So the prince began at the beginning, and told all the story of the festival of Nedrouz held yearly in Persia, and of the splendid spectacles celebrated in its honour.  But when he came to the enchanted horse, the princess declared that she could never have imagined anything half so surprising.  “Well then,” continued the prince, “you can easily understand how the King my father, who has a passion for all curious things, was seized with a violent desire to possess this horse, and asked the Indian what sum he would take for it.

“The man’s answer was absolutely absurd, as you will agree, when I tell you that it was nothing less than the hand of the princess my sister; but though all the bystanders laughed and mocked, and I was beside myself with rage, I saw to my despair that my father could not make up his mind to treat the insolent proposal as it deserved.  I tried to argue with him, but in vain.  He only begged me to examine the horse with a view (as I quite understood) of making me more sensible of its value.”

“To please my father, I mounted the horse, and, without waiting for any instructions from the Indian, turned the peg as I had seen him do.  In an instant I was soaring upwards, much quicker than an arrow could fly, and I felt as if I must be getting so near the sky that I should soon hit my head against it!  I could see nothing beneath me, and for some time was so confused that I did not even know in what direction I was travelling.  At last, when it was growing dark, I found another screw, and on turning it, the horse began slowly to sink towards the earth.  I was forced to trust to chance, and to see what fate had in store, and it was already past midnight when I found myself on the roof of this palace.  I crept down the little staircase, and made directly for a light which I perceived through an open door—­I peeped cautiously in, and saw, as you will guess, the eunuchs lying asleep on the floor.  I knew the risks I ran, but my need was so great that I paid no attention to them, and stole safely past your guards, to the curtain which concealed your doorway.

“The rest, Princess, you know; and it only remains for me to thank you for the kindness you have shown me, and to assure you of my gratitude.  By the law of nations, I am already your slave, and I have only my heart, that is my own, to offer you.  But what am I saying?  My own?  Alas, madame, it was yours from the first moment I beheld you!”

The air with which he said these words could have left no doubt on the mind of the princess as to the effect of her charms, and the blush which mounted to her face only increased her beauty.