A majestic angel of vast height.
"For a moment the Prince paused in dread; then he took courage and said humbly,
"'Is this the fountain of youth?' As he ceased the angel murmured, 'Out of death cometh all life,' and solemnly struck the skull with her wand. Instantly apurple liquid gushed from under the skull and floated in slow spirals upward through the still water.
"With a bound the Prince knelt at the skull, filled his flask and turned away in haste, for already the purple color was tinting the whole sea about him, and he remembered well the mermaid's warning.
"Three days after this Ali reached the court of King Omar. To his great joy he found the court sitting, and the King on his throne.
"So splendid was Prince Ali's dress and so noble his air that no one stopped him, and he entered freely and unquestioned. Before him sat the King his uncle. He was very old, but still vigourous enough to live for many years beyond the common span of human life.
"Ali listened while the Muftis read aloud the promise of the King that whosoever brought the cup of water from the fountain of youth should marry the Princess Jessalie.
"No sooner had they ended than Ali bowed before the throne.
"'Oh King!' said he, 'I am the Prince Ali, thy nephew, whom you would have slain. I have brought to you here a cup of the water of the fountain of youth, Drink, but read first what words have come on the flask since I filled it at the fountain. Drink then if you will, and give me the Princess, for by my sword this is water of the fountain of youth and none other.'
"'Ha!' said the King, 'Give it to me!' and tottering he arose and descending a few steps seized the flask. Then he tore from it the silver cover with which the Prince had sealed it.
"At once a dense purple vapour rose in clouds from the lip of the flask and curled upwards through the hall. Whosoever breathed of this his eyes flashed and he dreamed of mornings long ago, and of fair women and of boyhood, so that all who felt it stood bewildered.
"Then cried the King, 'I drink to youth!' and would have drained the flask, but Ali held his hand and bade him read the words which were graven upon the vessel.
'"It is but a moment to wait for youth,' cried the King, and turning to a magician bade him read the words, 'For,' said he, 'I am old and my sight fails me.'
"'Oh my master!' said the magician, 'these are the words:
"'He who steals to-morrowsShall drink the wine of sorrows.'"
"'He who steals to-morrowsShall drink the wine of sorrows.'"
"'He who steals to-morrows
Shall drink the wine of sorrows.'"
"Then the aged counsellor fell back with an altered face as he breathed the purple fumes, 'Woe is me! I am stronger! I am grown younger! Woe is me! I am further from Allah.'
"But the King, saying no word, set the flask to his lips and drained it to the utmost drop. Then with a cry of delight he threw the vessel away, and shouting aloud, 'Iam young again!' bounded up the steps and pausing faced the mutely wondering crowd.
"When he turned he was seen as a man in the lusty vigour of life, stalwart and strong of limb.
"'Ho!' he said, 'my guard!' but none stirred, for his face was still changing, and now his beard was gone, and it was a lad who sat upon the throne, and a lad's voice which cried aloud.
"'This man to the dungeons! What ho! my guard!' And yet they moved not, for the lad was now a child.
"Still the stern will worked, and the child-King said faintly, 'My guards! my guards!' till his voice broke into baby lispings, and now it was an infant who sat upon the throne.
"Then the changes seemed to cease, and the ancient counsellor who had so wisely warned the King cried aloud, 'Allah il Allah! great and wonderful are thy ways!'
"When one man had thus broken silence a mighty tumult arose, amidst which the baby King looked right and left with blue eyes of wonder.
"But Ali drew his sword and in a terrible voice ordered the guard to clear the hall. Instantly he was obeyed, and then there was great counsel held as to what should be done with the King. At length it was decided that he should be sent to the island where Ali had lived, and be kept there all his days. These indeed proved few, for it is recorded in the chronicles of the kingdom that hetook teething rather hard, and died in his second summer of malignant whooping-cough.
"As to Prince Ali he married his cousin the Princess Jessalie, and the mermen and the mermaids came to the wedding and brought with them for presents pearls and amber and tortoise shells such as folks never see now-a-days.
"They lived long together, and loved one another well, and they both died at one and the same moment, which was the happiest thing of all their happy lives."
The sun was not yet down on the next evening when the young spiders began to collect around Fuz-buz.
"Tell us," said one of them, "a story about giants."
"There's a jolly idea," cried another. "Is it to be a spider giant?"
"Ahem!" replied Fuz-buz. "I wish there were such giants, and I wish one of them would come along this very moment and gobble you all up."
This he said in so fierce a voice that the young spiders ran away squealing so loud that if you had been a spider and had owned an ear-trumpet, you might have heard them at least three inches off.
As for Mrs. Grabem she hurried in a rage to Fuz-Buz, and gave him a shake, saying, "Have a care old rascal, how you scare my young ones. Tell them a story at once, or you shall never tell another on this earth."
"Yes, madam," answered Fuz-buz very meekly, and as soon as ever he could get his breath he began as follows, to tell them the story of Krusstikuss and Growlegrum.
Krusstikuss and Growlegrum.
"There have been many giants I believe, but there never were any others like the great giant Growlegrum and his twin brother Krusstikuss.
