window, he saw a large owl sitting on the floor. Large tears were rolling from her great round eyes, and with a hoarse voice she uttered complaints from her crooked beak. But when she beheld the caliph and his vizier, who had crept after him in the mean time, she raised a loud cry of joy. Then she gracefully wiped the tears from her eyes with her brown-spotted wing, and, to the great astonishment of both, she cried out, in good human Arabic, "Welcome, ye storks; ye are a good omen of my deliverance, for it has been prophesied to me that a great good fortune would come to me through the means of some storks!" When the caliph had recovered from his astonishment, he made a bow with his long neck, placed his thin feet in a graceful position, and said, "Owl! thy words would lead me to conclude that thou art a partaker of our misfortune. But alas! thy hope of being delivered by us is in vain. Thou wilt perceive our helplessness when thou hast heard our story." The owl begged him to relate it, and the caliph began, and told her what we already know. When the caliph had finished telling their story to the owl, she thanked him, and said, "Hear, alas! my history, and you will see that I am not less unhappy than you. My father is the King of India, and I, his only daughter, am named Susa. The enchanter, Kaschnur, who enchanted you, brought me also into misery. He came one day to my father, and desired me for wife for his son Mizra. But my father, who is a quick-tempered person, had him kicked down stairs. The scoundrel contrived to come into my presence again under another form; and once, when I wished to take some refreshments in the garden, he brought to me, in the disguise of a slave, a potion which transformed me into this horrible shape. As I was powerless from fright, he brought me hither, and cried with a terrible voice into my ear,--" "Here shalt thou remain, ugly and despised even by the beasts, until thy death; or until some one of his own accord shall desire to marry thee, even in this vile shape. Thus I revenge myself on thee and thy proud father." "Since then, many months have elapsed. Solitary and sad, I live as a hermit in these walls, despised by the whole world, disgusting even to the beasts; the beauties of nature are shut from me, since I am blind by day, and, only when the moon pours her pale light over these walls, does the veil of darkness fall from my eyes." She ended, and wiped her tears again with her wing, for the narration of her sorrows had caused her to weep. The caliph pondered deeply on the story of the princess. "If I am not entirely in error," said he, "there is a secret connection between our misfortunes; but where shall I find the key to this riddle?" The owl answered, "Sir, I have also the same feeling; for it was prophesied to me, in my earliest youth, by a wise woman, that a stork would bring me great good luck; and perhaps I can tell in what manner we may deliver ourselves."