Page:Swahili tales.djvu/427

Rh when he saw them he wept much. And he made a mourning. And he was comforted.

Many days had passed. And the young woman in the forest said to her friend the snake, "I want to go away, home." And it said, "Take leave of my mother and father. When they give you leave to go, if they give you a present, accept only the father's ring and the mother's casket."

And she went and took leave of them, and they gave her much wealth, and she refused and said, "I, one person, how shall I carry this wealth?" And they said, "What will you have?" And she said, "You, father, I want your ring; and you, mother, I want your casket." And they were very sorry, and asked her, "Who told you about this?" And she said, "I know it myself." And they said, "Not so; it is this your brother who told you."

And he took the ring and gave her, and said to her, "I give you this ring. If you want food, if you want clothes, if you want a house for sleeping, tell the ring; it will produce it for you by the blessing of God and of me your father." And her mother gave her the casket, and told her such and such things. And they gave her their blessing.

And she went out and went away, till there by the town of her husband, without reaching her husband's house. When she reached the outskirts, she told the ring, "I want you to produce for me a great house." And it produced a house, and the furniture of the house and slaves. And she stayed, she and her son. And her son had become a great lad.

And the king got news of there being a large house in the outskirts, and he sent people to go and look, and they answered him, "It is true." And the sultan arose with his vizirs and his son.