201d answered the princess-captain. \u201cI travel\naccording to my own pleasure, going only where fancy leads.\u201d\n\nAfter further words, the vizier returned to his king and said: \u201cMy\npadisha, this marvelous ship is a merchant\u2019s vessel, and its captain is\nso young that he has neither beard nor mustache. He is a youth who is\nlike unto the fourteenth of the moon for beauty; and his crew is in\nkeeping with himself. Everything is perfect. Surely your Royal Highness\nshould visit it.\u201d\n\nThis suggestion found favor in the mind of the king and wakened his\ndesire to see the ship. Accordingly he got into a boat, which was rowed\nby seven pairs of oarsmen, and, together with the queen, started for\nthe vessel.\n\nWhen the girl-captain saw them coming, she ordered the crew to dress\nall in yellow, and, as the royal party reached the ship\u2019s ladder, it\nwas met with great honor and conducted to the captain\u2019s stateroom.\n\nCoffee was served, and the captain conversed so agreeably with the king\nthat he was lost in admiration.\n\nFinally, after remaining as long as court etiquette would allow, they\nreturned to the palace, where the report of the visit was related to\nthe prince, with such admiring exclamations that desire seized him to\nview this wonder with the rest. He hastened to the wharf, stepped into\na small boat, and was rowed directly to the ship.\n\nWhen the princess-captain saw him coming she ordered her crew to dress\nthemselves all in green; which they did, and received their visitor\nwith great honor. They conducted him to the captain\u2019s stateroom, where\nhe began conversing with the unknown princess.\n\nIn spite of his delicate and skillful questioning she did not betray\nherself; and the prince felt the same warmth at his heart which had\naffected him at sight of the maiden in the window of the crystal kiosk.\nHe remained until evening before he could tear himself away.\n\n\n\nLet us return to the princess.\n\nWord was sent to the director of the port, and arrangements were made\nto anchor her ship within the inner harbor. After that, the princess,\nwith her attendants and belongings, went ashore and hired the finest\nhouse that could be found. It was situated directly in front of the\nking\u2019s palace. Here she took up her abode.\n\n\n\nLet us return to the prince.\n\nThe next day, upon going to the place where he first had seen the ship,\nupon the day before, he could find no trace of it, and beat his head\nupon the ground in disappointment.\n\nThen he went to his tutor to learn if anything were known about the\nmatter. The tutor\u2019s answer was one which gladdened the young man\u2019s\nheart. He returned to the palace and sat down at a window, to look at\nthe house across the way, if, haply, he might catch sight of the one\nwho had so entranced him.\n\nPresently the princess appeared at her window; when his mind fell into\na pitiable state. \u201cA young woman!\u201d he said to himself. \u201cWho can she be?\nShe is so like him as to be some relative of the young captain who so\nenchanted me. And both are like that wonderful vision of two years\nago.\u201d\n\nAs he continued to look at her, standing there with the curls floating\ndown upon either side of her face, he felt that it would be impossible\nto find her like in the world.\n\nWhen the princess discovered the prince looking at her, she drew back\nhastily and the window was closed. But the poor young man\u2014whose\nyielding to companions had caused his undoing before\u2014had fallen more\ndeeply in love this time. He determined not to be thwarted, and went to\nall sides of the house, grieving miserably at his inability to find her\nagain. Finally, when night came on, he withdrew into his own room,\nwhere he became lost in meditation.\n\nAt the dawn of morning he hastened out to the kiosk, to look again at\nthe other house; but, though he waited long, he was filled with grief\nto see that the windows continued shut. Unable to bear the suspense\nlonger, he went to his mother, kissed her hand, and said:\n\n\u201cO, my queen mother! You have long wished me to marry; but I have been\nunwilling. Now, in the house across the way, in the family of this\nyoung captain, there is one with whom I am deeply in love. Take her\nthis jewel box, I pray. Give it into her hands and beg that I may see\nher again. If this be not brought to pass, life will become of no worth\nto me.\u201d\n\nVery much against her will, but because she was a fond mother, the\nqueen, accompanied by a minister of state, sought admittance at the\nhouse of the strangers and was admitted, with due reverence, by the\nprincess herself, to whom the jewel box was presented.