When the princess saw this, she said to him, 'O fellow, what
didst thou tell me of the prince, that he sent thee to me?'
'Foul befall the prince!' answered the Persian. 'He is a
scurril knave.' And she said, 'Out on thee! How darest thou
disobey thy lord's commandment!' 'He is no lord of mine,'
rejoined the Persian. 'Knowst thou who I am?' 'I know nothing
of thee,' replied the princess, 'save what thou toldest me.'
Quoth he, 'What I told thee was a trick of mine against thee
and the prince. I am he who made this horse under us, and I
have long regretted its loss; for the prince made himself
master of it. But now I have gotten possession of it and of
thee too, and I will rack his heart, even as he hath racked
mine; nor shall he ever have the horse again. So take comfort
and be of good cheer, for I can be of more service to thee than
he.' When she heard this, she buffeted her face and cried out,
saying, 'Ah, woe is me! I have neither gotten my beloved nor
kept my father and mother!' And she wept sore over what had
befallen her, whilst the Persian fared on with her, without
ceasing, till he came to the land of the Greeks and alighted in
a verdant meadow, abounding in trees and streams.
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