to be. He runs no risk, and you will soon see the king his uncle
appear with him again, and bring him back safe. Although he be
born of your blood, he is equally of mine, and will have the same
advantage his uncle and I possess, of living equally in the sea,
and upon the land." The queen his mother and the princesses his
relations affirmed the same thing; yet all they said had no
effect on the king, who could not recover from his alarm till he
again saw prince Beder.

The sea at length became troubled, when immediately King Saleh
arose with the young prince in his arms, and holding him up in
the air, reentered at the window from which he had leaped. The
king of Persia being overjoyed to see Prince Beder again, and
astonished that he was as calm as before he lost sight of him;
King Saleh said, "Sir, was not your majesty in alarm, when you
first saw me plunge into the sea with the prince my nephew?"
"Alas prince," answered the king of Persia, "I cannot express my
concern. I thought him lost from that very moment, and you now
restore life to me by bringing him again." "I thought as much,"
replied King Saleh, "though you had not the least reason to
apprehend danger; for before I plunged into the sea, I pronounced
over him certain mysterious words, which were engraved on the
seal of the great Solomon the son of David. We practise the like
in relation to all those children that are born in the regions at
the bottom of the sea, by virtue whereof they receive the same
privileges as we have over those people who inhabit the earth.
From what your majesty has observed, you may easily see what
advantage your son Prince Beder has acquired by his birth on the
part of his mother Gulnare my sister: for as long as he lives,
and as often as he pleases, he will be at liberty to plunge into