Page:The jade story book; stories from the Orient (IA jadestorybooksto00cous).pdf/157



was a sultan of India, who, after a long reign, had reached a good old age. He had three sons and one niece, the chief ornaments of his court. The eldest son was called Houssain, the second Ali, the youngest Ahmed. The name of his niece, their cousin, was Nouronnihar. This niece, the daughter of a favorite brother who had died young, had been brought up in the palace from her childhood, and was remarkable for her wit and beauty. The sultan, on her arriving at the proper age, was consulting about a neighboring prince with whom she might form an alliance, when he found that all the three princes, his sons, loved their cousin, and wished to marry her. This discovery caused him great grief—not from any disappointment of his own plans for his niece, but from the discord which this mutual passion for their cousin would cause to his sons.