The sky is blue like the inside of a cup of lapis lazuli. The hills
are of red sand. Here and there on the hills there are clumps of
thorns.

FIRST MAN. Who is she? She makes me afraid. She has a purple
cloak and her hair is like threads of gold. I think she must be the
daughter of the Emperor. I have heard the boatmen say that the
Emperor has a daughter who wears a cloak of purple.

SECOND MAN. She has birds' wings upon her sandals, and her tunic is
of the colour of green corn. It is like corn in spring when she
stands still. It is like young corn troubled by the shadows of
hawks when she moves. The pearls on her tunic are like many moons.

FIRST MAN. They are like the moons one sees in the water when the
wind blows from the hills.

SECOND MAN. I think she is one of the gods. I think she comes from
Nubia.

FIRST MAN. I am sure she is the daughter of the Emperor. Her nails
are stained with henna. They are like the petals of a rose. She
has come here to weep for Adonis.

SECOND MAN. She is one of the gods. I do not know why she has left
her temple. The gods should not leave their temples. If she speaks
to us let us not answer, and she will pass by.

FIRST MAN. She will not speak to us. She is the daughter of the
Emperor.