Oh, forgive me my wickedness, she cried, for indeed I have repented of it long ago, and come to the aid of your father who has been sorely smitten by that mad archduke from whom you have just saved me! There is no time to pursue him, she added, as the prince started at the sound of the vanishing hoofs; and as they pushed their way along the path she told him all that had happened since they had last met.
From the moment that the king knew of my cruelty to your sister, said she, he vowed he would never see me again, and left the court in search of you both. I followed him secretly, but not being able to gain any tidings of him, consulted the Mother of Sheaths, who took me to rest in that island where the palm trees are waving. There she showed me a lovely princess who, under a spell, was forced daily to take the form of a crocodile, and when the dreaded moment arrived the skin appeared before her, and, shudder as she might, some unseen power impelled her to wrap herself in it and plunge into the sea. It is to this island I am leading you; but first we must find your sister, for on her presence hangs the life of the white fox-if, indeed, he is not dead already.
The white fox! exclaimed the prince. What do you know of him?
Not much, answered the queen; but, since I arrived on the island, he was always with us, and charmed us all. Yesterday we missed him, but in the evening a little boat drifted up on the sands, and in it lay the fox, covered with blood. While his wounds were being tended in the palace with all the care imaginable, I set out to consult a wizard, who told me that I must enter the skiff and seek for the prince and princess of Lombardy, and that if, in twenty-four hours, I could bring them into the presence of the fox, his life would be saved. On a rock along the beach I found your father with an arrow through his shoulder, from the bow of his cousin the mad archduke, who was drawing another from his quiver, destined for me, when I fled into the forest!
My father so near! cried the prince. We must return and seek him, and also look for my sister.
They found her in the grotto, with her fathers head in her lap, trying vainly to staunch his wounds. Between them they contrived to carry him to the boat, which sailed swiftly towards the island. On the way the prince gently broke to his sister the sad state of the white fox.
Take me to him! she said, as soon as the boat touched the island; and in silence the queen went down the path to the palace.
The white fox was lying on a soft mattress in front of a fire, his eyes closed, and a look on his face which told that death was not far distant. But he knew, somehow, that the princess was near him, and opened his eyes and wagged his tail feebly. The princess burst into sobs and tears, till a hand on her shoulder checked her.
Why do you waste the few moments that are left you in this manner? asked the governor of the island sternly. Place the collar you wear round his neck, and he will be cured at once. But you must act quickly.
The princess seemed turned to stone as she listened. The collar! she gasped. But I have not got it, I lost it in the forest! And the thousand sheaths with which the walls were hung took up the cry:
The collar is lost! The collar is lost!
What collar are you talking about? asked the king, who was lying on another bed, with the physicians bending over him. Here is one that I picked up among some cinders, before that madman shot me-perhaps it may be the one you want, or, at all events, it may do as well. And he signed to an attendant to take the collar from the pocket of his velvet jerkin.
The princess leapt forward with joy at the sight of the precious thing, and snatching it from the hand of the man she placed it round the neck of the fox. All present held their breath as they watched what was happening; and what did happen was that his legs grew longer and longer, and his nose grew shorter and shorter. The fox was gone, and in his stead there lay Perarthrites, in a coat of thick white fur.
But though the prince of Lombardy was rejoiced to see his friend and cousin again, his heart still bled for the beautiful lady who had vanished so mysteriously. His face was so troubled that the governor of the island marked it, and asked what was the matter. Oh! help me, if you can, cried the prince. The thought of the sufferings that the enchanted nymph may be undergoing tortures me!
They are far worse than you can imagine, gravely replied the governor; but if you still possess your comb, you may yet relieve her of them. Ah! that is well, he continued, as the prince quickly drew the comb from its case. Now follow me.
Not only the prince, but every one else followed; and the governor led them down a long gallery to a heavy iron door, which flew open at its own accord. But what a sight met the princes eyes! The lady whom he had last beheld in peerless beauty was sitting in a chair wrapped in flames, which were twisting like hair about her head. Her face was swollen and red; her mouth was open as if gasping for breath. Only her arms and neck were as lovely as ever in their whiteness.
This is your doing, said the governor to the prince; you brought her to this when you burnt the crocodiles skin. Now try if, by combing, you can soothe her agony.
At the first touch of the comb the flames became suddenly extinguished; at the second, the look of pain vanished from the face, and it shrank into its usual size; at the third, she rose from the chair, lovelier than she ever was before, and flung herself into the arms of her brother Perarthrites.
After this there was nothing more to be done but to marry the two couples as fast as possible. And when the wedding was over, Perarthrites and his bride returned to Placenza, and Ferrandina and her husband to Lombardy, and they all lived happily till they died.
THE THANKSGIVING OF THE WAZIR
Once upon a time there lived in Hindustan two kings whose countries bordered upon each other; but, as they were rivals in wealth and power, and one was a Hindu rajah and the other a Mohammedan bdshah, they were not good friends at all. In order, however, to escape continual quarrels, the rajah and the bdshah had drawn up an agreement, stamped and signed, declaring that if any of their subjects, from the least to the greatest, crossed the boundary between the two kingdoms, he might be seized and punished.
One morning the bdshah and his chief wazir, or prime minister, were just about to begin their mornings work over the affairs of the kingdom, and the bdshah had taken up a pen and was cutting it to his liking with a sharp knife, when the knife slipped and cut off the tip of his finger.
Oh-he, wazir! cried the king, Ive cut the tip of my finger off!
That is good hearing! said the wazir in answer.
Insolent one, exclaimed the king. Do you take pleasure in the misfortunes of others, and in mine also? Take him away, my guards, and put him in the court prison until I have time to punish him as he deserves!
Instantly the officers in attendance seized upon the luckless wazir, and dragged him out of the kings presence towards the narrow doorway, through which unhappy criminals were wont to be led to prison or execution. As the door opened to receive him, the wazir muttered something into his great white beard which the soldiers could not hear.
What said the rascal? shouted the angry king.
He says, he thanks your majesty, replied one of the gaolers. And at his words, the king stared at the closing door, in anger and amazement.
He must be mad, he cried, for he is grateful, not only for the misfortunes of others, but for his own; surely something has turned his head!
Now the king was very fond of his old wazir, and although the court physician came and bound up his injured finger with cool and healing ointment, and soothed the pain, he could not soothe the soreness of the kings heart, nor could any of all his ministers and courtiers, who found his majesty very cross all the day long.