Page 303 - Bulbul Hezar

them do the best they can; but, above all things, let them
prepare a dish of cucumbers stuffed full of pearls, which must

be set before the sultan in the first course, before all other
meats.
Cucumbers stuffed full of pearls! cried Princess Parizade, with
amazement; surely, bird, you do not know what you say; it is an
unheard-of dish: The sultan may admire it for a piece of
magnificence, but he will want something to eat, and not to
admire pearls; but moreover, where shall I get pearls enough

for such a dish?
Mistress, said the bird, do what I bid you, and do not be uneasy
at what shall happen. As to the pearls, go early to-morrow
morning to the foot of the first tree on your right hand in the
park, and dig under it, and you will find what you want.
That night the princess ordered a gardener to be ready to wait
on her, and the next morning early took him with her, and
carried him to the tree the bird told her of, and bid him dig
about a foot deep. When the gardener came to the depth, he

found some resistance with the spade, and presently discovered
a gold box, about a foot square, which he shewed the princess.
This, said she, is what I brought thee for; take care not to hurt it
with thy spade.

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