The Prince
passed his childhood alone and forlorn, sitting by his forlorn mother,
weaving the net of his big desires. He longed to go in search of the
Flying Horse, the Jewel in the Cobra's hood, the Rose of Heaven, the
Magic Roads, or to find where the Princess Beauty was sleeping in the
Ogre's castle over the thirteen rivers and across the seven seas.
>From the Son of the Merchant at school the young Prince learnt the
stories of foreign kingdoms. From the Son of the Kotwal he learnt the
adventures of the Two Genii of the Lamp. And when the rain came beating
down, and the clouds covered the sky, he would sit on the threshold
facing the sea, and say to his sorrowing mother: "Tell me, mother, a
story of some very far-off land."
And his mother would tell him an endless tale she had heard in her
childhood of a wonderful country beyond the sea where dwelt the Princess
Beauty. And the heart of the young Prince would become sick with
longing, as he sat on the threshold, looking out on the ocean, listening
to his mother's wonderful story, while the rain outside came beating
down and the grey clouds covered the sky.
Pages:
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99