d no other is the right one; this is the one
whom my eyes have never yet seen, but whom my heart recognises.'

The guards had stepped back, but the king called to them in a furious
voice to secure the madman.

'It is I who must judge,' he said in tones of command; 'and this matter
cannot be decided by women's dreams, but by certain unmistakable signs.
This one' (pointing to Labakan) 'is my son, for it was he who brought me
the token from my friend Elfi--the dagger.'

'He stole it from me,' shrieked Omar; 'he betrayed my unsuspicious
confidence.'

But the king would not listen to his son's voice, for he had always been
accustomed to depend on his own judgment. He let the unhappy Omar be
dragged from the hall, whilst he himself retired with Labakan to his
own rooms, full of anger with the queen his wife, in spite of their many
years of happy life together.

The queen, on her side, was plunged in grief, for she felt certain that
an impostor had won her husband's heart and taken the place of her real
son.

When the first shock was over she began to think how she could manage
to convince the king of his mistake. Of course it would be a difficult
matter, as the man who declared he was Omar had produced the dagger as a
token, besides talking of all sorts of things which happened when he
was a child. She called her oldest and wisest ladies about her and asked
their advice, but none of them had any to give. At last one very clever
old woman said: 'Did not the young man who brought the dagger call him
whom your majesty believes to be your son Labakan, and say he was a
crazy tailor?'

'Yes,' replied the queen; 'but what of that?'

'Might it not be,' said the old lady, 'that the impostor has called
your real son by his own name? If this should be the case, I know of a
capital way to find out the truth.'

And she whispered some words to the queen, who seemed much pleased, and
went off at once to see the king.

Now the queen was a very wise woman, so she pretended to think she might
have made a mistake, and only begged to be allowed to put a test to the
two young men to prove which was the real prince.

The king, who was feeling much ashamed of the rage he had been in with
his dear wife, consented at once, and she said: 'No doubt others would
make them ride or shoot, or something of that sort, but every one learns
these things. I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and
clever hands, and I want them to try