Now this meadow was near a city, in which was a king of great
puissance, and it befell that he went forth that day to hunt
and divert himself. As he passed by the meadow, he saw the
Persian standing there, with the princess and the horse by his
side, and before he was aware, the King's followers fell upon
him and carried him, the lady and the horse to their master,
who noting the foulness of his favour and the beauty and grace
of the princess, said to the latter, 'O my lady, what kin is
this old fellow to thee?' The Persian made haste to reply, 'She
is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother.' But she
gave him the lie and said, 'O King, by Allah, I know him not,
nor is he my husband, but hath stolen me away by force and
fraud.' Thereupon the King bade beat the Persian, and they beat
him, till he was well-nigh dead; after which the King commanded
to carry him to the city and cast him into prison, and taking
the princess and the horse from him, set the former in his
harem and laid up the latter in his treasury, though he knew
not its properties nor the secret of its motion.
Meanwhile, the prince donned a travelling-habit and taking what
he needed of money, set out, in very sorry plight, in quest of
the princess, and journeyed from country to country and city to
city, enquiring after the ebony horse, whilst all who heard him
marvelled at him and deemed his talk extravagant.
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