Page:The Orient Pearls.djvu/33

Rh died, and his ministers, in accordance with the quaint old custom of choosing a successor by lot, took out a hawk and a golden crown, and the hawk was let loose just as the woe-stricken King was entering the city. After circling round and round over the heads of the crowds which had followed close on the heels of the ministers, as if to pick out the fittest one from among them, the hawk finally perched on the head of the newcomer.

At once the ministers gathered round him, put the crown on his head, and carried him triumphantly to the throne. Here he was installed King with full regal honours, and thus once more found himself in his element, and so opened a fresh chapter in his life. He began to rule over his new subjects, as might have been expected, with justice and impartiality, and peace and plenty smiled upon the land as they never had done before. The people were all pleased with his rule, but were distressed to see him always so gloomy and melancholy. The King, they knew, had no Queen, and that, they concluded, was the cause of his sadness. And so, to provide him with a companion, his ministers, without consulting him, inquired far and wide for a suitable bride, at the same time promising a handsome reward to him who found one such as they wanted.

Attracted by the bait of a reward, a man one evening brought a lady endowed with every good quality, and in every respect fit to be a Queen. The ministers, having approved of her as a suitable bride for the King, temporarily left her in a room in the palace, while they themselves prepared to interview the King with the object of inducing him to marry the lady of their choice. Just at this very moment a hunter and