you make us knights." The king
replies: "Right gladly; and not a moment's delay shall there be,
since you have made me this request." Then the king bids there be
borne harness for twelve knights: done is what the king commands.
Each asks for his own harness; and each has his own in his
possession, fair arms and a good steed: each one has taken his
harness. All the twelve were of like value, arms and apparel and
horse; but the harness for Alexander's body was worth as much--if
any one had cared to value or to sell it--as the arms of all the
other twelve together. Straightway by the sea they disrobed and
washed and bathed; for they neither wished nor deigned that any
other bath should be heated for them. They made the sea their
bath and tub.

The queen, who does not hate Alexander--rather does she love and
praise and prize him much--hears of the matter. She wills to do
him a great service; it is far greater than she thinks. She
searches and empties all her chests till she has drawn forth a
shirt of white silk very well wrought very delicate and very
fine. There was no thread in the seams that was not of gold, or
at the least of silver. Soredamors from time to time had set her
hands to the sewing, and had in places sewn in beside the gold a
hair from her head, both on the two sleeves and on the collar to
see and to put to the test whether she could ever find a man who
could distinguish the one from the other, however carefully he
looked at it; for the hair was as shining and as golden as the
gold or even more so. The queen takes the shirt and has given it
to Alexander. Ah God! how great joy would Alexander have had if
he had known what the queen is sending him. Very great joy would
she too have had, who had sewn her hair there if she had known
that her love was to have and wear it. Much comfort would she
have had thereof; for she would not have loved all the rest of
her hair so much as that which Alexander had. But neither he nor
she knew it: great pity is it that they do not know. To the
harbour where the youths are washing came the messenger of the
queen; he finds the youths on the beach and has given the shirt
to him, who is much delighted with it and who held it all the
dearer for that it came from the queen. But if he had known the
whole case he would have loved it still more; for he would not
have taken all the world in exchange, but rather he would have
treated it as a relic, I think, and would have worshipped i