--- title: "The Ebony Horse" story_id: "fec55040-beb0-4209-8157-d04be66762ac" text_id: "29edcbaa-caa5-4498-baff-0b37a600b65d" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 3 part_count: 3 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse?part=3" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # The Ebony Horse > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse) Version: Modernized Seeing the prince, the doorkeeper realised his foolish mistake. He threw himself at his master’s feet and begged forgiveness. "Rise," said the prince, "I am the cause of this misfortune, and not you. Go and find me the clothes of a dervish, a member of a Muslim religious order, but beware of saying it is for me." A short distance from the country house stood a lodge for dervishes. Its leader, or sheikh, was the doorkeeper’s friend. With a false story made up on the spot, it was easy enough to get a dervish’s clothes. The prince immediately put them on in place of his own. With this disguise and a hidden box of pearls and diamonds intended for the princess, he left the house at nightfall. He did not know where to go, but was firmly resolved not to return without her. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/e2be1483-e4ac-437c-a692-3bab7b4b79ae) Meanwhile, the Indian had steered the horse so that, within a few hours, it entered a wood close to the capital of the kingdom of Cashmere. Feeling very hungry, and supposing the princess might also need food, he brought his steed down to earth. He left her in a shady place on the bank of a clear stream. When the princess first found herself alone, she thought of trying to escape and hide. But as she had eaten scarcely anything since she had left Bengal, she felt too weak to go far and had to abandon the plan. When the Indian returned with various kinds of food, she ate hungrily. Soon she regained enough courage to reply spiritedly to his insulting remarks. Driven by his threats, she sprang to her feet and called loudly for help. Luckily, a troop of horsemen heard her cries and rode up to ask what was wrong. The horsemen’s leader was the Sultan of Cashmere, returning from hunting. He instantly asked the Indian who he was and who was with him. The Indian rudely answered that it was his wife, and no one else had any right to interfere. The princess did not, of course, know the rank of her rescuer. She completely denied the Indian’s story. "My lord," she cried, "whoever you may be, do not believe this liar. He is an abominable magician, who has torn me today from the Prince of Persia, my destined husband, and has brought me here on this enchanted horse." She would have continued, but her tears choked her. Convinced by her beauty and distinguished air that her story was true, the Sultan of Cashmere ordered his followers to execute the Indian. This was done immediately. Though rescued from one danger, she seemed to have fallen into another. The Sultan ordered a horse to be given to her and took her to his own palace. He led her to a beautiful room and selected enslaved women to wait on her and eunuchs to guard her. Without giving her time to thank him for all he had done, he told her to rest and tell him her adventures the next day. The princess fell asleep, hoping her story would move the Sultan to pity and make him return her to the prince at once. Within a few hours she would learn her mistake. The previous evening, the King of Cashmere had decided she must be his wife before the next sunset. At daybreak his plan was announced throughout the town with drums, trumpets, cymbals and other instruments meant to fill people with joy. The noise woke the Princess of Bengal early. She never imagined it had anything to do with her until the Sultan arrived, as soon as she was dressed, to ask about her health. He told her the trumpet blasts were part of the solemn marriage ceremonies, for which he begged her to prepare. This unexpected announcement terrified the princess so much that she fainted. The enslaved attendants ran to help her. The Sultan himself did his best to bring her back to consciousness, but for a long time nothing worked. At last she slowly began to regain her senses. Rather than betray the Prince of Persia by agreeing to the marriage, she decided to pretend she had lost her mind. She began saying all sorts of absurd things and making strange gestures. The Sultan watched in sorrow and surprise. As this sudden fit showed no sign of easing, he left her with her women, ordering them to take the greatest care of her. As the day went on, the apparent illness seemed to worsen, and by night it was almost violent. Days passed like this. At last, the Sultan of Cashmere summoned all his court doctors to discuss her sad condition. They answered that madness took so many forms that they could give no opinion without seeing the princess. The Sultan ordered them to be taken into her room one by one, each according to his rank. