154 | / The Loss of

troubled at it than words can express, and cursed his unseasonable
curiosity, by which his dear princess had lost a treasure that was.
so precious and so much valued by her..

The bird having got her prize settled on ite ground not far
off, with the talisman in her mouth. The prince drew near, in
hopes she would drop it; but, as he approached, the bird took
wing, and settled again on the ground further off. Camaralzaman
followed, and the bird, having swallowed the talisman, took a
further flight: the piace still followed; the further she flew, the

more eager he grew in
pursuing her. Thus the
bird drew him along from
hill to valley, and valley
to hill all day, every
step leading him further
away from the field
where he had left his
.camp and the Princess.
Badoura; and instead of
perching at night ona -
bush where he might
probably . have ' taken
_ her, she roosted on a high
trée, safe from pursuit.
The prince, pened to the heart for taking so much pains to no pur-
pose, thought of returning to the camp ; ‘but,’ said he to himself,
‘which way shall I return? Shall I go down the hills and’ valleys
which I passed over? Shall I wander in darkness? and will my
strength bear me out? How dare I appear before my princess without’
her talisman?’ Overwhelmed with such thoughts, and tired with the
pursuit, he lay down under’a tree, where he passed the night.
He awoke the next morning before the bird had left the tree,