trange shore. It
happened to be the coast of Turkey. (297-313)
Edmundo stopped at an inn, pretending to be a shipwrecked
merchant. There he decided to stay for a while, and there he found
out the situation of Leonora in this wise. Now, it happened that
the Sultan used to send to this inn for choice dishes for Leonora,
whom he was keeping close captive. By inquiry Edmundo learned of the
close proximity of his wife, and one day he managed to insert her
ring into one of the eggs that were to be taken back to her. She
guessed that he was near; and, in order to communicate with him,
she requested permission of the king to walk with her maid in the
garden that was close by the inn. She saw Edmundo, and smiled on him;
but the maid noticed the greeting, and reported it to the Sultan. The
Sultan ordered the man summoned; and when he recognized Edmundo,
he had him imprisoned and put in stocks. (314-350)
Edmundo was now in despair, and thought it better to die than live;
but his faithful cat, which had followed him unnoticed to the prison,
saved him. In the jail there were many rats. That night the cat began
to kill these relentlessly, until the captain of the rats, fearing
that his whole race would be exterminated, requested Edmundo to tie up
his cat and spare them. Edmundo promised to do so on condition that
the rat bring him the small gold-rimmed mirror in the possession of
the Sultan. At dawn the rat captain arrived with the mirror between
its teeth. Out of gratitude Edmundo now had his mirror bring to life
all the rats that had been slain. (351-366)
Then he ordered before him his wife, the king, the queen, the crown and
sceptre of France. All, including the other prisoners of the Sultan,
were transported back to France. At the same time the Sultan's palace
and prison were destroyed. Next morning, when the Grand Sultan awoke,
he was enraged to find himself outwitted; but what could he do? Even
if he were able to jump as high as the sky, he could not bring back
Leonora. (367-376)
When the French Court returned to France, Edmundo was crowned successor
to the throne: the delight of every one was unbounded. (377-414)
The last six stanzas are occupied with the author's
leave-taking. (415-420)
Groome (pp. 219-220) summarizes a Roumanian-Gypsy story, "The Stolen
Ox," from Dr. Barbu Constantinescu's collection (Bucharest, 1878),
which, while but a fragment, appears to be connected with this cycle
of the "Magic Ring," a
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