Prince Bahman, who had been all that morning expecting to meet some
one who could give him information of the place he was in search of,
stopped when he came near the dervish, alighted, in conformity to the
directions which the devout woman had given the Princess Perie-zadeh,
and, leading his horse by the bridle, advanced toward him, and
saluting him, said, "God prolong your days, good father, and grant you
the accomplishment of your desires."
The dervish returned the prince's salutation, but spoke so
unintelligibly that he could not understand one word he said. Prince
Bahman perceiving that this difficulty proceeded from the dervish's
hair hanging over his mouth, and unwilling to go any farther without
the instructions he wanted, pulled out a pair of scissors he had about
him, and having tied his horse to a branch of the tree, said, "Good
dervish, I want to have some talk with you, but your hair prevents my
understanding what you say, and if you will consent, I will cut off
some part of it and of your eyebrows, which disfigure you so much
that you look more like a bear than a man."
The dervish did not oppose the offer; and when the prince had cut off
as much hair as he thought fit, he perceived that the dervish had a
good complexion, and that he did not seem so very old.
"Good dervish," said he, "if I had a glass I would show you how young
you look: you are now a man, but before nobody could tell what you
were.
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