“ Fair Bidasari to the palace came,
And stood before the Queen. All the dyangs
Sat on the floor, with servants of the house.
Like the pengawas Bidasari bowed,
'Mid the dyangs, in presence of the Queen.
They gave her all the merchant's gifts, as sign
Of homage. All astonished was the Queen
At Bidasari's beauty. She appeared
Almost divine. Bidouri spoke and said,
"Thou seest Bidasari, O our Queen,
Lila Djouhari's daughter." At these words
The Queen was stupefied, and thought: "In truth
'Tis as they said. She is more lovely than
The fairest work of art." ”

“ It has all the absorbing fascination of a fairy tale. We are led into the dreamy atmosphere of haunted palace and beauteous plaisance: we glide in the picturesque imaginings of the oriental poet from the charm of all that is languorously seductive in nature into the shadowy realms of the supernatural. At one moment the sturdy bowman or lithe and agile lancer is before us in hurrying column, and at another we are told of mystic sentinels from another world, of Djinns and demons and spirit-princes. All seems shadowy, vague, mysterious, entrancing. ”

“ The Bedouin answered: "O my lord, king of the world, what is your
Majesty's will?"
The King of Yemen replied: "There is a man named Hatim-Thai, of the tribe of Thai, on the confines of Syria. Go to this country, and employ all the tricks you can to kill him. When you have killed him bring me his head. If you succeed in doing as I wish, whatever you ask, it shall be given you."
These words of the King filled with joy the Bedouin's heart. He said to himself: "Here is a good piece of work. For an old tattered cloak I will kill a man. ”

“ Princess Djouher-Manikam dismounted from her camel and entered the tent, with her three children. The tents of the nurses and ladies-in-waiting surrounded the tent of the princess in a circle. In the middle of the night a violent rain began to fall. Then the wretched minister, stirred by Satan, was stirred in his heart. He thought: "The King's wife is most beautiful; beautiful, indeed, as her name, Djouher-Manikam. I must marry her." ”

“ The vezir, having heard him, went out promptly to find the young man. As soon as he had approached him and had seen his remarkable beauty and his splendid vestments decorated with precious stones, pearls, and rubies, the vezir seated himself by him and said:
"Young man, whence do you come, and why did you come to this land?"
The princess answered: "I wish to travel through the world for my pleasure. That is my will."
The vezir replied: "Would you like to have us make you King of this country?" The princess replied: "For what reason should I wish to be king in this country? ”

“ By his harsh tyranny he destroyed the high reputation of the kings of Persia and wretchedly closed a series of reigns lasting 4,000 years and noted all over the world for justice and equity. Under the rule of this miserable tyrant countless numbers of men perished and a great many prosperous and famous cities were devastated. All the better classes of citizens were plunged into the most frightful distress and the most lamentable desolation, and it would be impossible to tell how great and wide-spread was the mourning. Now while all were groaning in affliction the King made merry. ”

“ One day in his presumptuous pride he assembled his ministers and his generals to show his royal power and his domination over the people. He was seated on his throne, surrounded by a crowd of courtiers, when suddenly a beautiful horse crossing the city at a gallop went straight into the palace of the King, among the ministers and the grandees. They all admired the beautiful horse, the like of which none had ever seen. Nobody dared to seize him as he pranced from right to left. Suddenly the horse approached the throne and laid down at the feet of the King. ”

“ Imagine a nation springing from an ignorant couple on a sea-girt isle, in a few generations they would have evolved their Sleeping Beauty and their Prince Charming, their enchanted castles, and their Djinns and fairies. These are as indigenous to the human heart as the cradle-song or the battle-cry. We do not find ourselves siding with those who would trace everything to a first exemplar. Children have played, and men have loved, and poets have sung from the beginning, and we need not run to Asia for the source of everything. Universal human nature has a certain spontaneity. ”

“ The Sultan said, "It is well, my lord. Your country, truly, is separated from its King. If it were not for your kingdom I would wish never to be separated from you, now that I have my daughter back again. But if I am inclined to commit a fault, do not comply with it."
Radja Chah Djouhou answered; "Your daughter is like a soul which has entered my body. That is how I feel. But the countless favors of your Majesty to me, I place them above my head."
The Sultan Haroun-er-Raschid then said to his prime minister: "O my minister, get ready to start 3,000 soldiers and 300 horsemen. ”

“ The reflection of the Sultan is just, for what, in truth, is the world? Certainly it has not enough importance by itself that the Sultan should occupy himself with a vain kingdom. But the government of this world is a mark of the sublime and eternal kingdom of the other world, and this kingdom the Sultan can obtain by governing this present world with justice. Your Majesty must therefore give all his cares to the government of this world, to obtain finally in the other world a kingdom of which the greatness is beyond measure and the duration is eternal. ”

“ The minister then related how he had spared the lives of the Queen and her child. The King was transported with joy, and cried, "Happy the king who has such a minister!"
The minister bowed low and said, "When shall your son, the prince, present himself?"
The King answered: "Go seek forty young men of his age, build, figure, and complexion. Have them all dressed alike. Bring these forty young men with my son to a certain place in the plain. Await me there, but tell not this secret to a soul. When I have arrived at the spot then cause these forty young men to present themselves before me. ”

“ I saluted her and then returned to the presence of the sovereign of the world. That is what I saw, my lord."
"Conduct me to this place," said the King.
"O sovereign of the world, if your Majesty wishes to go thither, let it be with me alone. Let not my lord take his people with him, for it is a woman, and naturally she would be ashamed."
The prince set out then on horseback with Asraf-el-Kaum. The princess Djouher-Manikam, seeing two cavaliers approach, thought in her heart: "I must hide myself, so that I may not be seen." So she left the oratory and went toward the fig-tree. ”

