In doing this, he saw
a little purse hanging to it, sewed neatly on to the stuff, and
tied fast with a ribbon; he felt it, and found there was something
solid inside it. Desirous to know what it was, he opened the purse,
and took out a cornelian, engraven with unknown figures and
characters. 'This cornelian,' said the prince to himself, 'must be
something very valuable, or my princess would not carry it with so
much care.' It was Badoura's talisman, which the Queen of China had
given her daughter as a charm, to keep her, as she said, from any
harm as long as she had it about her.
The prince, the better to look at the talisman, took it out to the
light, the tent being dark; and while he was holding it up in his
hand, a bird darted down from the air and snatched it away from
him.
Imagine the concern and grief of Prince Camaralzaman when he saw
the bird fly away with the talisman. He was more troubled at it
than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable curiosity, by
which his dear princess had lost a treasure that was so precious
and so much valued by her.
The bird having got her prize settled on the ground not far off,
with the talisman in her mouth. The prince drew near, in hopes she
would drop it; but, as he approached, the bird took wing, and
settled again on the ground further off.
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