"These two giants were both of them Ogres. Their mother was an Afrite, and their grandfather a Ghoul. On which account they were probably the most unpleasant giants that anybody ever came across.
"When very young they were tall and stout, but one day unluckily for Krusstikuss, his grandmother, who was a fat giantess, sat down on him.
"Not feeling anything in particular she fell asleep and did not awaken for three months.
"Of course it was hard for Krusstikuss to grow while his grandmother sat upon him, so he began to spread out sideways and never afterwards got out of the habit. He therefore became as fat as a bun, while his brother Growlegrum grew as tall as the highest tree.
"So one was tall, and one stout, but both were of the same size in wickedness, and as to Krusstikuss he liked to eat babies, while Growlegrum was fond of young ladies, although their hoops sometimes disagreed with him.
"When these monsters grew up they ate so many people that their father told them they would cause a famine, and must go away and find another land where people were more plenty.
"At last they took his advice and started out together to seek a new home. After eating a great many folks they came to a beautiful country where lived a King who had a daughter as good as she was pretty.
"When the two giants reached the borders of this land they sat down and began to talk.
"'I am getting so big,' said Krusstikuss, 'that I find it a labour to walk about and look for babies. They must be very scarce.'
"'Not more so than young ladies,' cried Growlegrum. 'I should think they would like to be eaten before they grow to be old and ugly, but really it does not seem so.'
"While they were thus lamenting the scarcity of food, an old woman with a red cap and a green kirtle came from the wood and stood before them.
"'Sirs,' said she, 'I am a cousin of yours, and also a witch. Why should you be troubled about your meals? Order the King Hassan to send hither twice every day ten fat babies and one young lady.'
"'Good,' said the giants, 'we can lie on these hills and eat and sleep without labour. So let it be. Go you to King Hassan and tell him to send us the babies and theyoung ladies without fail, or else we will eat him and fry him first.'
"This made the old witch chuckle, and she went away quickly towards the city with her wicked news. Presently she entered the Palace, for she was a cousin of the King, and went straight to the garden where she told King Hassan that the two giants were on the borders of his country, and must have ten babies and a young lady twice a day or else they would eat the King and fry him first, which made Hassan feel hot all over.
"He soon saw that he could do nothing against such vast monsters, and therefore beat his breast and ordered his captains to take to the giants the babies and the young ladies.
"You may be sure that when this happened twice a day for a week folks began to be very much troubled. By and by the mammas hid away the babies in tree-tops and chimnies and in all sorts of out of the way places. And as to young ladies there were none to be found, for every one of them put on her brother's pantaloons, and it was hard work to catch a woman at all.
"It chanced about this time that the Princess was walking in a wood near the Palace when she saw a young girl crying. Now as the Princess was very kind-hearted she stopped at once and said,
"'Why do you cry? What ails you?'
"'Oh dear!' said the other, 'to-morrow I am to betaken by the guard to be eaten by the Ogres, Growlegrum and Krusstikuss, and when I am gone who will comfort my old mother, for she has no child but me?'
"When the Princess heard this she told her to wait a little, and went herself to find the King.
"'Father,' said she, 'it is hard that all the young girls should be eaten alive by these false giants. Why do not you raise an army and go and fight and kill them? It is base to give up to them in this way. Were I a man I would slay them myself.'
"'It would be in vain to try,' answered the King. 'Well,' said the Princess, 'to-morrow I shall go alone in place of the maiden who is chosen, and perhaps some good knight will not willingly let me die so mean a death.'
"The King was very angry, but the Princess was obstinate. Then a young Prince who was present arose and said,
"'I have come, lady, a thousand miles to help you. My name is Prince Bluets, and I am the great-grandson of John, who is sometimes called Jack, the Giant Killer. Go to the giants as you have said and all will yet be well.'
"Then the Princess looked and saw that the Prince had brave eyes and was fair of face, so she replied,
"'It shall be as you say.'
"'To-morrow, then,' continued the Prince, 'you shall go to the giants and I will follow you. But first take this amulet and hang it around your neck. So long asyou wear it all things living and dead will love you, and no giant will wish to eat you.'
"Thus saying he hung around her neck a gold chain, and at once she went away and ordered her horse to ride to the giants. Meanwhile it was proclaimed that out of love for her people the Princess was going to beg the giants to go away and not to eat any more babies.
"As for the Princess, she sent word to the little maiden in the wood that she was going in her place, and then bravely mounted her horse and rode through the town to the gate.
"No sooner did the people see her than they began to follow her, because the amulet made every one wish to be near to her. But at the gate she bade them return, and rode away alone into the wood, though even there the charm still worked, and all things loved her more and more. The sun stared her in the eyes like a gallant over-bold, and the wind played with her chestnut hair and was happy, and the leaves bent down and kissed her, and all the mice and the birds and the bears and the foxes came out and followed her.
"But when she came near to the two Ogres and saw them sitting on a hill with their white eyes and rough faces and great black teeth like marble tombstones, all the animals set up a dismal howl and ran away. Yet still the lady rode along, and presently the two giants became aware of her presence.
