Encounter with Sultan

After a few days Prince Bahman and Prince Perviz fell back into their
ordinary way of life, and passed most of their time hunting. One day
it happened that the Sultan of Persia was also hunting in the same
direction, and, not wishing to interfere with his sport, the young men,
on hearing the noise of the hunt approaching, prepared to retire, but,
as luck would have it, they turned into the very path down which the
Sultan was coming. They threw themselves from their horses and
prostrated themselves to the earth, but the Sultan was curious to see
their faces, and commanded them to rise.

The princes stood up respectfully, but quite at their ease, and the
Sultan looked at them for a few moments without speaking, then he asked
who they were and where they lived.

"Sire," replied Prince Bahman, "we are sons of your Highness's late
intendant of the gardens, and we live in a house that he built a short
time before his death, waiting till an occasion should offer itself to
serve your Highness."

"You seem fond of hunting," answered the Sultan.

"Sire," replied Prince Bahman, "it is our usual exercise, and one that
should be neglected by no man who expects to comply with the ancient
customs of the kingdom and bear arms."

The Sultan was delighted with this remark, and said at once, "In that
case I shall take great pleasure in watching you. Come, choose what
sort of beasts you would like to hunt."

The princes jumped on their horses and followed the Sultan at a little
distance. They had not gone very far before they saw a number of wild
animals appear at once, and Prince Bahman started to give chase to a
lion and Prince Perviz to a bear. Both used their javelins with such
skill that, directly they arrived within striking range, the lion and
the bear fell, pierced through and through. Then Prince Perviz pursued
a lion and Prince Bahman a bear, and in a very few minutes they, too,
lay dead. As they were making ready for a third assault the Sultan
interfered, and, sending one of his officials to summon them, he said
smiling, "If I let you go on, there will soon be no beasts left to
hunt. Besides, your courage and manners have so won my heart that I
will not have you expose yourselves to further danger. I am convinced
that some day or other I shall find you useful as well as agreeable."

He then gave them a warm invitation to stay with him altogether, but
with many thanks for the honour done them, they begged to be excused,
and to be suffered to remain at home.

The Sultan who was not accustomed to see his offers rejected inquired
their reasons, and Prince Bahman explained that they did not wish to
leave their sister, and were accustomed to do nothing without
consulting all three together.

"Ask her advice, then," replied the Sultan, "and to-morrow come and
hunt with me, and give me your answer."

The two princes returned home, but their adventure made so little
impression on them that they quite forgot to speak to their sister on
the subject. The next morning when they went to hunt they met the
Sultan in the same place, and he inquired what advice their sister had
given. The young men looked at each other and blushed. At last Prince
Bahman said, "Sire, we must throw ourselves on your Highness's mercy.
Neither my brother nor myself remembered anything about it."

"Then be sure you do not forget to-day," answered the Sultan, "and
bring me back your reply to-morrow."

When, however, the same thing happened a second time, they feared that
the Sultan might be angry with them for their carelessness. But he
took it in good part, and, drawing three little golden balls from his
purse, he held them out to Prince Bahman, saying, "Put these in your
bosom and you will not forget a third time, for when you remove your
girdle to-night the noise they will make in falling will remind you of
my wishes."

It all happened as the Sultan had foreseen, and the two brothers
appeared in their sister's apartments just as she was in the act of
stepping into bed, and told their tale.

The Princess Parizade was much disturbed at the news, and did not
conceal her feelings. "Your meeting with the Sultan is very honourable
to you," she said, "and will, I dare say, be of service to you, but it
places me in a very awkward position. It is on my account, I know,
that you have resisted the Sultan's wishes, and I am very grateful to
you for it. But kings do not like to have their offers refused, and in
time he would bear a grudge against you, which would render me very
unhappy. Consult the Talking Bird, who is wise and far-seeing, and let
me hear what he says."

So the bird was sent for and the case laid before him.

"The princes must on no account refuse the Sultan's proposal," said he,
"and they must even invite him to come and see your house."

"But, bird," objected the princess, "you know how dearly we love each
other; will not all this spoil our friendship?"

