Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 16
Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

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Page 350
________________ 324 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [NOVEMBER, 1887. her feet, and said rather grofly: "Here's soon waved the fan the right way and sucthe thing, thesabar' you asked for! ceeded in getting him back to her. Surely your star seems to be & very bright In & short time she grew so fond of him one, my lady, for while the Sultan brought that she thenceforth scrupulously avoided your sisters the choicest diamonds and rubies waving the fan any more and kept him conhe could find, to your share has fallen only a stantly near her. In time the prince had a rongh black stone. Keep it safe, however, my large palace built for her, near her cottage and lady, for it will serve you at least for washing she went and lived there with him in great your clothes on !" So saying he walked away. pomp, and was very happy. Whenever Prince At these taunting words the poor girl was Sabar wished to see his parents he would wounded to the heart and burst out crying and persuade her to wave the fan in the required was very unhappy for the rest of the day. way, and he was immediately transported to The next morning she put all her strength to- their palace. With the exception of these visita gether and rolled the stone into a corner, with Prince Sabar never left the princess alone. the intention of putting it to the very use her Now it happened that the Sultan and his six father's servant had advised her. daughters got wind of this happy change in Day after day the poor girl went on scrub- the fortunes of their despised relative; wherrbing and robbing her rags on the stone, and upon the sisters were mightily jealous of her, hinking of her once great position as a while the Sultan was so mach chagrined and princess, and the respect and admiration she mortified that he would not even have her commanded at her father's court, till the tears mentioned in his hearing. One day the six would start to her eyes at the thought of her girls, without asking the Sultan's permission, altered state. paid a visit to their youngest sister. She After using it for a few days she noticed welcomed them in all the joy of a loving heart, that the stone was gradually wearing away and and pressed them to remain ; but they soon and pressed getting thinner and thinner every day. She went away, promising to return some other attributed this to its softness, and thought no day.. more of it, till one day its surface suddenly After they were gone Prince Sabar who had broke under the pressure of her hand, and to learnt from the princess herself all the partiher great surprise she saw a beautiful fan culars of the ill-treatment she had received at lying neatly folded in a recess inside the stone ! the hands of her father, expressed his doubts She pulled it out at once, and having been & as to the advisibility of admitting them into stranger to such luxury for a long time she her new home, for he feared that in their began fanning herself with it, when lol and jealousy at her good fortune they would not behold! as if in response to the waving of the scruple to adopt some means of putting an fan a very handsome, tall, and sprightly young end to her happiness. But the artless and prinoe appeared before her and stood as if itsuspecting princess thought differently, and awaiting her commands! She was so much looked forward with rapture to those days on confused at this sight that she dropped the fan which she expected visits from them. and was running away to hide herself, when One day the prince expressed a desire to the prince caught her in his arms, and tried to pay an evening's visit to his parents and the calm her fears by telling her that the fan pos- Princess waved her fan and allowed him to go. sessed the power of summoning himself, who Some time after he was gone she felt 80 was called Prince Sabar, from wherever he lonely and sad that she was wishing to summight be, if it were only waved in the usual way mon him back again, when to her joy her that fans are used. If, however, he said, it were sisters came on a visit to her and remained waved the other way it could make him return with her till late in the night. to his father's, territory at once. The princess She was very happy in their company, and was very much surprised at this, and picking laughed and conversed with them with a light up the fan, playfully gave it a shake or two, heart. Her sisters, however, were a little when all at once the prince vanished from her reserved and embarrassed, and did not freely sight! She was much distressed at this, but respond to her gaiety, not only because they

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