Page:Turkish fairy tales and folk tales (1901).djvu/40

 Allah's sake, give me a drop of water!" cried the damsel, and inasmuch as there was no trace of water anywhere, she vanished from the face of the earth. The King's son grieved right sorely, but there was no help for it, the thing was done.

Again he went on his way, and when he had gone a little further he thought to himself, "I may as well cut open one more orange." So he drew out the second orange, and scarcely had he cut into it than there popped down before him a still more lovely damsel, who begged piteously for water, but as the King's son had none to give her, she also vanished.

"Well, I'll take better care of the third," cried he, and continued his journey. He went on and on till he came to a large spring, drank out of it, and then thought to himself: "Well, now I'll cut open the third orange also." He drew it out and cut it, and immediately a damsel even lovelier than the other two stood before him. As soon as she called for water, he led her to the spring and gave her to drink, and the damsel did not disappear, but remained there as large as life.

Mother-naked was the damsel, and as he could not take her to town like that, he bade her climb up a large tree that stood beside the spring, while he went into the town to buy her raiment and a carriage.

While the King's son had gone away, a negro