"Not at all," replied the bird, "it will make it all the closer."

"Then the Sultan will have to see me," said the princess.

The bird answered that it was necessary that he should see her, and
everything would turn out for the best.

The following morning, when the Sultan inquired if they had spoken to
their sister and what advice she had given them, Prince Bahman replied
that they were ready to agree to his Highness's wishes, and that their
sister had reproved them for their hesitation about the matter. The
Sultan received their excuses with great kindness, and told them that
he was sure they would be equally faithful to him, and kept them by his
side for the rest of the day, to the vexation of the grand-vizir and
the rest of the court.

When the procession entered in this order the gates of the capital, the
eyes of the people who crowded the streets were fixed on the two young
men, strangers to every one.

"Oh, if only the Sultan had had sons like that!" they murmured, "they
look so distinguished and are about the same age that his sons would
have been!"

The Sultan commanded that splendid apartments should be prepared for
the two brothers, and even insisted that they should sit at table with
him. During dinner he led the conversation to various scientific
subjects, and also to history, of which he was especially fond, but
whatever topic they might be discussing he found that the views of the
young men were always worth listening to. "If they were my own sons,"
he said to himself, "they could not be better educated!" and aloud he
complimented them on their learning and taste for knowledge.

At the end of the evening the princes once more prostrated themselves
before the throne and asked leave to return home; and then, encouraged
by the gracious words of farewell uttered by the Sultan, Prince Bahman
said: "Sire, may we dare to take the liberty of asking whether you
would do us and our sister the honour of resting for a few minutes at
our house the first time the hunt passes that way?"

"With the utmost pleasure," replied the Sultan; "and as I am all
impatience to see the sister of such accomplished young men you may
expect me the day after to-morrow."

The princess was of course most anxious to entertain the Sultan in a
fitting way, but as she had no experience in court customs she ran to
the Talking Bird, and begged he would advise her as to what dishes
should be served.

"My dear mistress," replied the bird, "your cooks are very good and you
can safely leave all to them, except that you must be careful to have a
dish of cucumbers, stuffed with pearl sauce, served with the first
course."

"Cucumbers stuffed with pearls!" exclaimed the princess. "Why, bird,
who ever heard of such a dish? The Sultan will expect a dinner he can
eat, and not one he can only admire! Besides, if I were to use all the
pearls I possess, they would not be half enough."

"Mistress," replied the bird, "do what I tell you and nothing but good
will come of it. And as to the pearls, if you go at dawn to-morrow and
dig at the foot of the first tree in the park, on the right hand, you
will find as many as you want."

The princess had faith in the bird, who generally proved to be right,
and taking the gardener with her early next morning followed out his
directions carefully. After digging for some time they came upon a
golden box fastened with little clasps.

These were easily undone, and the box was found to be full of pearls,
not very large ones, but well-shaped and of a good colour. So leaving
the gardener to fill up the hole he had made under the tree, the
princess took up the box and returned to the house.

The two princes had seen her go out, and had wondered what could have
made her rise so early. Full of curiosity they got up and dressed, and
met their sister as she was returning with the box under her arm.

"What have you been doing?" they asked, "and did the gardener come to
tell you he had found a treasure?"

"On the contrary," replied the princess, "it is I who have found one,"
and opening the box she showed her astonished brothers the pearls
inside. Then, on the way back to the palace, she told them of her
consultation with the bird, and the advice it had given her. All three
tried to guess the meaning of the singular counsel, but they were
forced at last to admit the explanation was beyond them, and they must
be content blindly to obey.

The first thing the princess did on entering the palace was to send for
the head cook and to order the repast for the Sultan When she had
finished she suddenly added, "Besides the dishes I have mentioned there
is one that you must prepare expressly for the Sultan, and that no one
must touch but yourself. It consists of a stuffed cucumber, and the
stuffing is to be made of these pearls."

The head cook, who had never in all his experience heard of such a
dish, stepped back in amazement.

"You think I am mad," answered the princess, who perceived what was in
his mind. "But I know quite well what I am doing. Go, and do your
best, and take the pearls with you."