Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 8, 1897.djvu/137

 Rh swear unto that man, and he returned to him and found him pregnant. The prince addresses him: 'How can I be a woman instead of you, seeing that you are with child and, as for me, while I was a woman, I remained a virgin?' They engaged in a conflict with each other, and the king's son conquered that man, and departed to his wife. Having come to his father, he acquainted him with what the tutor had done to him, and the king gave instructions for that philosopher to be put to death. And so also am I filled with the hope in God, that he will grant me a conquest over thy wise men. Yea, I will destroy myself with mine own hands, for you have done me scant justice, 'twixt me and thy son who sought to defile me."

Thereupon the king ordered his son to be put to death.

. X.—The fourth philosopher now entered and prostrated himself before the king, and addressed him thus: —

[A leaf missing in the original MS.]

". . . . the day fixed. And when the day fixed by her husband had passed, she went forth to look upon the way; and a man having seen her, became enamoured of her, and sought to have intercourse wdth her, but she was not willing. So the man took himself off, and went to an old woman, a neighbour of that woman, and narrated to her the whole matter. Whereupon the old woman says: 'I'll manage for you all that you wish, and I'll make her do your bidding.' So the old woman rose up, kneaded a dough with wine, and putting in it a great deal of pepper, baked it into a cake. Then she also took a bitch which she had, and thus (equipped), the old hag arrived at the door of the said woman. Having entered her house, she cast some of the cake to the bitch, and as soon as the animal had eaten of the cake, the tears came into its eyes, by reason of the quantity of pepper. Now the old dame took a seat beside that woman, and began to weep. The