Then he went up to her and kissed the earth before her，whereupon she raised her eyes to him and finding him exceeding foul of face and favoursaid'Who art thou？'O my lady，'answered he'I am sent by the princewho hath bidden me bring thee to another gardennearer the city；for that my lady the queen cannot go so far a journey and is unwillingof her joy in theethat another should forestall her with thee.'Where is the prince？'asked she；and the Persian replied'He is in the citywith his fatherand will presently come for thee in great state.'O fellow，'said she'could he find none to send to me but thee？'At this he laughed and answered'O my lady，let not the ugliness of my face and the foulness of my favour deceive thee. Hadst thou profited of me as hath the prince，thou wouldst praise my affair. Indeedhe chose me as his messenger to theebecause of my uncomeliness and forbidding aspectin his jealousy and love of thee： else hath he slaves and pages and servantswhite and blackout of numbereach goodlier than the other.'When she heard thisit commended itself to her reason and she believed him；so she rose and putting her hand in hissaid'O my fatherwhat hast thou brought me to ride？'O my lady，'answered he'thou shalt ride the horse thou camest on.'Quoth she'I cannot ride it by myself.'Whereupon he smiled and knew that she was in his power and said'I myself will ride with thee.'So he mounted and taking her up behind himbound her fast to himselffor she knew not what he would with her. Then he turned the peg of ascentwhereupon the belly of the horse became full of wind and it swayed to and fro and rose with them into the air nor slackened in its flighttill it was out of sight of the city.
When the princess saw thisshe said to him'O fellowwhat didst thou tell me of the princethat he sent thee to me？'
'Foul befall the prince！'answered the Persian. 'He is a scurril knave.'And she said'Out on thee！ How darest thou disobey thy lord's commandment！'He is no lord of mine，'rejoined the Persian. 'Knowst thou who I am？'I know nothing of thee，'replied the princess'save what thou toldest me.'
Quoth he'What I told thee was a trick of mine against thee and the prince. I am he who made this horse under usand I have long regretted its loss；for the prince made himself master of it. But now I have gotten possession of it and of thee tooand I will rack his hearteven as he hath racked mine；nor shall he ever have the horse again. So take comfort and be of good cheerfor I can be of more service to thee than he.'When she heard thisshe buffeted her face and cried out，saying'Ahwoe is me！ I have neither gotten my beloved nor kept my father and mother！'And she wept sore over what had befallen herwhilst the Persian fared on with herwithout ceasingtill he came to the land of the Greeks and alighted in a verdant meadowabounding in trees and streams.
Now this meadow was near a cityin which was a king of great puissanceand it befell that he went forth that day to hunt and divert himself. As he passed by the meadowhe saw the Persian standing therewith the princess and the horse by his sideand before he was awarethe King's followers fell upon him and carried himthe lady and the horse to their master，who noting the foulness of his favour and the beauty and grace of the princesssaid to the latter'O my ladywhat kin is this old fellow to thee？'The Persian made haste to reply'She is my wife and the daughter of my father's brother.'But she gave him the lie and said'O Kingby AllahI know him not，nor is he my husbandbut hath stolen me away by force and fraud.'Thereupon the King bade beat the Persianand they beat himtill he was well-nigh dead；after which the King commanded to carry him to the city and cast him into prisonand taking the princess and the horse from himset the former in his harem and laid up the latter in his treasurythough he knew not its properties nor the secret of its motion.
Meanwhilethe prince donned a travelling-habit and taking what he needed of moneyset outin very sorry plightin quest of the princessand journeyed from country to country and city to cityenquiring after the ebony horsewhilst all who heard him marvelled at him and deemed his talk extravagant. Thus did he a long while；butfor all his enquiry and researchhe could win at no news of her. At lasthe came to the city of Senaa and there enquired for herbut could get no tidings of her and found her father mourning her loss. So he turned back and made for the land of the Greekspursuing his enquiries as he went，tillas chance would have ithe alighted at a certain khan and saw a company of merchants sitting talking. He sat down near them and heard one say to the others'O my friendsI happened lately upon a wonder of wonders.'What was that？'
asked theyand he answered'I was late in such a city，'naming the city wherein was the princess'and heard its people speak of a strange thing that had lately befallen. It was that their King went out one day a-huntingwith a company of his courtiers and the grandees of his realmand coming to a green meadowespied there a man standingwith a horse of ebonyand a lady sitting hard by. The man was ugly and foul of favour，but the lady was a marvel of beauty and grace and symmetry；and as for the ebony horseit was a wondernever saw eyes aught goodlier than it nor more perfect than its fashion.'And what did the King with them？'asked the others. 'As for the man，'said the merchant'he questioned him of the lady and he pretended that she was his wife and the daughter of his father's brother；but she gave him the lie. So the King took her from him and bade beat him and cast him into prison. As for the horseI know not what became of it.'When the prince heard thishe drew near unto the speaker and questioned him discreetly and courteouslytill he told him the name of the city and of its king；which when he knewhe passed the night，full of joy.
