forbidden the cooks
to do their duty and, which was worse than all--had kept the jewels! No
sooner had I ordered the slaves to make a fire and prepare food, than the
impudent jewel-dealer appeared and demanded his money. I refused again,
passed another solitary night, and in the morning sacrificed ten talents
for the sake of peace. Since that time harmony and peace among my beloved
wives seems to me as much to be feared as the evil Divs themselves, and I
see their little quarrels with the greatest pleasure."

"Poor Zopyrus!" cried Bartja.

"Why poor?" asked this five-fold husband. "I tell you I am much happier
than you are. My wives are young and charming, and when they grow old,
what is to hinder me from taking others, still handsomer, and who, by the
side of the faded beauties, will be doubly charming. Ho! slave--bring
some lamps. The sun has gone down, and the wine loses all its flavor when
the table is not brightly lighted."

At this moment the voice of Darius, who had left the arbor and gone out
into the garden, was heard calling: "Come and hear how beautifully the
nightingale is singing."

"By Mithras, you son of Hystaspes, you must be in love," interrupted
Araspes. "The flowery darts of love must have entered the heart of him,
who leaves his wine to listen to the nightingale."

"You are right there, father," cried Bartja. "Philomel, as the Greeks
call our Gulgul, is the lovers' bird among all nations, for love has
given her her beautiful song. What beauty were you dreaming of, Darius,
when you went out to listen to the nightingale?"

"I was not dreaming of any," answered he. "You know how fond I am of
watching the stars, and the Tistar-star rose so splendidly to-night, that
I left the wine to watch it. The nightingales were singing so loudly to
one another, that if I had not wished to hear them I must have stopped my
ears."

"You kept them wide open, however," said Araspes laughing. "Your
enraptured exclamation proved that."

"Enough of this," cried Darius, to whom these jokes were getting
wearisome. "I really must beg you to leave off making allusions to
matters, which I do not care to hear spoken of."

"Imprudent fellow!" whispered the older man; "now you really have
betrayed yourself. If you were not in love, you would have laughed
instead of getting angry. Still I won't go on provoking you--tell me what
you have just been reading in the stars."

At these words Darius looked up again into the star