was seeking. Where can she be?"
The guards of the baley, seeing the act of the Æthiopian, seized him and bore
him before the King. They told the deed.
The prince said: "Æthiopian robber, why did you act thus in reference to this
picture?"
The Æthiopian answered: "O my lord, king of the world, I ask you a thousand
and a thousand pardons. Your servant will tell the truth. If they kill me I shall
die; if they hang me I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me I shall be carried
very far away. O king of the world, hear the words of your humble slave. A
certain night I had started out to rob. I found a horse, and on its back there was a
woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her to my house. I fell asleep in
my cups. My beloved one disappeared. I became mad, and so it is, O king of the
world, that your slave came to the fort and saw the portrait hanging at the baley.
This portrait is the faithful picture of my well-beloved. That is why I weep."
The prince said: "O my vezir, let this man be carefully guarded. Treat him well
and give him plenty to eat." On the other hand, Biyapri, after forty days,
mounting the roof, saw that the princess Djouher was no longer there. He
became mad, abandoned his house and all his wealth, and, becoming a dervish,
went from country to country seeking the princess Djouher-Manikam, without
ever finding her. Coming to the country of Roum he saw the baley situated
outside the fort, and stopped there. Then he saw the portrait, and, observing it
with the closest attention, he began to weep. Then he took it in his arms and
covered it with kisses.
"Alas, my well-beloved!" he cried, "here indeed is your picture, but where can I
find you?" He was immediately seized by the guard and led before the King of
Roum.
"Biyapri," said the prince, "whence do you come, and why did you act thus?"
Biyapri answered: "O my lord, king of the world, your slave asks pardon a
thousand and a thousand times. I will tell the whole truth. If they kill me, I shall
die; if they hang me, I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me, I shall be taken
very far away. When I was engaged in commerce I passed under a tree, and saw
that in this tree there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her and
carried her to the city of Bassrah and installed her on the roof of my storehouse.