\n\nThe unknown princess accepted it courteously, then summoned the maidens\nfrom the kitchen and, without showing the slightest interest in the\ncontents, gave it to them.\n\nThe queen could hardly smother her indignation and surprise, as she\nannounced: \u201cThe prince, my dear young lady, sends you his very special\ngreeting and is very desirous of meeting you. What answer shall be\nreturned to His Royal Highness?\u201d\n\nThe princess seemed lost in such deep thought as to be unconscious of\nany presence; and did not recover herself, although the queen addressed\nher twice.\n\nAfter sitting some time the royal visitors returned to the palace,\nwhere the queen said to the prince, in great anger: \u201cMy son, I gave the\nbox of jewels to the ridiculous young person in question; and, while\nshe was courteous in receiving it from me, it was given at once to her\nkitchen servants. After that, no matter how I addressed her, there was\nno answer vouchsafed. She seemed unconscious, absolutely, of my\npresence. I was obliged to return without an answer for you. My son,\nyou are no longer a child. Henceforth you must attend to your own heart\ntroubles.\u201d\n\nThe prince retired to his own room and grieved all that day. The next\nmorning he approached his mother again and, after kissing her hand\nthree times, said: \u201cO, my most revered queen mother! You hold my fate\nin your hands. You are a woman. Can you not find some way to the heart\nof this other woman for me?\u201d\n\nIt was her only son who pleaded before the queen; and she, loving him\ngreatly, turned the matter over in her mind, until thoughts of a very\nvaluable string of pearls\u2014which were her own private property\u2014came to\nher.\n\n\u201cI will give her the pearls,\u201d she said to the prince. \u201cWe will see what\nshe will do with them.\u201d\n\nThe grateful young man kissed both of his mother\u2019s hands; after which\nshe laid the pearls out beautifully in their casket, called her\nminister of state, and again went to the house across the way.\n\nAs upon the previous occasion, she was received with grave courtesy by\nthe young princess; to whom she delivered the pearls, along with a more\npressing message from the prince.\n\nThe young woman received the casket most graciously, opened it, turned\nto her pet parrot\u2014which hung in a cage near at hand\u2014held before it the\nbox in which the beautiful pearls were lying, and waited, silently,\nwhile the bird ate every one of them; grinding each, with a crackling\nsound, in his bill and swallowing it as if priceless pearls made his\nregular morning repast.\n\nIn open-mouthed astonishment the queen looked on; then, without having\nthe ability to utter a word, she arose, swept from the room, and, with\nher minister of state, returned to the palace, from which the prince\ncame running to meet her, saying:\n\n\u201cAi, mother, most honored and beloved! Hasten! Tell me what thou hast\nto tell this time!\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my son! Conquer this foolish madness, or no one is wise enough to\nforetell what will become of us. When I gave the matchless pearls\u2014my\nmost precious possession\u2014into the hands of this mad creature, she\nreceived them courteously, but immediately fed them\u2014as if they had been\nso many kernels of wheat\u2014to her parrot, who swung in a cage near at\nhand. I could not speak for rage!\u201d\n\nBut the prince cared for the maiden. Pearls were of no account to one\nin his frame of mind. \u201cCalm yourself, mother dear and honored!\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cIt was but an evidence of girlish waywardness. It proves how\nunworldly is this maiden. Do not be offended, I beseech you! Remember!\nI am your son!\u201d\n\nAll that night he lay, or walked the room, sleepless, and when morning\ncame went to the queen in a most humble and beseeching manner.\n\u201cReverend and, indeed, beloved mother! I have here a most holy book. If\nyou will deign to comfort my heart by taking this to the maiden, I\ntrust that its sacredness will insure more reasonable action from her.\u201d\n\nTruth to say, the womanish curiosity of the queen was aroused. Without\nat all suspecting it of herself, she had become interested in this very\nsurprising young person, and, consequently, persuaded herself to set\noff again, with her minister of state, to the house of their neighbor\nacross the way.\n\nAt this visit the young princess, herself, came down the stairs to\ngreet and escort the royal visitor into her drawing room. This\nsurprised and gratified the queen, who, straightway, put her hand into\nher bosom and drew forth the Holy Book. It was received with reverence,\nkissed three times, and laid carefully away.