Mujahid’s love for the wily daughter of his father’s late spice-bearer at length knew no bounds, and she was obliged to adopt all the resources of her woman’s art to keep him from proceeding to extremities. She tantalized him with promises, which she evaded fulfilling by the most ingenious artifices. It was found at length necessary to withdraw him for a while from the object of his passion, in order to rescue her from a dilemma which was daily becoming more difficult to elude. Musaood, therefore, proposed a few days’ excursion into the woods to enjoy the pleasures of the chase, of which he knew the prince to be so fond that even his love of woman yielded to his love of killing lions and tigers. It might, too, chance that in the forest an opportunity would arise so long and so ardently sought. The prince accordingly repaired to the jungles, accompanied by his young friends, and for several days with his single arm destroyed many of its fiercest inhabitants. One morning he was informed that an enormous elephant was in the neighbourhood. The huge beast was said to have committed dreadful ravages, and to have killed so great a number of people who had ventured near its place of usual resort, that travellers had discontinued passing by that road for fear of encountering the savage animal. Nothing could be more gratifying to Mujahid than the idea of encountering an enemy which every one else shunned; and without loss of time he proceeded to the spot where the elephant was reported to have taken up its abode. It turned out to be a solitary male which had been expelled from the herd; and when this happens, it always renders these animals extremely savage. Mujahid found the colossal beast in a part of the wood where the growth was more than usually scanty, tearing down with eager voracity the tender branches of the young trees which were growing around him. At the sight of intruders it stopped, raised its trunk, gave a shrill cry, and approached them at a rapid pace. The prince deliberately placed an arrow on the string of his bow, pulled it to the head, and sent it on its way with the force of a shot from an arquebuse. The steel head struck the elephant on the breast, and the whole shaft was buried in the animal’s body; the very feather being dyed with its blood. The gigantic creature dropped instantly dead. All were amazed at the force with which the arrow had been sped. Mujahid ordered the elephant to be opened, that he might see the direction which his arrow had taken. This was accordingly done, and it was found that the shaft had passed directly through the animal’s heart. The murmurs of astonishment rose into a great burst of acclamation; but in proportion to the triumph of the King’s son the envy of Musaood increased.