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/46049d5b-c944-4dcd-838d-e4d227e1cbcc) The princess had expected this. She was sure that if the doctors felt her pulse, even the least skilled would discover she was healthy and only pretending to have lost her mind. So whenever one approached, she threw herself into such a violent fit that none dared touch her. A few claimed to be cleverer than the rest. They declared that they could diagnose illness by sight alone and prescribed potions. She readily took them, convinced they were harmless. When the Sultan of Cashmere saw that the court doctors could do nothing towards curing the princess, he called in those of the city, who fared no better. Then he called the most famous doctors from other large towns. When they too failed, he sent messengers to neighbouring countries with a full written account of the princess’s madness. He offered to pay the expenses of any doctor who came to see her, and a rich reward to whoever cured her. In response to this announcement, many learned physicians from abroad flocked to Cashmere. Naturally, they were no more successful than the others: the cure depended only on the princess, not on them or their skill. During this time, Prince Firouz Schah wandered sadly and hopelessly from place to place. He arrived in a large city in India, where everyone was talking about the Princess of Bengal. She had lost her senses on the very day she was to marry the Sultan of Cashmere, they said. That was enough to send him towards Cashmere. At the first inn where he stayed in the capital, he asked for the full story. When he knew that he had at last found the princess whom he had so long lost, he set about devising a plan for her rescue. First he obtained a doctor’s robe. His clothes, along with the long beard he had grown on his travels, would clearly show his supposed profession. He went straight to the palace and met the chief usher, the official who received visitors. He apologised for daring to think he could cure the princess where so many had failed. But he knew secret remedies, he said, that had always worked. The chief usher assured him that he was heartily welcome and that the Sultan would receive him with pleasure. If he succeeded, he would gain a magnificent reward. When the disguised Prince of Persia was brought before him, the Sultan wasted no time talking. He merely remarked that the sight of a doctor sent the princess into a fury. He led the prince to a room under the roof. An opening allowed him to watch the princess without being seen. The prince looked and saw the princess reclining on a sofa, tears in her eyes. She sang softly to herself, lamenting the sad fate that had separated her, perhaps for ever, from the person she so tenderly loved. The young man’s heart beat fast as he listened. He needed no further proof that she was only pretending to have lost her mind, and that her love for him had led her to use this trick. He quietly left his hiding place and returned to the Sultan. He said he was sure, from certain signs, that the princess’s illness could be cured. But he must see her and speak with her alone. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/2e7392ac-a960-46ae-92da-94e9b2fc09c9) The Sultan readily agreed and ordered him to be shown into the princess’s room. The moment she caught sight of his physician's robe, she sprang from her seat in a fury, and heaped insults upon him. The prince ignored her behaviour and came close enough for only her to hear his words. In a low whisper, he said, "Look at me, princess, and you will see that I am no doctor, but the Prince of Persia, who has come to set you free." At the sound of his voice, the Princess of Bengal suddenly grew calm. Her face lit up with the joy that comes only when what we wish for most and expect least suddenly happens. For some time, she was too delighted to speak. Prince Firouz Schah used her silence to explain everything that had happened: his despair at seeing her vanish before his eyes, his oath to follow her across the world, and his rapture at finally finding her in the palace at Cashmere. When he finished, he begged the princess to tell him how she had come there, so that he could plan how to rescue her from the Sultan’s tyranny. In a few words, the princess explained everything. To escape marriage to the Sultan, she had been forced to pretend to have lost her mind. He had not even been polite enough to ask her consent. If necessary, she said, she would rather die than be forced into that marriage and betray the prince she loved. The prince asked whether she knew what had become of the enchanted horse since the Indian’s death. She could only reply that she had heard nothing about it. Still she did not suppose that the horse could have been forgotten by the Sultan, after all she had told him of its value. The prince agreed. Together, they planned how she could escape and return with him to Persia. First, she was to dress with care and receive the Sultan politely when he visited the next morning. The Sultan was overjoyed at the result of the interview. His opinion of the doctor’s skill rose still higher the next day, when the princess behaved in a way that persuaded him she would soon be completely cured. He was content to tell her how happy he was at her improved health. He urged her to make full use of such a clever physician and trust him completely. Then he retired, without awaiting any reply from the princess. The Prince of Persia left the room at the same time. He humbly asked how the Princess of Bengal had reached Cashmere, so far from her father’s kingdom, and how she came to be there alone. The Sultan thought the question very natural and told the same story as the Princess of Bengal. He added that he had ordered the enchanted horse to be stored in his treasury as a curiosity, though he had no idea how to use it. "Your Majesty," replied the physician, "your Highness's tale has supplied me with the clue I needed to complete the recovery of the princess. During her journey here on the enchanted horse, some of its magic passed into her. It can only be driven out by certain perfumes whose secret I know. If you agree, your Highness, order the horse to be brought to the great