ith curious hats and coats rushed past,
shouting:

"Make way for the King! Turn your faces to the wall!" And there was the
great King, seated on a beautiful Arabian horse, surrounded by
soldiers. Then there passed a palanquin borne on the backs of four
mules.

The party stopped just opposite to Ahmed, and from the palanquin there
alighted a lady closely veiled, evidently wishing to inspect some
beautiful Meshed silver work. Before she could reach the shop, a great
tumult arose among the people. The lion had broken his chain and was
madly leaping here and there, tearing and rending and dashing people to
the ground. Women fainted, men fled, little children stood still and
cried pitifully, some jumped into the stream; the frightened horses
dashed madly through the crowd. All was terror and confusion.

Then with a roar the lion sprang upon the princess, and bore her to the
ground; but ere he could tear her to pieces, Ahmed had sprang forward,
seized a piece of iron, one end of which was red hot, from the shop of
a blacksmith, and thrust it furiously into the face of the lion. With a
cry of pain and rage the lion left the princess and bounded off to the
bazaars, where he did great damage.

As soon as the princess had recovered from her fright, she beckoned to
Ahmed to come near, and removing her veil, told him he was a brave
little fellow, and ordered one of her servants to give him a purse of
gold. Ahmed had never seen anyone so beautiful, and was so lost in
wonder, that before he could find words of thanks, the party had passed
on.

But when the money was spent, Ahmed and his father began to be in want
again. A Jewish pedlar having told him how much better trade was in the
capital, they determined to set forth to that city, though the way was
long and full of danger. "Better to die in the desert, than in the
heart of a great city," said Ahmed.

So they set forth on their journey, sometimes climbing up winding paths
among the mountains, at other times traversing the desert, footsore,
and weary almost to death, often hungry and thirsty, tormented by the
thought that they would fall into the hands of the man-stealing robbers
who haunted this great pilgrim road.

On account of the intense heat and the cruel robbers, they traveled by
night. In every shadow cast by the moon upon the ground, they thought
they saw a robber on his big horse. During the day they slept at
wayside inns, and in return for little services rende