The house began to shake at that very instant, and the fairy
appeared in the form of a lady very richly dressed.
I besought her, with every form of entreaty I could employ, to
restore my sisters to their natural shape, and to release me from
the cruel duty that I had always unwillingly performed.
The fairy at length consented, and desired a bowl of water to be
brought; she pronounced over it some words which I did not
understand, and then sprinkled the water upon the dogs. They
immediately became two ladies of surprising beauty, and I
recognised in them the sisters to whose human form I had so long
been a stranger. They soon after married the sons of kings, and
lived happily for the rest of their lives.
THE STORY OF THE KING'S SON.
I was scarcely past my infancy when the king my father perceived
that I was endowed with a great deal of sense, and spared nothing
in improving it; he employed all the men in his dominions that
excelled in science and art to be constantly about me. No sooner
was I able to read and write than I learned the Koran from the
beginning to the end by heart; that admirable book which contains
the foundation, the precepts, and the rules of our religion; and
that I might be thoroughly instructed in it, I read the works of
the most approved authors, by whose commentaries it had been
explained.
Pages:
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279