"My beloved daughter," exclaimed the Monarch, "the King of Syra shall become your husband."
The second daughter spoke thus:
"I love you, my father, a thousand times better than a queen loves her crown, a thousand times better than a dove loves her young, and to please you I would voluntarily throw myself into a burning furnace."
"Oh, my child! let me embrace you! The Prince Miraz, the handsomest of men, shall be your husband."
The youngest daughter, the favorite of the fairies, the charming Mirza, exclaimed:
"I love you, my father, as we love the salt in the bread, as the fish loves water, and as the May rose loves the dews of the morning."
At these words the King turned pale with anger, and exclaimed:
"Go away! Leave me! You are an ungrateful daughter who cares for no one. Is it thus that you show gratitude for the pains I have taken with you? The love you have for me goes no further than the salt in the bread. Go away!"
The King drove his daughter from the palace, and ordered one of the waiting-maids to follow her everywhere, and to return only to announce her death. The waiting-maid took with her her own daughter, Calamir, and the three women travelled at haphazard for three days and three nights. Finally they perceived an abandoned cabin, and the Princess cried out: