Now there were amongst them old grey bearded men; and when they
awoke on the morrow, they found that their beards had turned
black, nor did any who had eaten of the young roc ever grow
grey. Some held the cause of the return of youth to them and
the ceasing of hoariness from them to be that they had heated
the pot with arrow-wood, whilst others would have it that it
came of eating the young roe's flesh; and this is indeed a
wonder of wonders.
ADI BEN ZEID AND THE PRINCESS HIND.
En Numan ben el Mundhir, King of the Arabs [of Irak], had a
daughter named Hind, who was eleven years old and was the
loveliest woman of her age and time. She went out one Easter,
which is a feast-day of the Nazarenes,[FN#138] to the White
Church, to take the sacrament. Now that day came to El Hireh a
young man called Adi ben Zeid,[FN#139] with presents from
Chosro?s,[FN#140] to En Numan, and he also went into the White
Church, to communicate. He was tall and well-favoured, with
handsome eyes and smooth cheeks, and had with him a company of
his people. Now there was with Hind a slave-girl named Mariyeh,
who was enamoured of Adi, but had not been able to win to him.
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