The Three Wishes [pp. 31-32]

The Thre~ Wishes.
count had removed all the fish from
one side, he turned it over, and was
about to commence on the other, when
he was suddenly seized and thrown
into prison, and was told of his approaching doom. Sorrow-stricken, the
count's young son besought the emperor to allow him to die in the room
of his father; a favor which the monarch was pleased to accord him. The
count was accordingly released from
prison, and his son was thrown into
his cell in his stead. As soon as this
had been done, the young man said to
his gaolers —" You know I have the
right to make three demands before I
die; go and tell the emperor to send
me his daughter, and a priest to marry
us." This first demand was not much
to the emperor's taste, nevertheless he
felt bound to keep his word, and he
therefore complied with the request,
to which the princess had no kind of
objection. This occurred in the times
when kings kept their treasures in a
cave, or in a tower set apart for the
purpose, like the Emperor of Morocco
in these days; and on the second day
of his imprisonment the young man
demanded the king's treasures. If his
first demand was a bold one, the second was not less so; still, an emperor's
word is sacred, and having made the
promise, he was forced to keep it;
and the treasures of gold and silver
and jewels were placed at the prisoner's disposal. On getting possession
of them, he distributed them profusely
among the courtiers, and soon he had
made a host of friends by his liberality.
The emperor began now to feel exceedingly uncomfortable. Unable to
sleep, he rose early on the third morning and went, with fear in his heart,
to the prison to hear what the third
wish was to be.
"Now," said he to his prisoner,
"tell me what your third demand is,
that it may be granted at once, and
you may be hung out of hand, for I
am tired of your demands."
"Sire," answered his prisoner, "I
have but one more favor to request of
your majesty, which, when you have
granted, I shall die content. It is
merely that you will cause the eyes of
those who saw my father turn the fish
over to be put out."
"Very good," replied the emperor,
"your demand is but natural, and
springs from a good heart. Let the
chamberlain be seized," he continued,
turning to his guards.
"I, sire!" cried the chamberlain;
"I did not see anything-it was the
steward."
"Let the steward be seized, then,"
said the king.
But the steward protested with tears
in his eyes that he had not witnessed
anything of what had been reported,
and said it was the butler. The butler declared that he had seen nothing
of the matter, and that it must have
been one of the valets. But they protested that they were utterly ignorant
of what had been charged against the
count; in short, it turned out that nobody could be found who had seen the
count commit the offence, upon which
the princess said:
"I appeal to you, my father, as to
another Solomon. If nobody saw the
offence committed, the count, cannot be
guilty, and my husband is innocent."
The emperor frowned, and forthwith
the courtiers began.to murmur; then
he smiled, and immediately their visages became radiant.
"Let it be so," said his majesty;
"let him live, though I have put many
a man to death for a lighter offence
than his. But if he is not hung, he is
married. Justice has been done."
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