Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-03-12
A DOLEFUL DILEMMA
The fearful Tale of the Per.
picked Princess.
HER UNS0LVABLE PROBLEM.
A Most Puzziine and LamentabIe Sit
uation That Fortunately For the
Peace of Mind of Womankind Is Not
at All Liable to Recur,


ut All Liable to Recur.
Now, when it was the thousand and
third night, said Dunyazad to her sis
ter, Shahrazad, Allah upon me. 0 my
sister, recite to us some new story, de-
lightsome 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 suspi
cious king permit"
Tell on" quoth the king, who had
freely partaken of the dish termed by
the Franks 1.-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"
Affair in the realm of Guricund, which
lies within the land of Hindustan, once
reigned mighty king who had one
daughter of such exceeding beauty
that all who beheld her became poets
anu WHICH WAS wen LOT luS
national fame, but ill for the royal
treasury.
Now, the loneliness 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,
+hn1 otl IL
Wiley devout heather, made a 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
golden temple adjacent to the palace
So 1t 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
manned silent.
At length there came from the is.
land of Lanka 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
bride, and then shall / without delay
return to thee and cut off my own
head as a thank offeringr
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
r1r-inan and nauSnH tho Ctnnn Inns fn
open and say to the king, Behold thy
son-in-law!'
Forthwith was the wedding OF the
prince and princess celebrated with
great pomp in the palace, and straight
way thereafter, in fulfillment 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
| lovely head when the idol spoke again,
saying: Hold! Take the heads and
set them upon the mems shouldersp
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
LoI cn+ tha oriacf,C hna1 tho
shoulders of the prince and the
princes head upon the shoulders Of
| the priest, so that in a way each was
| the other, yet 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.
ed, and, in truth, never have l learned
how logically to conclude the tale.
"In sooth," said the king, might she
not have obtained a divorceF"
| "Nay, sire" replied Shahrazad, "fo'
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 herY
"Ah, my lord" said Shahrazad, shak-
| ing her head, that would have been in
| accord with the easy, unscientif1c
method of the far west, which would
still have left the problem unsolved."
"Surely, then" urged the king, "they
| might have fought for her."
| "And would that have determined
| the TRUTH" responded ShahraZad. "and
| would not the victor have been either
| or both a murderer and suicide
| Alas, my lord, the inscluble perplexity
| of this fair princess hath caused me
much sorrow, and glad am 1 only that
| such sad di,emmaS do not often occur.