square outside the palace. Leave the rest to me, and give your court and people one of the most astonishing sights they have ever seen. I promise that in a few moments, before the whole assembled crowd, you shall see the princess as healthy in mind and body as she has ever been. To make the spectacle as impressive as possible, I suggest that she be richly dressed and adorned with the finest crown jewels." The Sultan readily agreed to everything the prince proposed. The next morning, he ordered the enchanted horse to be brought from the treasury to the great palace square. Soon rumours spread through the town that something extraordinary was about to happen. Such a crowd gathered that the guards had to be called out to keep order and clear a way for the enchanted horse. When all was ready, the Sultan appeared, and took his place on a platform, surrounded by the chief nobles and officers of his court. When they were seated, the Princess of Bengal was seen leaving the palace with the ladies the Sultan had assigned to her. She slowly approached the enchanted horse, and with the help of her ladies, she mounted on its back. As soon as she was in the saddle, her feet in the stirrups and the bridle in her hand, the physician placed large braziers, metal containers full of burning coals, around the horse. Into each he threw a perfume made from all sorts of delicious scents. Then he crossed his hands over his breast, and with lowered eyes walked three times round the horse, muttering certain words as he went. Soon thick smoke rose from the burning coals, almost hiding the horse and princess. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He sprang lightly up behind the lady, leaned forward and turned the peg. As the horse darted into the air, he shouted so that everyone present could hear, "Sultan of Cashmere, when you wish to marry princesses who have sought your protection, learn first to gain their consent." In this way, the Prince of Persia rescued the Princess of Bengal and returned with her to Persia. This time, they descended in front of the King’s own palace. The marriage was delayed only long enough to make the ceremony as brilliant as possible. As soon as the rejoicings ended, an ambassador was sent to the King of Bengal to tell him what had happened and ask his approval of the alliance between the two countries. He heartily gave it. ## Modernization notes - cut off the Indian's head, which → execute the Indian. This: Exception for children: the Indian is still executed immediately. The explicit detail of cutting off his head is softened; his death and its place in the action remain. ## Parts - [1](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse?format=markdown) - [2](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse?format=markdown&part=2) - [3](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/the-ebony-horse?format=markdown&part=3) ## Presented text (with modernization) © OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved. ## Original text The Arabian Nights Entertainments, 1898, Longmans, Green and Co. - editor: Andrew Lang ## Illustration [Edmund Dulac](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/a55cb669-431e-46e7-954a-f77bf517467d) — Stories from the Arabian Nights, 1907, Hodder & Stoughton, London [Edmund Dulac](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/46049d5b-c944-4dcd-838d-e4d227e1cbcc) — Stories from the Arabian Nights, 1907, Hodder & Stoughton, London [Edmund Dulac](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/e2be1483-e4ac-437c-a692-3bab7b4b79ae) — Stories from the Arabian Nights, 1907, Hodder & Stoughton, London [Edmund Dulac](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/2e7392ac-a960-46ae-92da-94e9b2fc09c9) — Stories from the Arabian Nights, 1907, Hodder & Stoughton, London ## Reading music Dailamon / Deylaman Mani Nilchiani (setar) Remix ⟷ Culture (production) [CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) ## Quiz ### What force supports an aeroplane in the air? - Lift (Correct answer) - Rust - Tide - Echo The aircraft’s wings produce lift. [NASA — What is aerodynamics?](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-aerodynamics-grades-5-8/) ### What force pulls objects towards the ground? - Music - Light - Gravity (Correct answer) - Perfume Gravity pulls objects towards Earth. [NASA — What is aerodynamics?](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-aerodynamics-grades-5-8/) ### What resists an aeroplane’s movement through air? - Shadow - Drag (Correct answer) - Reflection - Colour Drag is resistance to movement through air. [NASA — What is aerodynamics?](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-aerodynamics-grades-5-8/) ### What is ebony? - A metal - A stone - A fabric - A wood (Correct answer) Ebony is wood from trees of the genus \*Diospyros\*. Kew lists it among the heavy woods studied by its specialists. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — How Kew’s wood experts solve crimes](https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/wood-anatomy-science-solve-crime) ### What helps a helicopter rise? - Its moving rotor blades (Correct answer) - Its lights - Its paint - Its seats The rotor blades produce lift. [NASA — What is aerodynamics?](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-aerodynamics-grades-5-8/) ## Other languages - [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/the-ebony-horse?format=markdown) - [简体中文](https://www.openclassics.org/zh/stories/the-ebony-horse?format=markdown) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)