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DORANI |
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As soon as she arrived she took a seat and remained as silent as usual, with her head bowed on her knees. For a while not a sound was heard, but presently the prince said :
' I dreamed a curious dream last night, and as it was all about you I am going to tell it you, although you heed nothing.'
The girl, indeed, took no notice of his words, but in spite of that he proceeded to relate every single thing that had happened the evening before, leaving out no detail of all that he had seen or heard. And when he praised her singing—and his voice shook a little—Dorani just looked at him ; but she said naught, though, in her own mind, she was filled with wonder. ' What a dream !' she thought. ' Could it have been a dream ? How could he have learnt in a dream all she had done or said ? ' Still she kept silent; only she looked that once at the prince, and then remained all day as before, with her head bowed upon her knees.
"When night came the prince again made himself invisible and followed her. The same things happened again as had happened before, but Dorani sang better than ever. In the morning the prince a second time told Dorani all that she had done, pretending that he had dreamt of it. Directly he had finished Dorani gazed at him, and said:
' Is it true that you dreamt this, or were you really there ?'
' I was there,' answered the prince.
' But why do you follow me ?' asked the girl.
' Because,' replied the prince, ' I love you, and to be with you is happiness.'
This time Dorani's eyelids quivered ; but she said no more, and was silent the rest of the day. However, in the evening, just as she was stepping into her palanquin, she said to the prince :
' If you love me, prove it by not following me to-night.'
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