A moment afterwards she heard faintly the roll of the drums that announced the king 's presence , and saw a crowd of people approaching the grove of palms . Her heart beat fast . Could her husband be among them ? In any case they must not discover her there ; so just bidding the ring prepare some food for them , she ran inside , and bound a veil of golden gauze round her head and face . Then , taking the child 's hand , she went to the door and waited . In a few minutes the whole procession came up , and she stepped forward and begged them to come in and rest . ` Willingly , ' answered the king ; ` go first , and we will follow you . ' They followed her into a long dark room , in which was a table covered with gold cups and baskets filled with dates and cocoa-nuts and all kinds of ripe yellow fruits , and the king and the prince sat upon cushions and were served by slaves , while the ministers , among whom she recognised her own brother , stood behind . ` Ah , I owe all my misery to him , ' she said to herself . ` From the first he has hated me , ' but outwardly she showed nothing . And when the king asked her what news there was in the town she only answered : ` You have ridden far ; eat first , and drink , for you must be hungry and thirsty , and then I will tell you my news . ' ` You speak sense , ' answered the king , and silence prevailed for some time longer . Then he said : ` Now , lady , I have finished , and am refreshed , therefore tell me , I pray you , who you are , and whence you come ? But , first , be seated . ' She bowed her head and sat down on a big scarlet cushion , drawing her little boy , who was asleep in a corner , on to her knee , and began to tell the story of her life . As her brother listened , he would fain have left the house and hidden himself in the forest , but it was his duty to wave the fan of peacock 's feathers over the king 's head to keep off the flies , and he knew he would be seized by the royal guards if he tried to desert his post . He must stay where he was , there was no help for it , and luckily for him the king was too much interested in the tale to notice that the fan had ceased moving , and that flies were dancing right on the top of his thick curly hair . The story went on , but the story-teller never once looked at the prince , even through her veil , though he on his side never moved his eyes from her . When she reached the part where she had sat weeping in the tree , the king 's son could restrain himself no longer . ` It is my wife , ' he cried , springing to where she sat with the sleeping child in her lap .
` They have lied XXXXX me , and you are not dead after all , nor the boy either !
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