"Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came and mine eyes had seen it, and behold the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
"Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee and that hear thy wisdom!"
And all through the king's hall went the flutter of his subjects: "Did n't I tell you? Did n't we say so? A fine king we 've got. All the way from Abyssinia she came to prove him. And he answered her everything. A great king! A fine king! Make no mistake!"
She moved toward the troubled young king with a smile.
"I would now commune with you on what is in my heart, great Solomon. Let us commune alone."
His eyes probed her. He saw her kindliness to him. A fleeting little smile answered her smile. He rose to meet her. The giant prophet caught him by the wrist.
"My son, attend unto my wisdom," he whispered fiercely....
"The lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
"But her end is bitter as wormwood—"
She caught his whispered words, and her proud head went up, her sloe-black eyes flashed.