The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-02-27

mol seem to sit SO firmly upon his shout
ders as it had before. And. when he dis
covered that the Prince was beginning to
expend his sentiment upon inanImate OBJ
jects such as flowers and trees he was
still more alsrmed-for Ebon valued hi.
dry old head. -
Ahmed had his favorite flowers which
he cherished with tender assiduity. Then
he became tickle and turned his love to
trees, to which he sang songs as tender
as songs could be which had not the
word love in them. There was one tree
especially of graceful form and dropping
foliage, upon which the youth lavished
his devotions, cutting his name into the
haIls hanging garlands upon its branches
and composing poetry to. It, Ebon saw
His spupil upon the very brink fof the for
piaden mountaineering. interest accident
might reveal to him the fatal secret The
sage resolved upon drastic measures.
Since neither algebra nor metaphysics
could effect a cure the sage decided to
withdraw the Prinee dlom the fatal fas
einations of the garden and shut him up
ia tHO iiSncSl tOWtI OI the palace. 1nlS
tower contained most spacious and lux
urious apartments, but was elevated
Fabove the seductive atmosphere of the
garden. From the tower Ahmed had a
prospect stretching for miles and miles
across the delightful land of Andalusia. =
But he fretted at his captivity, and the
sage had to devise some way Of placating
the Imprisonment of Ais, royal prince.
Ebon had exhausted ,all- sorts of agree
able knowledge and did not dare mention
algebra again. Then he bethought him
OF an Srt in which he had been instruct
ed while in Egypt by a Jewish rabbi who
had. received it in lneal transmission
from Solomon the, Wise. II was the Ian.
guage of birds. When he mentioned this
.ssHsr to the PrirIznzd.s eyes spaT.s-
Led with pleasurahle animation, and he
apphed himself with such diligence to
the study of the art that he soon knew
as much about it as his tutor. No longer
was his prison tower a solitude he now
had companions with whom he could con-
verse continually creatures of the air
who came flying and wheeling about his
NJ isoh vi AtdQc lllclf~L homes IN ltS crew
Ices and its battiements
His first acquaintance was a hawk
which made its nest in a corner OF tie
baftlements and from that eyrie swept
forth. far and wide, in search of its prey
1t interested Ahmed to talk with the
hawk, but ne saw at once that they never
so6ld be friends. The 4rfwk was neye
'eEsts and ruffialS ofe-hs .afr. besides Bs..
ing q boastful and swaggering fellow. All
'hascould talk about %as-rabine ana TAAFF-
hiage and his own desperate deeds : a
courage. Then he made the 'acnuafntance
of an owl who sat blinking all day in a
hole in the wall and wandered forth at
night. Ahmed thought he now had dis
covered a companion who would be agree
able-the old bird looked so very wise
that it seemed impossible that convveeffsa-
ton with him should not be improving
But the owl proved to be as much of a
bore as EBon Bonabbon. He talked pom
derously of astrology and the NOON
hirted at dark sciences, and was given
generally to metaphysics.
= There also was "a bat (which hung all
day. in the dark .sornef 81. vault fSnd
went out at twilight in a slipshod style
Ah1Eed found ,thaEthe bat was as bad, or
even worse, a companion than the hawk
or the owl He had no very definite
views on anything, and seemed to delight
In nothing butt denovneing., things of
which he had taken only an imperfect
siew. People like this bat can be met
with every day in. thee human world, as,
inoeed, there. are to be met with, also
ernensike the owl and the hawk. Tfss
20 The swallow. with whom Ahmer now
made. acquaintance, also, has many a
counterpart in the world of men. For he
was smart talker, but restless and for
ever ron the wing: seldom remaining long
enough in one place for intelligent con-
versation. He turned out in the END to
,gsk mere smatterssswtpsdid but ssiH
the surface of things pretending to Know
everything, but knowing nothing
Theseswere the only asso-
ciates with whom Ahmed had at first an
opportunity of exercising his new attain
ment, for the tower was too high for the
other birds to frequent It. especially at
this season of the year. The prince de-
piored the fact that the ability to talk
With birds, which, be had at first thought
was. to bring him,'s9 much pleasure, had
'qaiy, resulted in. adding ,thsee other bores
ia Ebon Bonabbon. m !, LTD.
rBut row the winter passed and spring
came, filling the hills and wales of Anda-
lusla with warmth and sunshine, life and
light and love. The trees and flowers put
forth their leaves and blossoms, ana as
the season advanced the valley of the
|. Dargo, which the. t9wer overlooked, and
all the delicious gardens of the iseneraliffe
and the Alhambra, which lay on the
slopes or the platformsSof the mountain
Spur upon which : the two great palaces
stood, began to breathe forth the fra
MFhfe of flowers and to sound by night
and day with the music of singing birds
and. the plash Of fountains which sparkled
in the light of the sun or softly SHIN
mered beneath the rays of the moon. The
time had arrived forftlie birds to pair and
lbdfld their nests. and from the gardens
ttlo% his tower the prince heard break
{orth one UNIVERSAL song from groves and
l.SAEaens which mingled with the s*eei
I<blfath of the flowers, arose to the pal;
fSRaY where Ahmed, wifi wonder, looked
AoMn upon the world below. For now
khe-lNsw what it was the birds were say
! inCsoyer and over again in their songs
knew but did not. comprehend. For al
ways they sang ofiew's ssas +, 54sm
And what was love2 What can it be-
this love- he said. 'of which the world
seems SO full and of which know MOTH
ipgse,,,x He called te, She. hawk when that