"Then said Growlegrum, 'Here comes dinner,' but when she drew nearer he added, 'She's too pretty to eat. Who are you my dear?'
"'I am the Princess Violet,' said she, 'the King's daughter.'
"'Hah!' said both of the Ogres, 'You shall be my wife.'
"'Well,' cried she, 'I cannot have two husbands; put me in a safe place and after I have known you both for a month I can decide which I will have for my husband.'
"'Good,' returned Krusstikuss, 'So let it be.' Then they lifted her gently and put her near by in a castle whose owner they had devoured, and every day they brought her goodies to eat, enough for twenty dinners.
"In the morning came Growlegrum and looked over the castle wall and said, 'I love you my dear.' But in the afternoons came Krusstikuss and said, 'Bless me! how I love you!' Now the Princess knew that within a month she should hear of Prince Bluets.
"As for that Prince he went away to a magician and asked him how he could become thin.
"'There are four ways,' answered the magician,
'Eat nothing,'Fall in love,'Become jealous, and'Think ever so much.'
'Eat nothing,'Fall in love,'Become jealous, and'Think ever so much.'
'Eat nothing,
'Fall in love,
'Become jealous, and
'Think ever so much.'
"Then said the Prince, 'The advice is good,' and sosaying he gave him three links of a gold chain which he wore, and mounted his horse and rode swiftly until he came to a high hill which at a great distance overlooked the castle where the lady was. Here he sat down and with his spy-glass looked until he saw Krusstikuss kissing his great hand to the lady.
"This made him horribly jealous, and at once he began to get thin. Then for four days he ate nothing and so became thinner and thinner. Of course he was miserably in love, and this also made him lose flesh.
"After four days he was still too fat, so he began to think of all the hard conundrums and riddles and charades that ever were heard of, but at last when he had been two days thinking how to make apple pies out of donkies he became so thin that his bones were no thicker than walking sticks, and when he stood sideways he had no shadow at all.
"Then he took his sword and walking carefully for fear of breaking into halves or of being blown away, he descended the hill, and late at night knocked at a side door of the castle where the Princess Violet now lived.
"As soon as she heard the noise she came to the door and said,
"'Who is it?'
"'It is I,' answered the Prince, but his voice was so thin that he could hardly be heard, and if the Princesshad not loved him she never would have been able to hear a word he said.
"'My love,' he cried, 'It is I, Prince Bluets. Presently I shall squeeze my head through the key-hole, and you must then seize me by the hair and drag me in.'
"Of course giants' castles have very large key-holes, and as the Prince was as thin as could be he easily pushed his head through the key-hole, when the Princess took hold of his hair, and pretty soon drew him into the castle.
"She was very much amazed when she saw him so lean and meagre, but the Prince explained it all and they sat down and had a good talk until morning, when the Prince hid away in a corner under some hay.
"By and by came Krusstikuss, and looking over the castle wall said in a large voice, 'I love you my dear. Here are some nice little dishes for breakfast!' and so saying, he emptied his pockets of about two wagon loads of cakes and candy and bon-bons and all kind of goodies such as Princesses eat.
"'Sir,' said the Princess, 'If I am to be a giant's wife, I must learn to eat babies. If you love me you will bring me all the babies you get, that I may keep them until they get so fat and tender that I shall be tempted to eat them.'
"'But what shall I live on myself?' cried Krusstikuss.
"'Oh!' said the Princess, 'if you are in love you will not care to eat.'
"'That's queer,' returned the giant, 'but I suppose it won't hurt me to suck my paws for awhile like the bears.'
"Then he took four babies out of his hat and two out of his pockets, saying, 'I am sorry, but I ate four on the way. To-morrow you shall have all, and when you get them fat enough I will come and dine with you.'
"After this he went away leaving the babies to the Princess, who put them all in a row and fed them with nine dough-nuts apiece, so that if they did not get fat it was not her fault.
"In the afternoon came Growlegrum, who was as big in length as Krusstikuss was sideways.
"'My love,' said he, when he had peeped over the wall, 'What's this? Babies.'
"'Sir,' she replied, 'Your brother loves me, and has promised me all the babies, that I may fatten them. If you also love me at all, you will give me the young ladies you were to eat every day, that I may have some one to take care of the babies and feed them.'
"'Ah me!' said the giant, 'I shall die of starvation.'
"'Don't, if you love me,' said Violet.
"'Enough,' cried Growlegrum. 'Here lovely Princess is the first, and every day you shall have another.'
"So saying, he jerked a beautiful young lady out of his pocket and set her down inside of the castle.
He jerked a beautiful young lady out of his pocket and set her down inside of the castle.
"'Good-bye,' said the Princess.
"'Good-bye,' said the giant, 'If I stay I shall steal a baby.'
"So he gnashed his ugly grim teeth and walked away with vast steps.
"When he was out of sight Prince Bluets came forth, and the Princess and he laughed with joy, because of the babies whom they had saved. But as there was no time to lose the Prince kissed her and wriggled through the key-hole again.
