56 am The Story of

retired she consulted the bird alone. ‘Bird, said she, ‘the sultan
will do us the honour to-morrow to come and see our house, and
we are to entertain him; tell us what we shall do to please him.’

‘Good mistress, replied the bird, ‘you have excellent cooks,
let them do the best they can; but,
above all, let them prepare a dish of
cucumbers stuffed with pearls, which
must be set before the sultan in the
first course.’

‘Cucumbers with pearls!’ cried
Princess Parizade, in amazement.
‘Surely, bird, you do not know what
you say; it isan unheard-of dish. The
sultan may admire it as a piece of

  
 

magnificence, but he will sit down to
table to eat, and not to admire pearls; besides, the
pearls I am worth are not enough for such a dish.’
‘Mistress, said the bird, ‘do what I say, and be
not uneasy. Nothing but good will follow. As to
the pearls, go early to-morrow morning to the foot of
the first tree on your right in the park, and dig
under it, and you will find more than you want.’
That night the princess ordered a gardener to be
ready, and early the next morning took him with her
to the tree the bird told her of, and bade him dig
at its foot. When the gardener came to a certain
depth, he found some resistance to the spade, and
presently discovered a gold box about a foot square,
which he showed the princess. ‘This,’ said she, ‘is
‘ what I brought you for; take care not to hurt it with the spade.
When the gardener took up the box, he gave it into the
princess’s hands, who, as it was only fastened with neat little