“Peris who had seen Gul consumed by her love for me now interceded with
the king, and said: ‘It is clear that your daughter’s fortunes are
bound up with his, for the fire has not hurt him. It is best to give
him the girl, for they love one another. He is King of Waq of Qaf, and
you will find none better.’
“To this the king agreed, and made formal marriage between Gul and me.
You now know the price I paid for this faithless creature. O prince!
remember our compact.”
“I remember,” said the prince; “but tell me what brought Queen Gul to
her present pass?”
“One night,” continued King Sinaubar, “I was aroused by feeling Gul’s
hands and feet, deadly cold, against my body. I asked her where she had
been to get so cold, and she said she had had to go out. Next morning,
when I went to my stable I saw that two of my horses, Windfoot and
Tiger, were thin and worn out. I reprimanded the groom and beat him. He
asked where his fault lay, and said that every night my wife took one
or other of these horses and rode away, and came back only just before
dawn. A flame kindled in my heart, and I asked myself where she could
go and what she could do. I told the groom to be silent, and when next
Gul took a horse from the stable to saddle another quickly and bring it
to me. That day I did not hunt, but stayed at home to follow the matter
up. I lay down as usual at night and pretended to fall asleep. When I
seemed safely off Gul got up and went to the stable as her custom was.
That night it was Tiger’s turn. She rode off on him, and I took
Windfoot and followed. With me went that dog you see, a faithful friend
who never left me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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