"Then in haste he ran into the woods and took the road which led to the city where King Hassan lived.
"On the way he heard voices, and climbing a tree he listened eagerly until he learned that these came from five persons who were dressed in long robes and were riding from the town. By good luck they rested a little while just under the tree in which Bluets lay hidden. He soon understood that all five were lawyers whom the King had sent to see Krusstikuss, that they might offer the Princess in marriage to him with half of the kingdom if he would send his brother away, and learn to eat beef and mutton in place of babies.
"'Ho!' said the Prince, 'This won't do,' so he waited till they left, and then descending ran back to the castle and called the Princess.
"Then through the key-hole he gave her a little advice about the five lawyers. After this he went away once more towards the city.
"As for the Princess she waved her handkerchief from the castle wall until Growlegrum espied her and strode over the hills and valleys to the castle.
"'Sir,' she said, 'Do not be surprised if you see a party of men in gowns coming from the city. Go and meet them, if they think you are Krusstikuss they will tell you something.'
"'Good,' answered he. 'Now I perceive that you love me.'
"Then, without waiting, he walked towards the city. A little way on he met the five lawyers. As soon as they saw him they dismounted and threw themselves on the ground.
"'What do ye want?' roared Growlegrum.
"'Oh sir!' said they, 'we would see the great giant Krusstikuss.'
"'It is well,' returned the giant. 'Speak.'
"'Sir,' said they, 'We come to offer to the great giant Krusstikuss one-half of the kingdom and the Princess for a wife.'
"'Ha!' answered the giant, 'and what shall his brother have?'
"'Perhaps,' returned one of the lawyers, 'he might be persuaded to leave, or else your highness could quietly knock him on the head.'
"'Scoundrels!' roared Growlegrum, 'My name is not Krusstikuss. I'll teach you to make trouble, you rascals.'
"Upon this he seized them one after another, and ate the whole five. The effects of this meal were dreadful. In five minutes Growlegrum was bent double with stomach-ache, for you see the lawyers disagreed with him, and they also disagreed with one another inside of him.
"But this was not all, for in a few moments he began to grow so quarrelsome that he became the most unsafe giant that could anywhere be found.
"In half an hour he was outrageous, and by the time he met his brother he was ready to fight anybody.
"Well the end of it was they did fight. They fought for two days and two nights, when Krusstikuss got so weak that Growlegrum took him up by the heels and stood him on his head and gave him a mighty spin, for he was made just like a top, and then, while he was spinning, treated him to a kick, and hoisted him over two hills into the sea, where he spun to the bottom and never more was heard of.
"When this awful battle was over Growlegrum sat on a hill and began to pick his teeth with a fence rail. Meanwhile Prince Bluets hastened to the city.
"He had gone but a little way when who should he see but his great-great-grandfather Jack, the Giant Killer, who had journeyed a long way to see what had become of Bluets. After they had embraced one another, the Prince told his grandfather all that had passed.
"'You have done well,' said Jack, 'but we must nowget rid of this other giant who I hear is a terrible fellow. Let us go and see him.'
"'Very well,' replied Bluets, 'We will go,' and so saying they turned, and very soon spied Growlegrum sitting on the hill. As soon as ever he saw them he roared out,
"'Dinner! Here comes my dinner!'
"When they had come still nearer Jack cried aloud, 'I am Jack, the Giant Killer, and I have come to visit you.'
"'Ha, ha!' laughed the giant, 'You are a little man and brave.' 'There is one thing you cannot do, big though you be,' said Jack.
"'Name it,' said Growlegrum. 'I can pull up trees and kick down towns and chew cannon balls and eat you. What is there I cannot do?'
"'Sir,' answered Jack, 'All these things are easy.' 'If I cannot eat anything and kill anybody I will quit this land and go home,' said the giant in a rage.
"'Good!' cried Jack, 'Come with us.'
"Upon this the giant picked them both up and walked off in the direction which Jack pointed out. Presently they came to a house.
"'Stop!' said Jack, and the giant set them down.
"'Eat the man who lives in that house,' said Jack.
"'Poh!' cried Growlegrum, and gave the house a kick which knocked it down in a twinkling. Then he pulled out of the ruins a man who began to roar for mercy.
"'Oh dear!' he said, 'Don't eat me, and I will never fib any more, and never make any more speeches ever again.'
"'Who is he?' asked the giant. 'A member of Congress,' cried Jack.
"'Eathim?eathim!said the giant, 'I don't want to be poisoned. You must think I am a fool.'
"'Eat him!' cried Jack.
"'No, sir,' said Krusstikuss. 'I'd rather leave. If I must die I would like to die easy.'
"So saying the giant gave a groan and set off across the hills. I do not know where he went, but I suppose he travelled home to his mamma, and told her what a fool Jack had made of him.
"As soon as the giant had gone Jack and Prince Bluets went to the castle and set free the Princess and all the babies, who showed their gratitude by screaming for a week. But perhaps this might have been owing to the dough-nuts they had eaten.
