4- The Sultan of Yemen - Page 2

passed this way loaded, half with
sweetmeats and half with grain." "True," cried another, "and he
was blind of one eye." "Yes," exclaimed the third, "and he had
lost his tail." They had scarcely concluded their remarks, when
the owner of the camel came up to them (for he had heard what
they had said, and was convinced, as they had described the beast
and his load, that they must have stopped him), crying out, that
they had stolen his camel. "We have not seen him," answered the
princes, "nor touched him." "By Allah!" replied he, "none but you
can have taken him; and if you will not deliver him up, I will
complain of you to the sultan." They rejoined, "It is well; let
us go to the sultan."

When all four had reached the palace, information was given of
the arrival of the princes, and they were admitted to an
audience, the owner of the camel following, who bawled out,
"These men, my lord, by their own confession, have stolen my
property, for they described him and the load he carried."

The man then related what each of the princes, had said; upon
which the sultan demanded if it was true. They answered, "My
lord, we have not seen the camel; but we chanced, as we were
sitting on the grass taking some refreshment, to observe that
part of the pasture had been grazed; upon which we supposed that
the camel must have been blind of an eye, as the grass was only
eaten on one side. We then observed the dung of a camel in one
heap on the ground, which made us agree that its tail must have
been cut off, as it is the custom for camels to shake their
tails, and scatter it abroad. On the grass where the camel had
lain down, we saw on one side flies collected in great numbers,
but none on the other: this made us conclude that one of the
panniers must have contained sweets, and the other only grain."
Upon hearing the above, the sultan said to the complainant,
"Friend, go and look for thy camel, for these observations do not
prove the theft on the accused, but only the strength of their
understandings and penetration."

The sultan now ordered apartments for the princes, and directed
that they should be entertained in a manner befitting their rank;
after which he left them to their repose. In the evening, when
the usual meal was brought in, the elder prince having taken up a
cake of bread, said, "This bread, I am sure, was made by a sick
woman." The second, on tasting some kid, exclaimed, "This kid was
suckled by a bitch:" and the third cried out, "Certainly this
sultan must be illegitimate." At this instant the sultan, who had
been listening, entered