e, and yet there was no lock, nor bolt, nor
spring, nor anything apparently by which the casket was kept shut.
When he was tired of trying he handed the casket to the princess, who
hardly touched it before it opened quite easily, and there lay within
a beautiful fan. With a cry of surprise and pleasure Imani took out
the fan, and began to fan herself.

Hardly had she finished three strokes of the fan before there suddenly
appeared from nowhere in particular, king Subbar Khan of Dur! The
princess gasped and rubbed her eyes, and the old fakir sat and gazed
in such astonishment that for some minutes he could not speak. At
length he said:

'Who may you be, fair sir, if you please?'

'My name,' said the king, 'is Subbar Khan of Dur. This lady,' bowing
to the princess, 'has summoned me, and here I am!'

'I?'--stammered the princess--'I have summoned you? I never saw or
heard of you in my life before, so how could that be?'

Then the king told them how he had heard of a man in his own city of
Dur trying to buy patience, and how he had given him the fan in the
casket.

'Both are magical,' he added; 'when anyone uses the fan, in three
strokes of it I am with them; if they fold it and tap it on the table,
in three taps I am at home again. The casket will not open to all, but
you see it was this fair lady who asked for patience, and, as that is
my name, here I am, very much at her service.'

Now the princess Imani, being of a high spirit, was anxious to fold up
the fan, and give the three taps which would send the king home again;
but the old fakir was very pleased with his guest, and so in one way
and another they spent quite a pleasant evening together before Subbar
Khan took his leave.

After that he was often summoned; and as both the fakir and he were
very fond of chess and were good players, they used to sit up half the
night playing, and at last a little room in the house began to be
called the king's room, and whenever he stayed late he used to sleep
there and go home again in the morning.

By-and-by it came to the ears of the princess Kupti that there was a
rich and handsome young man visiting at her sister's house, and she
was very jealous. So she went one day to pay Imani a visit, and
pretended to be very affectionate, and interested in the house, and in
the way in which Imani and the old fakir lived, and of their
mysterious and royal visitor. As the sisters went from place to place,
Kupti was shown Subbar K