"I do believe there never was such a wedding as that of Prince Bluets and Princess Violet, for all the fairy folk came, and Cinderella and all the fairy godmothers, and Aladdin, and Prince Nosey, and the seven champions, and Hop O'my Thumb, Goody Two Shoes, and Red Riding Hood. All of them brought presents to the bride, but the Prince gave her only his love and took away fromher the amulet for fear it should make any one love her more than he could."
During the next week it rained so hard every day that no one of the spider's family could venture out of their den.
It was no wonder that they became hungry for stories, and that at the first gleam of sunshine they all ran together and began to pull at the line of cobweb to which poor Fuz-Buz was fettered.
As for Fuz-Buz he was so wet and cold that he crawled out of his hole with trouble and pain.
"Ah, my dears!" cried he. "I ache all over with the gout. We lived too high in Spain I fear."
"Bother the gout!" said the spiders.
"Tell us a new story, and pretty soon too, or mammy will eat you, and won't that be worse than the gout?"
"I don't know," answered Fuz-Buz, "I think I would rather be eaten up at once, and have it over."
"Ha! ha!" cried Mrs. Grabem, who overheard what the fly had said.
"Ha! ha! you would like to be eaten; would you like to have your legs pulled off and your wings torn, and—-?"
"Oh dear! oh dear!" shrieked Fuz-Buz. "Pray stop, I am all in a shiver. I will never be so hasty again."
Ha! ha! you would like to be eaten.
"Very well," returned the spider firmly. "See thatyou remember what I have said, and on no account venture to keep my blessed little children waiting. It spoils their tempers for life. I will have no more of it."
When Mrs. Grabem ceased, all the young spiders cried aloud,
"You had better take care, or mammy will finish you!"
"How are your legs?" said one.
"Where is that story?" said another.
"Here it is," answered Fuz-Buz, tapping his head. "I have it all here ever since the day I heard it told by a famous Dervish at the porch of the great Mosque of Salamanca."
Mustapha, or the Musical Gourd.
"In the year of the Hegira, 709, and the twelfth of our Caliph Haroun, the Magnificent, there lived in the royal city of Bagdad a cobbler of the name of Ali Ben Slippah.
"His shop was small, but being well situated at the corner of the street of the Prophet, and the great street of Mosques, the cobbler managed to live very comfortably, so that with the aid of Smyrna tobacco and a contented disposition which the poet has well called the 'Pipe of the just,' he eked out a tranquil life free from care and ambition.
"His house was neatly kept by his daughter Lelie, or the Dark-eyed, who was a little maiden with lips like theroses of Istamboul, and cheeks as darkly lovely as the brown lilies of Ispahan.
"Besides these the sole remaining member of their household was a great black cat known by the name of Yussef, or the Hump-backed, because she was always in an evil humour, and was forever hunching her back up to show how cross she felt.
"It so chanced that when Lelie was a child this cat pursued by boys and dogs had taken refuge with Lelie, who had saved her life. Thenceforward she had never left her, but was so jealous of her mistress that it was enough to look at her to drive the Pussy crazy with rage.
"Now to let you into a secret. You should know that Yussef was a wicked genius who for a terrible crime had been condemned to live an hundred years in the body of a cat.
"About the time at which this trap story begins, a young soldier of the Caliph's guard, whose name was Mustapha, fell in love with Lelie, and as he was very handsome and clever, was so lucky as to make her also love him in return.
"Unhappily for them both, Yussef overheard Mustapha speaking of the day when they were to be married, and at once fell into a fit of jealousy which was dreadful to see.
"In her wrath she flew at Mustapha and scratched hisnose, then knocked down and broke the cobbler's best chibouque, and at length dashed out of the house just as Ali Ben Slippah threw his lap-stone at her in fierce anger, because of his broken pipe.
"It was late in the evening when Yussef darted out, and with her heart full of jealous rage bounded up the walls and over the house-tops, until at last she seated herself on a gable and began to think.
"As it became later she was suddenly aware of a noble-looking person who was walking slowly along, followed at a short distance by four guards with drawn scimetars.
"As soon as Yussef saw the cavalier she knew that he was the Caliph, and remembering that he was then seeking everywhere for beautiful women to wait upon his sick daughter, she formed on the moment the most spiteful scheme of mischief that ever you heard of.
"With two or three crazy leaps she alighted at the feet of the Caliph and began to miaou a tune of the most singular character.
"'By the beard of the Prophet!' said Haroun al Raschid, 'This is passing wonderful! Catch that cat!'
"But Yussef was too quick for that. She turned two somersaults, and miaoued again. The guards and the Caliph followed her in wonder, while she retreated until they came to the cobbler's door. Here she miaoued once more, and leaped into an open window.
"When the Caliph drew near as she had desired hewould do, he looked into the window and saw the beautiful Lelie.
"'Bismillah!' cried he, as he thrust back the guards. 'Blessed be cats for evermore! Here is the maiden I have sought for my daughter.'
"So saying, he turned and gave brief orders to his attendants bidding them be careful and secret; and thus saying moved away quietly through the deserted streets.