\n\nAt this the queen was emboldened to press the suit of her son. \u201cO, my\ndear young maiden!\u201d she said, \u201csince seeing you, my son, the prince,\nneither sleeps by night nor rests by day, for thinking upon you. If he\ncontinues to be affected in this way, his days are numbered. Whatever\nhappens, his fate rests with you. Will you kindly show your face to him\nonce more and permit a little joy to come into his soul?\u201d\n\nWhen she had spoken thus the one addressed answered: \u201cFor no ordinary\nmatter will I permit myself to be looked upon by the prince.\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my child!\u201d urged the queen, \u201corder whatever pleases you. If it be\npossible, it shall be accomplished.\u201d\n\n\u201cVerily,\u201d was the reply, after long and slow thought, \u201clet the prince\nhave a golden bridge builded, with roses planted upon either side. Let\nhim provide a seat at the farther end, in which, if he await me, I will\ncome to him there.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well, my daughter, I will report your decision,\u201d answered the\nqueen. Then she returned, and, upon meeting her son, said to him:\n\n\u201cOf a truth, the sphinx has broken silence. But her demands are most\nextraordinary. If you would see her, you are to build a golden bridge,\nplant roses upon either side, prepare a seat for yourself at the\nfarther end, from which, if you will await her there, she will permit\nyou to gaze upon her. Now it is for you to say, my son, whether this\nextravagant request of one who came to our shores in a ship incrusted\nwith diamonds shall be granted. There\u2019s no divining her next demand.\u201d\n\nBut the prince was blinded by love and saw nothing impossible which\nwould bring the object of his affection nearer. He caused the bridge to\nbe builded\u2014as she had desired\u2014the borders of roses planted, and a seat\nprepared at the farther end. Then, after sending respectful assurance\nthat all was according to her requirement, he hastened to the place of\nwaiting.\n\nThereupon the princess caused herself to be arrayed beautifully and,\naccompanied by her maidens, went to the bridge. But, in some way, as\nshe was crossing it, a branch from one of the rosebushes was blown out\nby the wind and pricked her in the face. Upon that she complained of\nbeing hurt, turned, and went back to her home.\n\nNow, the prince had been waiting, in great eagerness, to see her, and\nwas heartstricken when she turned back. Returning to his mother, he\nexclaimed:\n\n\u201cEverything was done according to her command; but, alas! she went away\nbefore I could fix my eyes upon her face. I need not put into words\nthat which my mother can read upon my heart.\u201d\n\nThereupon the queen became indignant and hastened, of her own will, to\nthe house of their neighbor, where, after she had been greeted, she\nasked why, with one half of the agreement fulfilled, a prince should be\nmade to wait in vain for a simple glance at a maiden\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cAi, queen mother! I cannot go where thorns are placed to prevent my\npassing. I release all claim to the bridge as well as to the prince.\nHenceforth he need not vex his soul concerning me.\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my girl!\u201d exclaimed the distressed queen, \u201cwhy will you put us so\nto shame? There must be some reason for these ruses. Be gracious!\nUnburden yourself to me.\u201d\n\nThen came this answer: \u201cVerily, queen mother, since you seem to believe\nthe matter unintentional, I will speak the truth with you. Make a\ngolden bridge. Upon one side of it place golden and upon the other\nsilver candlesticks. Then let the prince die and be buried in a tomb at\none end of the bridge. Afterward I will stand beside his head and his\neyes may fix themselves upon me.\u201d\n\nThen the queen arose and hastened away in great anger.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d cried she, \u201cthe maiden, because of whom we are so put about,\nwent home because a thorn pricked her cheek!\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, that it should have hurt her sweet face!\u201d sighed the prince.\nThen, arousing himself, \u201cBut what are we to do now?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThe final answer of this young vixen is this, my son\u2014ah, woe is me\nthat the diamond ship visited our shores!\u2014you are to build a golden\nbridge, as before, and place golden and silver candlesticks upon either\nside.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not difficult,\u201d interrupted the prince.