` Shut your eyes then , ' replied the stone . And he shut them ; and when he opened them again the camel that he had wished for was standing before him , while the festal robes of a desert prince hung from his shoulders . Mounting the camel , he whistled the falcon to his wrist , and , followed by his greyhound and his cat , he started homewards . His mother was sewing at her door when this magnificent stranger rode up , and , filled with surprise , she bowed low before him . ` Do n't you know me , mother ? ' he said with a laugh . And on hearing his voice the good woman nearly fell to the ground with astonishment . ` How have you got that camel and those clothes ? ' asked she . ` Can a son of mine have committed murder in order to possess them ? ' ` Do not be afraid ; they are quite honestly come by , ' answered the youth . ' I will explain all by-and-by ; but now you must go to the palace and tell the king I wish to marry his daughter . ' At these words the mother thought her son had certainly gone mad , and stared blankly at him . The young man guessed what was in her heart , and replied with a smile : ` Fear nothing . Promise all that he asks ; it will be fulfilled somehow . ' So she went to the palace , where she found the king sitting in the Hall of Justice listening to the petitions of his people . The woman waited until all had been heard and the hall was empty , and then went up and knelt before the throne . ` My son has sent me to ask for the hand of the princess , ' said she . The king looked at her and thought that she was mad ; but , instead of ordering his guards to turn her out , he answered gravely : ` Before he can marry the princess he must build me a palace of ice , which can be warmed with fires , and wherein the rarest singing-birds can live ! ' ` It shall be done , your Majesty , ' said she , and got up and left the hall .
Her son was anxiously awaiting her outside the palace gates , dressed in the clothes XXXXX he wore every day .
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