When the princess saw them her heart beat fast and her eyes filled. But the prince would not permit her to tarry. He conducted her—the children following them—up the stairs, through a hall inlaid with precious stones, and into a spacious salon. Here, after seating her, he sat down beside her. [[147]]
During all this time the children had not once removed their eyes from the beautiful princess, whom they had met upon the staircase.
Then the prince of the fairies spoke; and these are the words that he said: “My sultana, unto you I have done many injuries. I also took your children from you and caused that you be delivered over to the executioner. But not once did you tell those who afflicted you that it was I, and not you, who had done the evil. You were patient and endured all without complaint. Consequently, I caused this palace to be built for you. Everything is yours. And the children, whom I took from you, have been carefully nourished. These children, whom you now see, are those whom you have mourned as lost. All three are yours. And, henceforth, I am your slave.”
Upon hearing this, the princess embraced the little ones, kissing them on the eyes and pressing them to her breast. And the children threw their arms about their mother’s neck, weeping most piteously at the remembrance of their grief at being torn from her.
In this reunion of mother and children whole new worlds seemed to be opened up to them. They could not bear to be separated from each other, neither day nor night. [[148]]
Let these four remain in the summerhouse of the magnificent palace, glad in their reunion, while we return to the other prince.
The poor young man was torn with grief—now, over the death of his children; then, because of the reawakened love for his wife; and again, because he believed her to be dead. Both day and night he gave himself up to lamentations.
Now, there was an old clown, whose duty it had been to come every day and tell amusing stories to the prince. But one day his opium gave out, and he obtained a half hour’s leave to go to the market.
While upon the way he looked before him and saw a palace, so magnificent as to make him rub his eyes in astonishment and exclaim: “This palace! When was it built? Here have I been passing by, at any hour of every day, and there has not been seen the slightest sign of such splendor. Is this a dream, or some trick played upon me?”
Thinking thus within himself, he began to walk around its walls and investigate. While he was doing this, the fairy prince and the princess were sitting with the children, in the summerhouse. The fairy prince looked out through the gateway and saw the clown from a distance.