majesty; nothing is more certain than what I have had the honour to
tell you. I can assure your majesty it is the King of Persia, named
Beder, son of the celebrated Gulnare, princess of one of the
largest kingdoms of the sea, nephew of Saleh, king of that kingdom,
and grandson of Queen Farasche, mother of Gulnare and Saleh; and it
was the Princess Giauhara, daughter of the King of Samandal, who
thus metamorphosed him into a bird.' That the king might no longer
doubt of what she affirmed, she told him the whole story, how and
for what reason the Princess Giauhara, had thus revenged herself
for the ill-treatment of King Saleh towards the king of Samandal,
her father.

The king had less difficulty in believing this assertion of the
queen in that he knew her to be a skilful magician, one of the
greatest in the world. And as she knew everything which took place,
he was always by her means timely informed of the designs of the
kings his neighbours against him, and prevented them. His majesty
had compassion on the King of Persia, and earnestly besought his
queen to break the enchantment, that he might return to his own
form.

The queen consented to it with great willingness. 'Sir,' said she
to the king, 'be pleased to take the bird into your room, and I
will show you a king worthy of the consideration you have for him.'
The bird, which had ceased eating, and attended to what the king
and queen said, would not give his majesty the trouble to take him,
but hopped into the room before him; and the queen came in soon
after, with a vessel full of water in her hand. She pronounced over
the vessel some words unknown to the king, till the water began to
boil, when she took some of it in her hand, and, sprinkling a