offer him my regrets and
apologies, but I made them in person. It was all of no use. He
cherished an undying hatred towards me, and lost no occasion of showing
it. Having once got me in his power I felt he could show no mercy, and
I was right. Mad with triumph and fury he came to me in my prison and
tore out my right eye. That is how I lost it.

My persecutor, however, did not stop here. He shut me up in a large
case and ordered his executioner to carry me into a desert place, to
cut off my head, and then to abandon my body to the birds of prey. The
case, with me inside it, was accordingly placed on a horse, and the
executioner, accompanied by another man, rode into the country until
they found a spot suitable for the purpose. But their hearts were not
so hard as they seemed, and my tears and prayers made them waver.

"Forsake the kingdom instantly," said the executioner at last, "and
take care never to come back, for you will not only lose your head, but
make us lose ours." I thanked him gratefully, and tried to console
myself for the loss of my eye by thinking of the other misfortunes I
had escaped.

After all I had gone through, and my fear of being recognised by some
enemy, I could only travel very slowly and cautiously, generally
resting in some out-of-the-way place by day, and walking as far as I
was able by night, but at length I arrived in the kingdom of my uncle,
of whose protection I was sure.

I found him in great trouble about the disappearance of his son, who
had, he said, vanished without leaving a trace; but his own grief did
not prevent him sharing mine. We mingled our tears, for the loss of
one was the loss of the other, and then I made up my mind that it was
my duty to break the solemn oath I had sworn to the prince. I
therefore lost no time in telling my uncle everything I knew, and I
observed that even before I had ended his sorrow appeared to be
lightened a little.

"My dear nephew," he said, "your story gives me some hope. I was aware
that my son was building a tomb, and I think I can find the spot. But
as he wished to keep the matter secret, let us go alone and seek the
place ourselves."

He then bade me disguise myself, and we both slipped out of a garden
door which opened on to the cemetery. It did not take long for us to
arrive at the scene of the prince's disappearance, or to discover the
tomb I had sought so vainly before. We entered it, and found the
trap-door which