\n\n\u201cWait! After that\u2014what think you? My son, you, the prince, are to die\nand lie in a tomb at one end of the bridge; after which she will deign\nto come and stand at your head! O, my son! my son! Cease this madness!\nLet me prevail upon you.\u201d\n\nBut the prince became jubilant. He kissed both of his mother\u2019s hands\nthree times, crying: \u201cSo she will come and stand beside me! Have\npatience, my honored mother! All will be well. I will pretend that\ngrief for her has broken my heart unto death. For her coming one can\nwait\u2014even in a tomb!\u201d\n\n\u201cVerily,\u201d answered the queen, \u201cyou are the prince. You will have your\nway. We shall see what will result from all this.\u201d\n\nThe next day gold and silver candlesticks replaced the rosebushes along\nthe bridge\u2019s sides. A tomb was built, and the prince, arrayed as for\nburial, was borne upon a litter and laid therein.\n\n\n\nLet us return to the princess.\n\nThat night she asked permission from the director of the port, who\ngranted it, that her ship be taken from its moorings in the harbor. All\nthat had been carried from it into the house was returned thereto.\nThen, with her attendants, she went upon board and sailed near to the\ntomb in which the prince was lying. The ship ceased plying for a\nlittle, and, when all was still, the princess stood at the bow and\ncalled out:\n\n\u201cAi, my prince! Here is the ship, and yonder is Stamboul!\u201d\n\nThen all sail was hoisted, and the ship sped away.\n\nThe prince, who was listening for a light footfall, heard the words of\nthe princess-captain. He arose hastily and stood up, in his burial\nclothes, to see the ship sailing away. When he felt assured that it was\nmaking off, he sank down in deep despair.\n\nArousing himself at last, he was borne to his mother; and when she\nbegan to pour forth her indignation he prevented her, saying: \u201cAlas!\nalas! Now am I enlightened! The fault is my own. I have been loving the\nsame maiden all of the time. You have known, my mother, how I was\ninduced to leave the weeping princess in the crystal kiosk? This is\nthat one, come to avenge herself. Because of my former love, this\nlatter has been intensified. Now do I understand why it has so swept\naway my reason.\u201d\n\nThe enlightened prince went to his father, kissed his hand, and asked:\n\u201cO, king! my most honored father, once more wilt thou grant permission\nthat I go abroad?\u201d\n\n\u201cMost willingly, my son. Only, I pray thee, have a care for thy most\nprecious life! Go, and may happiness attend thee!\u201d\n\nThen the young man returned to the queen and said: \u201cThe way has been\nmade plain before me, O, my honored mother! It removes me from the\nfavor of thy presence for a little. Give me thy blessing, I pray!\u201d\n\nThe queen kissed both of his eyes, gave him her blessing, and he went,\nat once, to set sail upon a ship that belonged to the fleet of his\nfather, the king. It is needless to state that its course was directed\ntoward the crystal kiosk. Arriving there, he dressed himself in\nprincely apparel, alighted, and went directly to the radiant dwelling\nof the maiden.\n\n\n\nNow, the princess had seen the approach of his ship, and, when it drew\nnear, she recognized the prince. With her maidens she met him at the\nouter door of the kiosk and escorted him up the stairs.\n\nWhen they had entered, he stood before her and asked: \u201cAi, adored\nprincess! was it not grievous of thee to make me do all those useless\nthings?\u201d\n\n\u201cAi, my prince,\u201d answered she, \u201cwas it not grievous in thee to come in\nthy ship, to make me love thee, and then to sail away with those cruel\nwords? How does that matter stand before Allah? Was it just?\u201d\n\n\u201cO, my beloved one! guilty, indeed, is he who seeks thee. But I have\nsuffered a hundredfold for all my fault toward thee. Is thy heart\nstone? Canst thou not forgive? See, I am kneeling before thee!\u201d\n\nThen they embraced each other and were very happy.\n\nAfterward the princess led her lover to the king, her father, and\nrelated all that had passed. When the king had conversed with the\nprince and found him to be just, honorable, and very greatly in love\nwith his daughter, his heart became glad. He thanked Allah that all had\nturned out so happily.\n\nThe next day they were married, and the wedding was celebrated during\nforty days and forty nights. Afterward the young couple spent one half\nof each year at Yemen and the other half at Stamboul, to the great\ndelight of both kings. Thus two kingdoms were united and all became\npeaceful. Salaam!\n\n\n                              THE END","title":"Told in the gardens of Araby (untranslated until now)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":48530}