prince, who
had been made quite young again when he married Laili.

As Prince Majnun and the Wazir's son walked in the garden, they
gathered the fruit as they had done as little children, only they bit
the fruit with their teeth; they did not cut it. While Majnun was busy
eating a fruit in this way, and was talking to Husain Mahamat, he
turned towards him and saw Laili walking behind the Wazir's son. "Oh,
look, look!" he cried, "see what is following you; it is a Rakshas or
a demon, and I am sure it is going to eat us." Laili looked at him
beseechingly with all her eyes, and trembled with age and eagerness;
but this only frightened Majnun the more. "It is a Rakshas, a
Rakshas!" he cried, and he ran quickly to the palace with the Wazir's
son; and as they ran away, Laili disappeared into the jungle. They ran
to King Dantal, and Majnun told him there was a Rakshas or a demon in
the garden that had come to eat them. "What nonsense," said his
father. "Fancy two grown men being so frightened by an old ayah or a
fakir! And if it had been a Rakshas, it would not have eaten you."
Indeed King Dantal did not believe Majnun had seen anything at all,
till Husain Mahamat said the prince was speaking the exact truth. They
had the garden searched for the terrible old woman, but found nothing,
and King Dantal told his son he was very silly to be so much
frightened. However, Prince Majnun would not walk in the garden any
more.

The next day Laili turned into a pretty little dog; and in this shape
she came into the palace, where Prince Majnun soon became very fond of
her. She followed him everywhere, went with him when he was out
hunting, and helped him to catch his game, and Prince Majnun fed her
with milk, or bread, or anything else he was eating, and at night the
little dog slept in his bed.

But one night the little dog disappeared, and in its stead there lay
the little old woman who had frightened him so much in the garden; and
now Prince Majnun was quite sure she was a Rakshas, or a demon, or
some such horrible thing come to eat him; and in his terror he cried
out, "What do you want? Oh, do not eat me; do not eat me!" Poor Laili
answered, "Don't you know me? I am your wife Laili, and I want to
marry you. Don't you remember how you would go through that jungle,
though I begged and begged you not to go, for I told you that harm
would happen to me, and then a fakir came and threw powder in my face,
and I became a heap of ashes. But