walked into the presence of the sultan. The
princess's father was filled with surprise, for never had he seen such
a sight before. Oh! how lovely were those little bodies, and bright
frightened eyes! Soon a gentle stirring was heard, and what a
multitude of wings unfolded themselves: blue wings, yellow wings, red
wings, green wings. And when the young man whispered 'Go,' they first
flew in circles round the sultan's head, and then disappeared through
the open window, to choose homes in the garden.

[Illustration: HOW THE BIRDS WERE BROUGHT TO THE SULTAN]

'I have done your bidding, O Sultan, and now give me the princess,'
said the youth. And the sultan answered hurriedly:

'Yes! oh, yes! you have pleased me well! Only one thing remains to
turn you into a husband that any girl might desire. That head of
yours, you know--it is so _very_ bald! Get it covered with nice thick
curly hair, and _then_ I will give you my daughter. You are so clever
that I am sure this will give you no trouble at all.'

Silently the young man listened to the sultan's words, and silently he
sat in his mother's kitchen for many days to come, till, one morning,
the news reached him that the sultan had betrothed his daughter to the
son of the wizir, and that the wedding was to be celebrated without
delay in the palace. With that he arose in wrath, and made his way
quickly and secretly to a side door, used only by the workmen who kept
the building in repair, and, unseen by anyone, he made his way into
the mosque, and then entered the palace by a gallery which opened
straight into the great hall. Here the bride and bridegroom and two or
three friends were assembled, waiting for the appearance of the sultan
for the contract to be signed.

'Madschun!' whispered the youth from above. And instantly everyone
remained rooted to the ground; and some messengers whom the sultan had
sent to see that all was ready shared the same fate.

At length, angry and impatient, the sultan went down to behold with
his own eyes what had happened, but as nobody could give him any
explanation, he bade one of his attendants to fetch a magician, who
dwelt near one of the city gates, to remove the spell which had been
cast by some evil genius.

'It is your own fault,' said the magician, when he had heard the
sultan's story. 'If you had not broken your promise to the young man,
your daughter would not have had this ill befall her. Now there is
only one remedy, and the b