Accordingly the king commanded such a room to be prepared. All the four sides were well guarded, and the top was nearly covered with an astonishingly great window, to let in the sunlight and moonlight and the rays of the little stars. And into this room was placed all manner of beautiful [[204]]toys and every precious thing that could add to a child’s pleasure.
Not long afterward a dear little princess was born to the king and queen; who, you may suppose, was no sooner born than she was hurried down into the beautiful room which awaited her, and a nurse was appointed to care for her.
The king and queen spent many happy hours in the room below the earth, watching the growth of their little daughter, whose perfection of beauty was without equal and cannot be described. Also, she was gentle and patient, and had been taught, from the first, that although others came to her she must not expect to go to them.
Finally, to the great delight of her royal parents and—you can well imagine—of those who had advised this course, the child grew to be healthful and strong, and reached the age of fourteen years without once having left that underground abode.
But one day, when royal ceremonies detained her parents and the nurse was long in coming, a feeling of sadness came upon her; which was so strong that it impelled her to make a great pile of all the chairs and tables in the place, upon which she climbed to the highest point in the window.
Looking out thus she could see bits of trees and plants. She had heard the dash and roar of waves. [[205]]Feeling deeply interested in the little she saw, and desiring to learn more of all that was above her own abode, she struck a great pane of glass with the stick used in climbing and, after the pieces fell down in a shower, put her head out through the opening.
Upon one side of her stretched the great blue sea; and the sun, shining upon it, made so brilliant a light that her unused eyes refused to look long.
“Then there are two worlds,” she said, wonderingly, “an upper and a lower. And although the lower is very sweet and comfortable, the upper is magnificent and boundless! I wonder that those who come to me can remain there, shut away from all this wonder!”
Long she remained there, drinking into her soul all the loveliness that stretched all about her. When her body became wearied standing upon the insecure pyramid, she climbed down slowly and went and sat down in her accustomed place.
When the nurse entered she discovered that the topmost pane of the window was broken. “Gracious Allah!” she cried in terror. “What has fallen through the roof of your room, my princess? Had you been underneath, it might have killed you.”