from all parts of the empire."

"So she is," said the woman, "and from her window yonder she espies
them, for they all put up at this inn. Hitherto she has made fun of them
all, and describes their appearance and habits in the most amusing way.
'See this one,' says she, 'with his bachelor cap on and his new official
clothes and awkward gait, looking for all the world like a barn-door
fowl dressed up as a stork; or that one, with his round shoulders,
monkey-face, and crooked legs;' and so she tells them off."

"What does she say of me, I wonder?" said Jasmine, amused.

"Of your Excellency she says that her comparisons fail her, and that she
can only hope that the Fates who guided your jewelled chariot hitherward
will not tantalise her by an empty vision, but will bind your ankles to
hers with the red matrimonial cords."

"How can I hope for such happiness?" said Jasmine, smiling. "But please
to tell your young lady that, being only a guest at this inn, I have
nothing worthy of her acceptance to offer in return for her bounteous
gifts, and that I can only assure her of my boundless gratitude."

With many bows, and with reiterated wishes for Jasmine's happiness and
endless longevity, the woman took her leave.

"Truly this young lady has formed a most perverted attachment," said
Jasmine to herself. "She reminds me of the man in the fairy tale who
fell in love with a shadow, and, so far as I can see, she is not likely
to get any more satisfaction out of it than he did." So saying, she took
up a pencil and scribbled the following lines on a scrap of paper: