Page:Fairy tales from the Arabian nights.djvu/329

 her sons, and such a princess for her daughter, on whose account she had endured affliction so long.

The two princes and the princess had prepared a magnificent repast for the sultan and sultaness, and their court. As soon as that was over the sultan led the sultaness into the garden, and showed her the harmonious tree and the beautiful effect of the yellow fountain. As for the bird, she had seen him in his cage, and the sultan had spared nothing in his praise during the repast.

When there was nothing to detain the sultan any longer, he took horse again, and with the Princes Bahman and Perviz on his right and left hand, and the sultaness and the princess at his left, preceded and followed by all the officers of his court according to their rank, returned to his capital. Crowds of people came out to meet them, and with acclamations of joy ushered them into the city, where all eyes were fixed not only upon the sultaness, the two princes, and the princess, but also upon the bird, which the princess carried before her in his cage, singing the sweet notes which had drawn all the other birds after him, flying from tree to tree in the country and from one house-top to another in the city. The princes Bahman and Perviz and the Princess Parizade were at length brought to the palace, and nothing was seen or heard all that night and many days after but illuminations and rejoicings both in the palace and in the utmost parts of the city.