“The morning appeared, and we had gone forth ten or twelve kos from the city.  I then saw the young man [very clearly]; he was completely armed, having on a coat of mail, together with back, front, and sidepieces [of burnished steel], [305] and with iron armour on his horse; he was looking at me with great rage, and biting his lips, he drew his sword from the scabbard, and springing his horse towards mine, he made a cut at me.  I threw myself off my horse [on the ground], and called out for mercy, and said, ’I am faultless; why are you about to kill me?  O, kind sir, from such a prison you have taken me out, and now wherefore this unkindness?’ He replied, ’Tell me the truth, who art thou.’  I answered, I am a traveller, and have been involved in unmerited calamity; by your humane assistance, I have at last come out alive.  And I addressed to him many other flattering expressions.

“God inspired his heart with pity.  He sheathed his sword, and said, ’Well, what God wills, he does; go, I spare thee thy life; remount quickly; this is no place to delay.’  We put our horses to their speed, and went forward; on the road he continued to sigh and show signs of regret.  By the time of mid-day, [306] we reached an island.  There the young man got off his horse, and made me also dismount; he took off the saddles and pads from the horses’ backs, and let them loose to graze; he also took off his arms from his own person, and sat clown and said to me, ’O you of evil destiny, relate now your story, that I may know who you are,’ I told him my name and place of residence, and whatever various misfortunes had befallen me, I related to the end.

“When the young man had heard all my history, he wept, and addressing himself to me, he said, ’O youth, hear now my story.  I am the daughter of the raja of the land of Zerbad, [307] and that young man who is confined in the prison of Solomon, his name is Bahramand; he is the son of my father’s prime minister.  One day the Maharaj [my father] ordered that all the rajas and kunwars [308] should assemble on the plain, which lay under the lattices [of the seraglio] to shoot arrows, and play at chaugan, [309] so that the horsemanship and dexterity of every individual might be displayed.  I was seated near the rani [310] my mother, behind one of the lattices of the highest story, and the female servants and slaves were in waiting around; there I was looking at the sport.  The minister’s son was the handsomest [man] among them; and having caracoled his horse, he performed his exercises with much address.  He appeared very agreeable [in my eyes], and my heart became enamoured of him.  I kept this circumstance concealed for a long while.