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54 |
THE STORY OF |
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'Yes, it is.'
' And have you found her? '
' Yes, and I have brought her to you.'
' Oh, where is she? let me see her! ' cried the mother. ' Here, behind me,' answered Dschemil.
But when the poor woman caught sight of her daughter, she shrieked, and exclaimed, ' Are you making fun of me? When did I ever give birth to an ass?'
' Hush ! ' said Dschemil, ' it is not necessary to let the whiole world know! And if you look at her body, you will see two scars on it.'
' Mother,' sobbed Dschemila, ' do you really not know your own daughter?'
' Yes, of course I know her.' ,
' What are her two scars then ? '
' On her thigh is a scar from the bite of a dog, and on her breast is the mark of a burn, where she pulled a lamp over her when she was little.'
' Then look at me, and see if I am not your daughter,' said Dschemila, throwing off her clothes and showing her two scars.
And at the sight her mother embraced her, weeping.
' Dear daughter,' she cried, ' what evil fate has befallen you ?'
' It was the ogre who carried me off first, and then bewitched me,' answered Dschemila.
' But what is to be done with you ?' asked her mother.
' Hide me away, and tell no one anything about me. And you, dear cousin, say nothing to the neighbours, and if they should put questions, you can make answer that I have not yet been found.'
' So I will,' replied he.
Then he and her mother took her upstairs and hid her in a cupboard, where she stayed for a whole month, only going out to walk when all the world was asleep.
Meanwhile Dschemil had returned to his own home, |
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