“ The King asked, "Of what nature is the affection of your King for his subjects?"
"That of a mother and father for their children and grandchildren."
"In hard and calamitous times, how does your King conduct himself?"
"He shows that he cares not for riches, for the door of his treasury is always open."
"In the daily receptions how does your King behave?"
"The receptions of my King resemble the gardens of Paradise refreshed by sweet breezes and scented with the balmy breath of sweetly smelling plants or like a sea filled with pearls and corals." ”

“ From all sides arrived princes and ministers and grandees of the realm, with precious and magnificent objects. Seized with fear they sought counsel of the minister Rassat Rouchin.
"How," said they, "dare we present ourselves before his Majesty in his present state of anger against us?"
Then the minister responded: "If the instant of death is not yet come for you, I will try to save you. I tremble to admit you to the King. But what can I do? On account of the critical situation I will go alone before the King and present your case." ”

“ Ayaz responded: "May the most high protect the person of the king of the world, more precious to me than all those objects of price! In whatever place may be his august person, there I am, and I thus obtain all that my heart desires. When I am with your Majesty, and your Majesty is with me, what do I lack? Who, then, has more luck than I have?"
One day the Sultan Alexander was plunged in sadness, and kept himself shut up in his palace. ”

“ They straight replied: "Our most beloved Queen
Hath sent us here with greetings unto thee,
The master of the house. If thou'lt permit,
We've come to seek fair Bidasari here."
They beat their breasts, the merchant and his wife.
"Our darling, only child! It will be hard
For her to be the servant of a prince;
For she hath had her way so long! Her traits
Are not yet formed. Go back, dyangs, and pray
The Queen to pardon us. Say how we grieve."
But the dyangs repeated all the words
Said by the Queen, and so their fears were calmed. ”

“ Sometimes the soldiers attacked a comrade by mistake. Every moment crowds of people on either side were killed and wounded, many horses and elephants had their throats cut, and the blood shed covered the ground. The dust had disappeared; the combatants were seen struggling in masses so compact that neither party was able to retire from the battle.
King Tchoulin managed to force a way by means of the elephant he rode through the innumerable horde of King Souran's soldiers; the corpses were piled up beneath his feet. A crowd of Hindoo warriors lost their lives. ”

“ O my loyal friend, know then that I am an Arab-Bedouin of the country of Yemen; that of all the Bedouins of Arabia there is not one so wicked nor so great a thief as I, and that my fame as a bandit is celebrated throughout all Yemen. The King, having resolved upon a wicked deed, ordered his minister to find a man capable of performing it. As I had the reputation of being the greatest bandit of the country of Yemen, I was summoned to the presence of the King. ”

“ People ran about crying:
"The toudaks are attacking us!"
"What shall we do?"
"How many dead? We shall all perish!"
Padouka Sri Maharadja in great haste mounts the elephant and goes forth, followed by his ministers, his body-guards, and all his officers. Arriving at the seashore he sees with horror the work of these monsters, the toudaks. Whoever was wounded by them inevitably perished. The number of the victims became larger and larger. The prince ordered the men to make a rampart of their legs, but in their boundings the toudaks succeeded in passing this barrier. ”

“ God knows best the truth. He is our aid and our refuge.
Now this is the story of the King Chehr-en-Naoui. His power was great, his officers and soldiers innumerable. They told this prince that the country of Samoudra had a large population, many merchants, and a powerful king. Chehr-en-Naoui said to his officers:
"Which of you would be able to take the King of Samoudra?"
One of his officers very strong and brave, Aoui Ditchou, bowed and said: "Lord, if your Majesty will give me 4,000 chosen warriors, I will take the King of Samoudra alive and bring him to the foot of your Majesty's throne." ”

“ So when he heard of the fame of Hatim-Thai for generosity, he was vexed and full of sorrow. He said: "How can that poor Hatim equal in generosity a great king like me? I give alms to the poor, I feed them, and every day I give them clothing. ”

“ The author of that work says that in the time of Hatim-Thai there were three kings celebrated throughout the whole world, and rivals in showing the perfection of generosity—the King of Roum, the King of Syria, and the King of Yemen. But as none of them was as famous as Hatim-Thai, they became jealous of him and united in hostility toward him. They said: "We are the kings of vast countries, and shall we suffer a simple subject of an Arab sultan to be counted as more generous than we are?" And each of these kings thought to try Hatim-Thai and destroy him. ”

“ King Harmuz wrote to his minister the following response: "What are 200,000 tahil? What are 400,000 tahil, profit included? Is that worth talking about and making so much ado? If you are going into the operations of commerce who will look after the government? If you buy and sell, what will become of the merchants? It is evident that you would destroy thus our good renown, and that you are the enemy of the merchants of our kingdom, for your designs would ruin them. Your sentiments are unworthy a minister." ”

“ The Æthiopian robber was bent on having the marriage celebrated at once, but the princess said: "I cannot be married now, for I have made a vow to God the most high not to see the face of a man for three days." ”

“ Not only is our attention so captivated that we seem under a spell, but our sympathy is invoked and retained. We actually wince before the cruel blows of the wicked queen. And the hot tears of Bidasari move us to living pity. In the poetic justice that punishes the queen and rewards the heroine we take a childish delight. ”