father and mother had died soon
after he left them; and then he discovered that he had been away from
his home three hundred years. Bowed with sorrow, he went back to the
city. At each step he hoped to wake and find it all a dream, but the
people and streets were real.

He thought of the Princess, and remembered the gold box she had given
to him. It might be that he was under some cruel enchantment, and that
this box contained the charm to break the spell. He eagerly raised
the cover, and a purple vapor escaped and left the box empty. To his
alarm, he noticed that the hand that held it had shriveled and grown
suddenly old. Trembling with horror, he ran to a stream of water which
ran down from the mountain, and saw reflected in its waters the face
of a mummy.

He crawled fearfully back to the village, and no one recognized him
as the strong youth who had entered it a few hours before. Nearly
exhausted; he finally reached the shore, where he sat wearily on a
rock and cried to the turtle. But he called to it in vain; the turtle
never came, and soon his quavering voice was hushed in death.

Before he died, the people of the village gathered about him and
listened to his strange story. Long afterward they told their children
of the young man who, for the love of his parents, left a marvelous
palace in the sea, and a Princess more beautiful than the day.

* * * * *

EAST INDIAN STORIES

* * * * *

THE SON OF SEVEN QUEENS

ADAPTED BY JOSEPH JACOBS

Once upon a time there lived a King who had seven Queens, but no
children. This was a great grief to him, especially when he remembered
that on his death there would be no heir to inherit the kingdom.

Now it happened one day that a poor old fakir came to the King and
said, "Your prayers are heard, your desire shall be accomplished, and
one of your seven Queens shall bear a son."

The King's delight at this promise knew no bounds, and he gave orders
for appropriate festivities to be prepared against the coming event
throughout the length and breadth of the land.

Meanwhile the seven Queens lived luxuriously in a splendid palace,
attended by hundreds of female slaves, and fed to their hearts'
content on sweetmeats and confectionery.

Now the King was very fond of hunting, and one day, before he started,
the seven Queens sent him a message saying, "May it please our dearest
lord not to hunt towa