Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-05-28
A DOLEFUL DILEMMA .
The fearful Tale of the Per-
picked Princess.
HER UNSoLvABLE PROBLEM.
A Most Puzzline and LamentabIe Sit
uation That Fortunately For the
Peace of Mind of Wonankind Is Not
at All Liable to Recur.

uatton That Fortunately For the
Peace of Mind of Wonankind Is Not
at All Liable to Recur.
Row, when it was the thousand and
dhird night, said Dunyazad to her sis
ter, Shahrazad, "Allah upon me, o my
sister, recite TO us some new story, de-
Hghtsome and delectable, wherewith to
while away the waking hours of our
latter night"
with Joy and goodly WILL" answer
ed Shahrazad, "if this pious and auspi-
cious king permit"
Tell on" quoth the king who had
freely pnrtaken' of the dish termed by
the Franks "the rabbit of Wales" and
was sleepless and restless. So Shahra-
zad, rejoiced with the prospect of talk
ing, thus began on the thousand and
third night ''The Tale of the Perplexed
Princess"
Afar in the realm of Guricund, which
lies within the land of Hindustan, once
reigned a mighty king who had one
daughter of such exceeding beauty
that all who beheld her became poets
and warriors, which was we'll for the
national fame but i'll for the royal
treasury.
Now, the loveliness of the princess
being such, it may seem strange that
she had attained her eighteenth year
unmarried, yet so it befell, for in his
hesitancy because of the great multi
tude of eligible suitors the king. who,
though otherwise respectable, was a
vilely devout heather, made q VOW
that he would give his daughter in
marriage only to that man who should
receive the Endorsement of his idol, an
image of exceeding ugliness housed in
q golden temple adjacent to the palace
So it was that many princes from
many lands came to bow before the
idol, Offering splendid sacrifices and
rich gifts of treasure for the desired
sign of favor, yet ever the idol re-
mained silent.
At length there came from the is
land of Lanka a prince of great power
and so deeply smitten was he with love
for the princess that he bowed before
the idol, saying, Great lord, grant
but that the princess may become my
bride, and then shall l without delay
return to thee and cut off my own
head as a thank offering!"
And the next day when the king and
all his court came to worship in the
golden temple the evil spirit that was
within the idol caused the hand of the
image to stretch forth and point to the
prince and caused the stone lips to
open and say to the king, Behold thy
son-in-laww
Forthwith was the wedding of the
prince and princess celebrated with
great pomp tu the palace, and straight
way thereafter, in fulfllmeut of his
vow, the prince FASTENED to the tenn
pie, bowed before the idol and cut off
his own head.
Then entered the priest of the tenn
pie and in his grief, horror and fear
for what had CHANGED and for what
might well come to him in conse-
quence likewise cut off his head.
Then entered the princess, seeking
her husband. and, seeing but the two
headless bodies, raised the princes
sword and was about to sever her own
lovely head when the idol spoke again,
saying: Hold! Take the heads and
set them upon the mems shoulders
And the princess did even so. And
the heads grew fast TO the bodies, and
the bodies rose upon their feet.
But now it appeared that in her
haste and tumult of mind the princess
had set the priests head upon the
shoulders of the prince and the
princes head upon the shoulders Of
the priest, SO that in a way each was
the other, vet neither was either, and
each claimed her as his bride. and
each head, being a wise head. spake
many shrewd arguments one way and
the other, yet could neither prevail.
And so was the princess sore perplex-
ed, and, in truth, never have l learned
how logically to conclude the tale.
I'm sooth," said the king, might she
not have obtained a divorcef"
Nay, sire" replied Shahrazad, for
from whom? And which must she
then have married in accordance with
the word of the idol"
Then" proposed the king. "why
might they not have matched dinars to
decide which should have herr"
"Ah, my lord" said Shahrazad. shak-
Ing her head. that would have been in
accord with the easy, unscientifc
method of the far west. which would
still have left the problem unsolved."
Surely, then" urged the king, hoy
might have fought for her"
"And would that have determined
The truthF' responded Shahrazad. "and
would not the victor have been either
or both a murderer and a suicide?
Alas. my lord, the insoluble perplexity
IF this fair princess hath caused me
much sorrow and glad am | only that
;ueh sad dilemmas DO not often occur"
New York Times.
His Crime.