r afraid as other men were! But to whose health do you drink?'
'To the youth on whose shoulders I climbed at the edge of the pool,
and who threw me off with such a jerk, that I lay unconscious on the
ground for hours,' replied the second. 'But you, my sister,' added
she, turning to the third girl, 'to whom do you drink?'
'Down in the sea I took hold of a ship and shook it and pulled it till
it would soon have been lost,' said she. And as she spoke she looked
quite different from what she had done with the chain in her hands,
seeking to work mischief. 'But a youth came, and freed the ship and
bound me to a rock. To his health I drink,' and they all three lifted
their cups and drank silently.
As they put their cups down, the youth appeared before them.
'Here am I, the youth whose health you have drunk; and now give me the
bracelet that matches a jewelled band which of a surety fell from the
arm of one of you. A Jew tried to take it from me, but I would not let
him have it, and he dragged me before the kadi, who kept my bracelet
till I could show him its fellow. And I have been wandering hither and
thither in search of it, and that is how I have found myself in such
strange places.'
'Come with us, then,' said the maidens, and they led him down a
passage into a hall, out of which opened many chambers, each one of
greater splendour than the last. From a shelf heaped up with gold and
jewels the eldest sister took a bracelet, which in every way was
exactly like the one which was in the judge's keeping, and fastened it
to the youth's arm.
'Go at once and show this to the kadi,' said she, 'and he will give
you the fellow to it.'
'I shall never forget you,' answered the youth, 'but it may be long
before we meet again, for I shall never rest till I have found fear.'
Then he went his way, and won the bracelet from the kadi. After this,
he again set forth in his quest of fear.
On and on walked the youth, but fear never crossed his path, and one
day he entered a large town, where all the streets and squares were so
full of people, he could hardly pass between them.
'Why are all these crowds gathered together?' he asked of a man who
stood next him.
'The ruler of this country is dead,' was the reply, 'and as he had no
children, it is needful to choose a successor. Therefore each morning
one of the sacred pigeons is let loose from the tower yonder, and on
whomsoever the bird shall perch, that man is our king. In a
|