Page:Princess Badoura, a tale from the Arabian nights.djvu/140

106 chosen for such great honours. And because this thing seemed to him without reason, he came at last to fear it. Furthermore, for loss of his beloved, restlessness and the desire for travel filled his heart, and in no one place could he find happiness. So one day coming to the King—that is to say to Badoura—he spoke as follows: 'O King of the Age, so great is the favour that thou hast shown me, that I know well it cannot last. Suffer me therefore to depart before I have outstayed my welcome; so shall my gratitude be undiminished and the nature of thy regard for me unchanged.'

When Badoura heard these words she smiled on him and said: 'If indeed it is thy will to depart, then must thou take and cast away once more—yea, lose utterly—this stone whose virtue brought thee back to me, and by which, while it is in my possession, our lives are bound.' So saying she reached out and put the talisman in his hand.