'
Then he ran to the King, shrieking out and rending his clothes
and casting dust upon his head; and when the King heard his
outcry, he said to him, 'What has befallen thee? Speak quickly
and be brief; for thou troublest my heart.' 'O King,' answered
the eunuch, 'come to thy daughter's succour; for a devil of the
Jinn, in the likeness of a king's son, hath gotten possession
of her; so up and at him!' When the King heard this, he thought
to kill him and said, 'How camest thou to be careless of my
daughter and let this demon come at her?' Then he betook
himself to the princess's palace, where he found her women
standing, [awaiting him] and said to them, 'What is come to my
daughter?' 'O King,' answered they, 'sleep overcame us and when
we awoke, we found a young man sitting talking with her, as he
were the full moon, never saw we a fairer of favour than he. So
we questioned him of his case and he avouched that thou hadst
given him thy daughter in marriage. More than this we know not,
nor do we know if he be a man or a genie; but he is modest and
well bred, and doth nothing unseemly.'
When the King heard this, his wrath cooled and he raised the
curtain stealthily and looking in, saw a prince of the goodliest
fashion, with a face like the shining full moon, sitting talking
with his daughter.
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