"Very early next morning when the cobbler had gone to market Yussef heard a noise, and looking saw the shop full of black slaves who seized Lelie, muffled her in a shawl, and leaving a bag of gold on the counter hurried away swiftly.
"As soon as they left Yussef hastened after them, and when they entered a gilded caique on the Tigris, she also tried to leap into the boat. But to her dismay one of the guards seized her by the tail and threw her thirty feet away into the river.
"Yussef spluttered and spit as she came to the surface, and must surely have been drowned had she been a real cat.
"As it was she lost three out of her nine lives, and unluckily came to land on the premises of a tanner where she was set upon by six dogs who tore her hair out and bit her tail, and altogether so misused her that she came to look more like a bit of ill-used foot-rug than a respectable Maltese cat.
"At last, with her heart full of rage and her stomach full of water, she reached home to find the poor cobbler in the utmost grief for the loss of his daughter.
"By and by he resigned himself to his fate, and seeing well that no common person had stolen the maiden, he smoked the more abundantly, and like a true believer took comfort in that verse of the Koran which says, 'All things that are are well; but some, saith the Prophet, are disagreeable.'
"Meanwhile poor Mustapha became nearly crazed with grief. He roamed the streets all day, and at evening returned to the cobbler's in the vain hope of hearing some news of Lelie.
"On one of these occasions he was so unlucky as to stumble over Yussef who gave him a fierce scratch, and fled from his wrath to devise new plans of mischief, for although Lelie was gone, she was lost to herself as well as to Mustapha, and the cat never had ceased to hate him as the cause of all her troubles.
"Yussef therefore resolved to rid herself of his presence, and she set about it after her own wicked fashion.
"Some two or three nights later Mustapha was wandering sadly in the gardens of the Caliph when he heard a voice from the trees above him saying,
"'Come to-night to the tomb of the Caliphs, under the cedars, on the road to Damascus, and thou shalt hear news of thy love.'
"The voice sounded like that of Lelie, and the soldier in vain sought about him on every side for its source. At length the words were repeated and he made up his mind to obey them.
"It was near midnight when Mustapha found himself at the appointed spot. All Bagdad lay behind him still and slumbering. Here and there a long arrow of light darted from some tall minaret, while the full moon-light pouring down on the Mosque of El Rahab lit up its golden dome like a mound of fire.
"Before him the quiet groves of fig and olive, pomegranates and mourning cypresses stretched away for miles, bounded in the far distance by the curves of the Tigris, whose broad bendings flashed in the light like gigantic scimetars.
"As Mustapha approached the Caliph's tomb he came to an open space girt in by dense thickets. Pushing these aside he stepped cautiously forward, for he heard a sound of music and voices.
"Presently a fire flashed up on the open ground among the ruined tombs, and the soldier shook with fear as he looked on what its light revealed.
"Seated about the slope which led downwards on every side to a broken tomb were gigantic figures in white robes that floated about them like mist, so that only sometimes he could see their solemn faces.
"From the tomb came slowly a long procession ofGhouls and Vampires and Afrites of hideous shapes, such as men see in dreams, while all the air and the ground seemed to be alive with a myriad of little winged forms who hovered about like butterflies.
"At last there was silence, when Yussef suddenly appeared before the tallest of the Genii, and miaoued frightfully.
"Then the Genie said in a mild great voice, 'What would you of your brethren?'
"'The man,' said Yussef, 'who has mocked my fallen estate and stolen my love from me is here awaiting judgment.'
"When Mustapha heard these words he was ready to die with fear, but his limbs refused to bear him away and he was forced to support himself by grasping a tree.
"'Oh King,' cried Yussef, 'Let him be brought to thee.'
"'Be it so!' said the Genie.
"At this two fearful-looking Afrites leaped into the air, and with one swoop of their clawed wings alighted beside Mustapha. Then they seized him and thrust him into the circle before the cloudy form of the King of the Genii who thus addressed him.
"'It is not given us to slay, but that thou shalt no more trouble us we order thee to become a gourd, and as we may not sentence any to an endless fate it shall be thatwhen it pleaseth Allah to turn thee inside out thou shalt then only assume again the form of man.'
"'It is well,' cried Yussef. 'Thanks, oh King!'
"At these words Mustapha fainted. When he recovered he found himself hanging on a vine near by, and presently discovered that he was a huge green gourd.
"After this many days fled away, and Mustapha the gourd grew bigger and bigger, and at last began to ripen and turn yellow.
"Every night as he hung on the vine he saw the strange midnight meetings of the Genii and Ghouls and Afrites. All the wonderful things he heard and saw no one will ever know, for he saw their wild feasts and dances, and heard music such as before no mortal ears had ever listened to.
"At length one warm summer morning two farmers came by on the way to market.
"'Bismillah!' cried one, as he saw the great gourd Mustapha. 'What a monstrous gourd!'
"'Let us take it with us and sell it,' said the second.
"Thus saying he took a knife from his girdle and cut the stem by which Mustapha hung. This caused him so much pain that he cried aloud,
"'What's that?' said the farmer. 'The gourd speaks! It is alive!'
"Upon this he pricked the gourd with his knife. At this Mustapha exclaimed, 'Don't!'
