He filled the seven
palaces with rich silken carpets and hangings and vessels of gold
and silver and all manner of gear befitting kings and commanded
his daughter, whose name is the Princess Budour, to abide in each
by turns for a certain season of the year. When her beauty
became known and her fame was noised abroad in the neighbouring
countries, all the kings sent to her father, to demand her in
marriage, and he consulted her on the matter, but she misliked it
and said, "O my father, I have no mind to marry; for I am a
sovereign lady and a princess ruling over men, and I have no
desire for a man who shall rule over me." The more she refused,
the more the eagerness of her suitors increased and all the kings
of the Islands of the Inland Sea sent gifts and offerings to her
father, with letters asking her in marriage. So he pressed her
again and again to make choice of a husband, despite her
refusals, till at last she turned upon him angrily and said to
him, "O my father, if thou name marriage to me again, I will go
into my chamber and take a sword and fixing its hilt in the
ground, set its point to my breast; then will I lean upon it,
till it come forth from my back, and so kill myself." When the
King heard this, the light became darkness in his sight and his
heart was torn with anxiety and perplexity concerning her affair;
for he feared lest she should kill herself and knew not how to
deal with the kings who sought her hand.
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