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him. I will not weary thee; a long story is beyond our powers.[1]
1498. "Your (children) love each other, the maid loves him and he the maid; therefore I think on him pitiful, tearful and wan, on bended knee I entreat thee, let them no longer be consumed by flame, but give your daughter to the strong-armed, stout[2]-hearted one.
1499. "No more than this will I ask of thee, neither short nor long." He drew forth his handkerchief,[3] tied it round his neck, rose up, bent his knee, besought him like a (pupil) before a teacher.[4] It astonished all men who heard this story.
1500. When he saw Tariel on his bended knees, the king was dismayed; he went back a long way, he did homage, he fell down to the earth. He said: "O monarch, all my joy is blown away from me; this abasement of you thus has saddened for me the sight of you.
1501. "How could it be that man should not grant thee whatever thou desirest, or that I should grudge my daughter if thou didst wish (to devote her) to death or slavery[5] even! If you had even ordered it from your home,[6] not even then would my tears flow; none other can she find like him if she fly up even to heaven!
1502. "I could not find a better son-in-law than Avt'handil. Myself I have given the realm to my daughter, she has it and it befits her; the rose blooms anew, my flower is blown. What objection can I make? Only let him be satisfied!
1503. "If thou wert to marry her to some slave, even then I would not grudge her to thee. Who could refuse thee, how could any save a madman quarrel with thee! If I loved not Avt'handil, why did I thus yearn for him? Verily, O God, I am in Thy presence, this is confirmed by me."
1504. When Tariel heard this speech from the king, he