"'Mahomet!' said the farmer. 'The thing is enchanted. It will fetch us a fortune.'
"Shortly afterwards they carried the gourd to the market. Here they made a goodly fortune by running pins into Mustapha that he might cry out for the amusement of the by-standers.
"Before long all Bagdad flocked to see and hear this wonderful gourd, and at last an officer of the Caliph's household arrived, payed a great sum for the gourd, and putting it in a basket, carried it away to the Palace.
"By and by Mustapha found himself in a superb room of the Palace, where, surrounded by her ladies, the Princess lay upon a couch.
"Suddenly Mustapha the gourd as he lay in his basket heard the voice of his beloved Lelie who was fanning the Princess.
"This so moved poor Mustapha that he cried aloud,
"'Allah! I hear my love!' and so saying rolled from the basket and fell at Lelie's feet.
"'Mahomet!' cried the Princess. 'The thing is bewitched! take it away!'
"But as for Lelie the words were as sweet music to her, and seizing the gourd she placed it tenderly in the basket and carried it to her room. Here she implored it with tears to speak again, but in vain; so that at last she was forced to leave it and return to the Princess.
"Soon after she had gone Mustapha was aware of arose-colored cloud in the room, out of which grew into shape the form of a huge Genie which thus addressed him.
"'Know, frail mortal, that I am your guardian spirit. I have heard with pity of your sad fate and am come to give you a chance for life again. Perhaps what I shall do for you may render your position better. Unluckily I cannot give to you once more your mortal shape.'
"With these words the figure inclined towards him gravely and touched his yellow cheek. He shuddered and lost consciousness.
"What next was his amazement to find himself standing in the shop of Harim, the merchant. Presently he began to look at himself with curious care. He had a gold head like that of a bird, with ruby eyes. His neck was of satin wood, long and slim, while his clothes which were stiffened with whalebone and wire, resembled petticoats upside down.
"'Allah il Allah!' cried he, 'What an existence!'
"Just then a Dervish looking at him asked the merchant, 'What is that?'
"'It is,' answered he, 'a Frankish device which the men in Frangistan carry to keep off the rain. Their women are only allowed to carry smaller ones, so they make up for that by bearing them about in fair as well as wet weather.'
"'A device of Eblis!' exclaimed the Dervish, and muttering a verse of the Koran, walked gravely away.
"By and by came the grand Purveyor of the Caliph. He was seeking new and curious things for the Princess, who was ill and refused to eat so that day after day she became more feeble.
"'Ah!' said the Purveyor, 'This is a Frank tent. I saw them when I was Envoy to the court of Charlemagne.'
"At this Mustapha blushed, for the officer seized him and began to expand his skirts so that his leg, for he had but one, was alarmingly exposed.
"Very soon the Purveyor, having paid a good price, took Mustapha away to the Palace where he explained the uses of this portable tent.
"'This,' said he, 'Is what the Franks, whom Allah confound! call an umbrella, and the female of the thing they term a parasol.'
"'I shall need it not,' said the Princess Ellera. 'No sun will shine on me any more. On me no rain will fall. I shall die if I find nothing that I can eat.'
"'Take it Lelie,' she cried, 'As thou hast lost thy gourd, take it.'
"Upon this Lelie took Mustapha away and placed him in a quiet corner of her room.
"Meanwhile some days went by, and all the cooks tried in vain to please the sick Princess. All day longan army of slaves went past her bed, each bearing some rare dish or some luscious fruit, but still alas! in vain; so that at length the doctors decided that if she did not eat within a day she would surely die.
"Lelie, who was in great distress, left the Princess and went to her own room to weep alone. At last she arose to go out into the garden, thinking that perhaps the Princess might be tempted by a rose-leaf salad.
"As she walked past Mustapha he cried aloud, 'Take me.'
"'This is queer,' said she, but when the words were repeated she clutched the Frankish toy and ran out into the garden. Here she wandered long, but as evening fell she suddenly saw that a storm had gathered.
"Before she could reach the Palace, a wild gust of wind caught in Mustapha's skirts and nearly tore him from her hand. As she struggled the wind expanded his petticoats, and at last crack went the wires, and then what do you think?
"Mustapha was turned inside out, and the umbrella was a man once more.
"In a moment he explained everything, but after he had kissed her twice she began to sob, for now she knew that he had escaped one evil fate only to light upon another as fearful.
"'Ah!' she cried, 'a man! You, a soldier, in the gardens of the Palace! You will be put to death at once.'
"'No!' he answered, after thinking a little. 'Not if I can save the Princess. Let us go to the Caliph and confess all. Meanwhile have no fears.'
"Lelie at last gave her consent, and with trembling steps she left him, and seeking the Princess related their strange story.
"In a moment all was confusion. A man in the harem!
"'Bowstrings and sacks!' cried the captain of the guard, as he hurried Mustapha before the Caliph.
"'Wretch!' said Al Raschid the Caliph, 'Who art thou?'
"'A soldier,' said Mustapha.
"'Let him die!' cried Al Raschid.
