The Rajah told her to have no fear, and that he would soon find the conspirators and properly punish them. He made inquiries and found that Prince Varna was at the house of his former governess, so he went there at once, determined to find out the truth for himself.
The two ladies and Prince Varna were in earnest conversation when the Rajah reached their house, and great was his astonishment to find that this was really his long lost brother, whom he immediately recognized.
“Brother,” said he, “I came here thinking to find an impostor, but it makes me happy to see alive you whom we have so long mourned as dead. The throne is yours, and I am your most loyal subject.”
The two brothers embraced one another with great affection, and then hastened to the royal palace, where, in the presence of the entire court, the crown was placed upon Varna’s head by his brother himself. This defeat of the wicked queen’s plans was so great a shock to her that she immediately perished.
The new Rajah and the lovely Zaïda were soon married, and to their great joy the good queen herself attended the wedding. Her most valued gift was the assurance that the witch of the mountain had no more power over him.
Varna insisted that his noble brother share the throne with him, and no ruler was ever more beloved by faithful and loyal subjects than was each of these.
EMPRESS JANQWI AND THE MAGICIANS
Thousands of years ago, when China was peopled by giants, that country was ruled by a great Empress named Janqwi, who came to the throne when her brother, Emperor Fugi, died. This story tells how the heavens and one of the pillars which upheld the sky were damaged during a rebellion raised by one of her subjects, and how she mended the broken parts.
The man who rebelled was a wicked and fearsome magician named Korkwi, a giant quite terrible to look upon. He was twenty-eight feet tall, whose face and body were entirely covered with coal-black hair, so it can be imagined that he was anything but beautiful.