`` Fear nothing , lovely Dely , '' he whispered , `` from one who never knew love till he saw you . My name , '' he went on , `` is Prince Delicate , and I am the son of the King of the Isle of Black Marble . My friend , who travels with me , is one of the richest nobles of my country , and the secrets which he knows are the envy of the Sultan himself . And we left our native country because my father wished me to marry a lady of great beauty , but with one eye a trifle smaller than the other . '' ` My vanity was flattered at so speedy a conquest , and I was charmed with the way the young man had declared his passion . I turned my eyes slowly on him , and the look I gave him caused him almost to lose his senses . He fell fainting forward , and I was unable to move till Tezila , who had hastily put on a dress , ran to my assistance together with Thelamis , the young noble of whom the Prince had spoken . ` As soon as we were all ourselves again we began to bewail our fate , and the journey that we were to take that very day to Constantinople . But we felt a little comforted when Thelamis assured us that he and the prince would follow in our steps , and would somehow contrive to speak to us . Then they kissed our hands , and left the house by a side-way . ' A few moments later our parents came to tell us that the escort had arrived , and having taken farewell of them we mounted the camels , and took our seats in a kind of box that was fixed to the side of the animal . These boxes were large enough for us to sleep in comfortably , and as there was a window in the upper part , we were able to see the country through which we passed . ` For several days we journeyed on , feeling sad and anxious as to what might become of us , when one day as I was looking out of the window of our room , I heard my name called , and beheld a beautifully dressed girl jumping out of the box on the other side of our camel . One glance told me that it was the prince , and my heart bounded with joy . It was , he said , Thelamis 's idea to disguise him like this , and that he himself had assumed the character of a slave-dealer who was taking this peerless maiden as a present to the Sultan . Thelamis had also persuaded the officer in charge of the caravan to let him hire the vacant box , so it was easy for the prince to scramble out of his own window and approach ours . ` This ingenious trick enchanted us , but our agreeable conversation was soon interrupted by the attendants , who perceived that the camel was walking in a crooked manner and came to find out what was wrong . Luckily they were slow in their movements , and the prince had just time to get back to his own box and restore the balance , before the trick was discovered . ` But neither the prince nor his friend had any intention of allowing us to enter the Sultan 's palace , though it was difficult to know how we were to escape , and what was to become of us when once we had escaped . At length , one day as we were drawing near Constantinople , we learned from the prince that Thelamis had made acquaintance with a holy dervish whom he had met on the road , and had informed him that we were his sisters , who were being sold as slaves against his will .
The good man was interested XXXXX the story , and readily agreed to find us shelter if we could manage to elude the watchfulness of our guards .
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