Page:Researches respecting the Book of Sindibad and Portuguese Folk-Tales.djvu/113

 Rh one to wipe yourself with, or other comb to smooth your hair with." After saying this she died. After her mother's death, the girl always complied with the injunction of her mother. Whenever she used the comb many seed pearls and large-sized ones fell from her head; and when she wiped herself with the towel the same thing happened always. The maiden related this to her brother, and he advised her to keep all the pearls that fell and string them up in bunches. The maiden then formed six bunches with the pearls she had, and the brother told her he would take and sell them to some king next voyage he should make. And so it happened that after a time he embarked, and on reaching a certain country he went to the palace to offer the six bunches of pearls for sale to the king. A servant appeared and offered to take them and show them to his majesty, but the sailor refused to allow him to do so, saying that he must himself present them to the king in person, in order to settle about the price. He entered the king's apartment, and his majesty found the pearls to be very precious and rare, and paid him a large sum for them, asking him where he had been to discover such a valuable article. The young man told his majesty everything, relating how his mother, when she was dying, gave his sister a towel and a comb, and that every time she combed herself or used the towel, many large pearls and a number of seed pearls fell from her head. The king said that he must bring his sister and present her to him, together with the towel and comb; and that if what he said was true, he would marry his sister; if it was all false, he should die.

The young sailor returned home happy and delighted, and gave his sister an account of what had occurred. The sister, very pleased at the result of his interwiew with the king, resolved to take the towel and the comb with her, and accompany her brother to the said country to marry the king. Before her departure she informed a neighbour of hers that she was going to