t.

When the sultan beheld the bald head of his daughter's wooer, he no
longer felt in the mood for joking, and resolved that he must somehow
or other shake himself free of such an unwelcome lover. But as he had
summoned the young man to the palace, he could hardly dismiss him
without a reason, so he hastily said:

'I hear you wish to marry my daughter? Well and good. But the man who
is to be her husband must first collect all the birds in the world,
and bring them into the gardens of the palace; for hitherto no birds
have made their homes in the trees.'

The young man was filled with despair at the sultan's words. How was
he to snare all these birds? and even if he _did_ succeed in catching
them it would take years to carry them to the palace! Still, he was
too proud to let the sultan think that he had given up the princess
without a struggle, so he took a road that led past the palace and
walked on, not noticing whither he went.

In this manner a week slipped by, and at length he found himself
crossing a desert with great rocks scattered here and there. In the
shadow cast by one of these was seated a holy man or dervish, as he
was called, who motioned to the youth to sit beside him.

'Something is troubling you, my son,' said the holy man; 'tell me what
it is, as I may be able to help you.'

'O, my father,' answered the youth, 'I wish to marry the princess of
my country; but the sultan refuses to give her to me unless I can
collect all the birds in the world and bring them into his garden. And
how can I, or any other man, do that?'

'Do not despair,' replied the dervish, 'it is not so difficult as it
sounds. Two days' journey from here, in the path of the setting sun,
there stands a cypress tree, larger than any other cypress that grows
upon the earth. Sit down where the shadow is darkest, close to the
trunk, and keep very still. By-and-by you will hear a mighty rushing
of wings, and all the birds in the world will come and nestle in the
branches. Be careful not to make a sound till everything is quiet
again, and then say "Madschun!" At that the birds will be forced to
remain where they are--not one can move from its perch; and you will
be able to place them all over your head and arms and body, and in
this way you must carry them to the sultan.'

With a glad heart the young man thanked the dervish, and paid such
close heed to his directions that, a few days later, a strange figure
covered with soft feathers