"'Oh Caliph,' answered Mustapha, 'In the land of the Genii it was given me once to learn secrets of the vile Franks, wherewith it may be that I can save thy daughter the Princess.'
"'Thou dost lie like unto a rusty weathercock,' said the Caliph, 'But that none may say I am unjust, take this man to the kitchen. Let him do his best, and if he fail have him strangled instantly.'
"'It is well said,' replied Mustapha.
"Very soon he was left alone in the great kitchen of the Palace, while all the strange things he had seen at the feasts of the Genii came back to his mind.
"Presently he sought about him among the stores ofprovisions, and took from a basket those striped apples which grow by the brooks of Alkeldrina.
"These he pared deftly and set each within a cup of wheaten dough, such as only the Caliph's farms can furnish. Therein he placed also the golden orange-peel and the spices of distant Borneo. Lastly, he sprinkled it within and without with the aromatic sugar of Turkan, and hanging each apple thus prepared in a silken net carefully cooked them.
"When they were ready he placed them upon golden dishes, and threw over each a hail of snowy sugar and fragrant cinnamon, covering all with a handful of almond blossoms.
"Then he called the guard, and with scimetars crossed over his head he was allowed to carry his dish to the Princess. As she looked languidly upon it he shook off the blossoms.
"'Then,' said the Princess, 'These be the roses of Paradise which I do smell.'
"At these words he knelt down and offered the dish to the lady. Wonderful to tell the Princess called for a silver fork and ate up the whole of the apples so greedily that she scalded her throat in the most dreadful way.
"But between every mouthful she blessed poor Mustapha as the king of cooks, and from that instant she recovered so quickly as to disgust all the doctors, who said Mustapha was a quack, and went away.
"Of course he married Lelie, and had a patent for making this wonderful dish, and was created Lord Marquis of Apple-butter and Duke of Dumplings, and lived merrily all his days."
"That's a good story," cried the spiders.
"Glad you like it," said Fuz-Buz. "Now if you please I will sleep, as I am tired."
In this pleasant way the days went by until Fuz-buz had told them nine hundred and ninety-nine stories.
On this last evening he overheard the spiders talking as he lay tied by the leg in a deep dark crack of the apple tree where he slept.
"My children," said the old spider, "After Fuz-Buz has told us one more story we will eat him. It will be best to wait until after dark, and then seize him on a sudden and kill him; for he is a very strong fly, and may give me trouble."
They all agreed to this excepting the youngest, who said it would be a shame to serve him so, and that they ought to let him go.
But Mrs. Grabem replied, "You know nothing of house-keeping my dear. Go to sleep and hold your tongue."
When Fuz-Buz overheard all this he was scared to death. All next day he was so sick that he could not even tell the shortest story.
At night-fall when the family had gone to their den, he sat on the tree near his cosy little crack and tried to gnaw the web which held him.
Unluckily it was too tough. When he was in despair who should hum by but a huge Bee.
"Halloa!" said he, "What's wrong with you?"
"Sir!" replied Fuz-Buz, "I am tied by the leg to this web, and am to be eaten to-night by a cruel monster of a spider who lives near, and who will overhear you if you do not speak in a low voice."
"Who's afraid?" said the Bee. "Which leg is it?"
"This," answered Fuz-Buz.
"Pshaw!" cried the Bee, and with that he twisted the web about his legs and gave a jump. Snap went the line and Fuz-buz was free once more. Never a fly was so glad as he.
"Sir!" he said, "I am only sorry that you have not had the honour to slay this vile spider. Now if you were to slip into this crack where I sleep, you would have a fine chance, because when Mrs. Grabem comes to eat me you could give her a pleasing surprise."
"That's a rather jolly notion," answered the Bee. So he went down on the ground, and after sharpening his sting on a smooth pebble, thrust himself deep into the crack where Fuz-Buz was wont to sleep.
But as for Fuz-Buz the fly, he sat on a limb above and looked on. After a little, when it was dark or nearly so,out came Mrs. Grabem slowly, and crawling over her web went down into the crack to murder poor innocent Fuz-Buz. Presently she cried aloud,
"Oh! I'm dead!" which was true in a moment, for Sir Bee had run his long sword straight through her, and she had tumbled off the tree as dead as could be.
At the sound of her voice all the young spiders ran out, and in a moment they saw Sir Bee with his quick sword. In a twinkling he stabbed them one after another, until he came to the youngest. Then Fuz-Buz said,
"Halloa! my friend, let this one go, for he was the only one who did not desire to kill me."
"Sir!" cried the youngest spider, "I do not wish to live after you have killed my mother and all my brothers and sisters. Take that, sir!"
So saying he dealt the Bee such a crack that he was forced to stab him like the rest, and there at last was the end of all of them.
As for Fuz-Buz, he said "Well, it's one spider less, and so many flies more. Spiders are of no use and flies are."
Meanwhile Sir Bee wiped his sword and took up his bag of honey, feeling that he had done a clever day's work, while Fuz-Buz flew away to Spain, and never could be brought to tell anybody a story long or short up to the end of his happy life.