“If it be thy gracious pleasure,” came the low answer, “I would beg thee to bring me a patience stone.”
“A patience stone!” sneered the other. “The prince will never remember that.”
Then the young girl turned to the slave mistress. “Should he permit himself to forget this simple request of one who serves you both faithfully,” was her answer, “may a cloud, black as pitch, form in [[54]]front of his ship, so that the way of return cannot be seen. And behind them may the sky remain clear!”
The prince was not a little surprised at all this. He had taken note of the perfect manner of the one whom his wife called slave, and had compared the two. But, without comment, he made his adieus and set forth upon his journey toward Yemen.
After his arrival there months passed, while he attended to matters of state. When the time came that he could return, he purchased all that his wife had ordered. So many things had occurred that it was not strange that he should forget the servant’s commission.
While the ship was upon her homeward journey, suddenly it became dark as pitch before the vessel, while behind it the skies were quite clear. This made it impossible to navigate the ship. Fear came upon everyone.
Thereupon the captain summoned all who were on board. “If there be anyone among you,” he said, solemnly, “who has forgotten a promise or forgotten a vow, let him stand forth!”
When the prince heard this command, he remembered the commission of his wife’s servant and her low-spoken prediction, when the scornful words had [[55]]been uttered. He believed that the danger had come upon them because of those words.
To the great surprise of all, their prince stepped forward. “I am the one in fault,” he said. “This evil has come upon us because I have broken a promise made to a slave. Turn the ship about. Let us return to port, while I fulfill that which became a duty as soon as I had given my word.”
Immediately upon the ship’s turning, the cloud began to follow them. Soon they were back at Yemen, where the prince made haste to purchase the patience stone. Afterward, by the grace of Allah (the Just One) the ship flew so fast on its homeward voyage that it seemed like a bird, and the palace was reached in an incredibly short space of time.