Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/284

272 by his father: if he had earned the money himself, she said that nothing would give her so much pleasure as to be beaten with the Prince's shoes. This made a deep impression on his mind, and he went to the King, his father, and requested that he might be allowed to earn his living by trade. His father objected, and said that it was a dangerous and uncertain way of gaining wealth. The Prince, however, disregarded the advice of his father, and after purchasing a good deal of merchandise started on his travels. After journeying for many days he came to a town in which lived a beautiful harlot, who was most clever at playing the game of chess.

The Prince went to see her, and asked her to play a game with him. She consented, and they sat down to the board. Now this woman had trained a mouse which at a given signal would overturn the piece indicated, unnoticed by her opponent, and thus alter the game in her favour. The Prince played many games with her, and lost all he possessed and last of all himself. The harlot then made him her slave, his duty being to prepare her hukka for her.

Time rolled on, and the Prince's wife, finding her husband did not return, disguised herself as a prince and set out in search of him. After traversing many countries and suffering much hardships, she at last found him in the house of the harlot in a state of abject misery. She then learnt from him all that had happened and the story of the mouse, without letting him know that she was his wife in disguise. She then began to bring up a cat, and when it was properly trained the disguised Princess came to the harlot and asked her to play a few games. While they were playing the Prince as a slave replenished the hukka for them. The harlot soon began to lose, as her mouse could not approach the chess board for fear of the cat, and finally she lost all that she had won from the Prince and from others. Having thus won a great deal of money the disguised Princess purchased the slave, her husband, and many curiosities and valuables of the town. She then set out for home, the Prince performing the same offices for her as when he had been the slave of the harlot.

One day, when they had almost reached their home, she