The prince said: "Æthiopian robber, why did you act thus in reference to this picture?"
The Æthiopian answered: "O my lord, king of the world, I ask you a thousand and a thousand pardons. Your servant will tell the truth. If they kill me I shall die; if they hang me I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me I shall be carried very far away. O king of the world, hear the words of your humble slave. A certain night I had started out to rob. I found a horse, and on its back there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her to my house. I fell asleep in my cups. My beloved one disappeared. I became mad, and so it is, O king of the world, that your slave came to the fort and saw the portrait hanging at the baley. This portrait is the faithful picture of my well-beloved. That is why I weep."
The prince said: "O my vezir, let this man be carefully guarded. Treat him well and give him plenty to eat." On the other hand, Biyapri, after forty days, mounting the roof, saw that the princess Djouher was no longer there. He became mad, abandoned his house and all his wealth, and, becoming a dervish, went from country to country seeking the princess Djouher-Manikam, without ever finding her. Coming to the country of Roum he saw the baley situated outside the fort, and stopped there. Then he saw the portrait, and, observing it with the closest attention, he began to weep. Then he took it in his arms and covered it with kisses.
"Alas, my well-beloved!" he cried, "here indeed is your picture, but where can I find you?" He was immediately seized by the guard and led before the King of Roum.
"Biyapri," said the prince, "whence do you come, and why did you act thus?" Biyapri answered: "O my lord, king of the world, your slave asks pardon a thousand and a thousand times. I will tell the whole truth. If they kill me, I shall die; if they hang me, I shall be lifted very high; if they sell me, I shall be taken very far away. When I was engaged in commerce I passed under a tree, and saw that in this tree there was a woman of the most marvellous beauty. I took her and carried her to the city of Bassrah and installed her on the roof of my storehouse. A certain night she disappeared without my knowing where she had gone. Then, O king of the world, I became as one mad and left my native land. Arriving at the country of Roum I saw a baley outside the fort and came to sit down there. Then, my lord, I saw the portrait hanging at the baley. It exactly resembles my beloved, whom I lost. I pressed it in my arms and covered it with kisses. Such is the truth, O king of the world."
The prince then said to his minister: "O minister, let this man be carefully guarded and give him food and clothes."
The King of Damas, after abdicating the throne, had left his kingdom, and in the costume of a dervish had started to travel through the different countries. Arriving at Roum, the King Chah Djouhou saw a baley situated outside of the fort, and went to sit down near it. The prince looking closely at the portrait, which was exactly like the princess Djouher-Manikam, burst into a flood of tears and exclaimed:
"Alas! Fruit of my heart, my well-beloved, light of my eyes! It is, indeed, your picture. But you, whom I seek, oh, where are you?"
Speaking thus, the prince took the portrait in his arms and covered it with kisses. Seeing this, the guards of the baley seized him and carried him before the King.
The King said to him: "My lord, whence do you come? How have you wandered into this country? And why did you behave thus about my portrait?"