"
When the owl had concluded his antiquarian harangue the prince
remained for a time absorbed in thought. "I have heard," said he,
"from the sage Eben Bonabben, of the wonderful properties of that
talisman, which disappeared at the fall of Jerusalem, and was supposed
to be lost to mankind. Doubtless it remains a sealed mystery to the
Christians of Toledo. If I can get possession of that carpet, my
fortune is secure."
The next day the prince laid aside his rich attire, and arrayed
himself in the simple garb of an Arab of the desert. He dyed his
complexion to a tawny hue, and no one could have recognized in him the
splendid warrior who had caused such admiration and dismay at the
tournament. With staff in hand, and scrip by his side, and a small
pastoral reed, he repaired to Toledo, and presenting himself at the
gate of the royal palace, announced himself as a candidate for the
reward offered for the cure of the princess. The guards would have
driven him away with blows. "What can a vagrant Arab like thyself
pretend to do," said they, "in a case where the most learned of the
land have failed?" The king, however, overheard the tumult, and
ordered the Arab to be brought into his presence.
"Most potent king," said Ahmed, "You behold before you a Bedouin
Arab, the greater part of whose life has been passed in the
solitudes of the desert. These solitudes, it is well known, are the
haunts of demons and evil spirits, who beset us poor shepherds in
our lonely watchings, enter into and possess our flocks and herds, and
sometimes render even the patient camel furious; against these our
counter-charm is music; and we have legendary airs handed down from
generation to generation, that we chant and pipe, to cast forth
these evil spirits.
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