I wandered about for a whole month without knowing where I was going,
till at length I found myself on the outskirts of a beautiful city,
watered by winding streams, which enjoyed an eternal spring.
My delight at the prospect of mixing once more with human beings was
somewhat damped at the thought of the miserable object I must seem.
My face and hands had been burned nearly black; my clothes were all
in rags, and my shoes were in such a state that I had been forced to
abandon them altogether.

I entered the town, and stopped at a tailor's shop to inquire
where I was. The man saw I was better than my condition,
and begged me to sit down, and in return I told him my whole story.
The tailor listened with attention, but his reply, instead of giving
me consolation, only increased my trouble.

"Beware," he said, "of telling any one what you have told me,
for the prince who governs the kingdom is your father's greatest enemy,
and he will be rejoiced to find you in his power."

I thanked the tailor for his counsel, and said I would do whatever
he advised; then, being very hungry, I gladly ate of the food he
put before me, and accepted his offer of a lodging in his house.

In a few days I had quite recovered from the hardships I had undergone,
and then the tailor, knowing that it was the custom for the princes
of our religion to learn a trade or profession so as to provide for
themselves in times of ill-fortune, inquired if there was anything
I could do for my living. I replied that I had been educated
as a grammarian and a poet, but that my great gift was writing.