han's room; and presently, making some excuse,
she slipped in there by herself and swiftly spread under the sheet
which lay upon the bed a quantity of very finely powdered and
splintered glass which was poisoned, and which she had brought with
her concealed in her clothes. Shortly afterwards she took leave of her
sister, declaring that she could never forgive herself for not having
come near her all this time, and that she would now begin to make
amends for her neglect.

That very evening Subbar Khan came and sat up late with the old fakir
playing chess as usual. Very tired, he at length bade him and the
princess good-night and, as soon as he lay down on the bed, thousands
of tiny, tiny splinters of poisoned glass ran into him. He could not
think what was the matter, and started this way and that until he was
pricked all over, and he felt as though he were burning from head to
foot. But he never said a word, only he sat up all night in agony of
body and in worse agony of mind to think that he should have been
poisoned, as he guessed he was, in Imani's own house. In the morning,
although he was nearly fainting, he still said nothing, and by means
of the magic fan was duly transported home again. Then he sent for all
the physicians and doctors in his kingdom, but none could make out
what his illness was; and so he lingered on for weeks and weeks trying
every remedy that anyone could devise, and passing sleepless nights
and days of pain and fever and misery, until at last he was at the
point of death.

Meanwhile the princess Imani and the old fakir were much troubled
because, although they waved the magic fan again and again, no Subbar
Khan appeared, and they feared that he had tired of them, or that some
evil fate had overtaken him. At last the princess was in such a
miserable state of doubt and uncertainty that she determined to go
herself to the kingdom of Dur and see what was the matter. Disguising
herself in man's clothes as a young fakir, she set out upon her
journey alone and on foot, as a fakir should travel. One evening she
found herself in a forest, and lay down under a great tree to pass the
night. But she could not sleep for thinking of Subbar Khan, and
wondering what had happened to him. Presently she heard two great
monkeys talking to one another in the tree above her head.

'Good evening, brother,' said one, 'whence come you--and what is the
news?'

[Illustration: IMANI LISTENS TO WHAT THE MONKEYS SAY