Once there was a king who had three beautiful daughters and a handsome son. The king was just and firm and he ruled his kingdom very well.
Twice a year he opened the gates of his palace where the common people could come to the palace and show the king the unique items that they had managed to procure.
During one of these events three magicians came to the king with unique items that they had made by themselves.
The first magician had created a statue which had a clarion in its hand. The magician looked keenly at the king. "If any enemy passes through the gate where the statue is placed the statue shall blow the clarion and because of the terrific noise created by the statue the person who hears it will fall dead."
The king was thrilled on hearing this.
The second magician brought a huge disk with a golden peacock in the middle with twenty four smaller peacock chicks at the perimeter of the disk. Every hour the golden peacock moved towards one of the chicks and flapped its wings.
At the end of a month a silver moon shall rise from the mouth of the peacock.
The king was very thrilled with these unique items.
The third magician brought an ebony horse made of wood.
The ebony horse was beautiful and special because it could cross the distance taken by a normal horse in a year in a single day and the ebony horse could fly to any place taking its rider with it.
The king had the three items tested and he decided to reward the three magicians. He offered his three daughters in marriage to the three magicians who happily accepted it.
However the third princess heard the king's order from outside the court and she was unhappy.
She looked at the man whom her father had promised to get her married to and she saw that it was an old man who had created the ebony horse.
She was very unhappy that she had to marry such an old and hideous looking man and she ran to her room weeping.
The Prince, her brother, came outside her room. He was surprised to hear weeping noises from within.
At that time the Prince came in and asked the princess the reason for her unhappiness.
The princess told her brother everything.
The brother then consoled his sister and promised her that he would talk to the king about getting his youngest daughter married to an old man.
It so happened that the third magician who had created the ebony horse overheard the prince converse with the princess.
The third magician was determined to avenge himself against the Prince.
Adapted from the Arabian Nights
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