Now one night this worst of scoundrels did what I ought not to repeat, but I will tell it, or my story would be spoiled.Listen, O Prince.While Pearl lay asleep trusting him, that wretch killed her in the night, stole all her jewels, and escaped to his own country.This shows how bad and ungrateful men are.
When the thrush had told her story, the prince smiled and said to the parrot: "It is your turn now."Then the parrot said: "Your Majesty, women are cruel and reckless and bad.To prove it, I will tell you a story.Listen."There is a city called Joyful, where lived a prince of merchants named Virtue, who owned millions of money.He had a daughter named Fortune, peerless in beauty, dearer to him than life.And she was given in marriage to a merchant's son from Copper City, whose name was Ocean.He was her equal in wealth, beauty, and family; a delight to the eyes of men.
One day when her husband was away from home, she saw from the window a handsome young man.And the moment she saw him, the fickle girl went mad with love, and secretly sent a messenger to invite him in, and made love to him in secret.Thus her heart was fixed on him alone, and she was happy with him.
But at last her husband came home and delighted the hearts of his parents-in-law.And when the day had been spent in feasting, Fortune was adorned by her mother, and sent to her husband's room.But she was cold toward him and pretended to sleep.And her husband went to sleep, too, for he was weary with his journey, and had been drinking wine.
When everyone in the house had gone to sleep after their dinner, athief made a hole in the wall and came into that very room.And just then the merchant's daughter got up without seeing him, and went out secretly to a meeting with her lover.And the thief was disappointed, and thought: "She has gone out into the night wearing the very jewels that I came to steal.I must see where she goes." So the thief went out and followed her.
But she met a woman friend who had flowers in her hand, and went to a park not very far away.And there she saw the man whom she came to meet hanging on a tree.For the policeman had thought he was a thief, had put a rope around his neck and hanged him.
And at the sight she went distracted, and lamented pitifully: "Oh, oh! I am undone," and fell on the ground and wept.Then she took her lover down from the tree and made him sit up, though he was dead, and adorned him with perfumes and jewels and flowers.
But when in her love-madness she lifted his face and kissed him, a goblin who had come to live in her dead lover, bit off her nose.And she was startled and ran in pain from the spot.But then she came back to see if perhaps he was alive after all.But the goblin had gone, and she saw that he was motionless and dead.So she slowly went back home, frightened and disgraced and weeping.
And the concealed thief saw it all and thought: "What has the wicked woman done? Alas! Can women be so dreadful as this? What might she not do next?" So out of curiosity the thief still followed her from afar.
And the wretched woman entered the house and cried aloud, and said: "Save me from my cruel enemy, my own husband.He cut off my nose and I had done nothing." And her servants heard her cries and all arose in excitement.Her husband too awoke.Then her father came and saw that her nose was cut off, and in his anger he had his son-in-law arrested.
And the poor man did not know what to do.Even when he was being bound, he remained silent and said nothing.Then they all woke up and heard the story, but the thief who knew the whole truth, ran away.And when day came, the merchant's son was haled before the king by his father-in-law.And Fortune went there without her nose, and the king heard the whole story and condemned the merchant's son to death for mistreating his wife.
So the innocent, bewildered man was led to the place of execution and the drums were beaten.Just then the thief came up and said to the king's men: "Why do you kill this man without any good reason? I know how the whole thing happened.Take me to the king, and I will tell all."So all the king's men took him to the king.And the thief told the king all the adventures of the night, and said: "Your Majesty, if you cannot trust my word, you may find the nose at this moment between the teeth of the dead body."Then the king sent men to investigate, and when he found it was true, he released the merchant's son from the punishment of death.As for wretched Fortune, he cut off her ears, too, and banished her from the country.And he took from her father, the merchant, all his money, and made the thief the chief of police.He was pleased with him.
O Prince, this shows how cruel and false women are by nature.
As he spoke these words, the parrot changed into a god, for the curse was fulfilled, and went to heaven like a god.And the thrush suddenly became a goddess, for her curse was at an end, and flew up likewise to heaven.So their dispute was never settled at that court.
When the goblin had told this story, he asked the king: "O King, tell me.Are men bad, or women? If you know and do not tell, your head will fly to pieces." And when the king heard these words of the goblin on his shoulder, he said to that magic goblin: "O goblin! Here and there, now and then, there is an occasional bad man like that.But women are usually bad.We hear about many of them."Then the goblin disappeared from the king's shoulder as before.And the king tried again to catch him.
