THE king summoned all his goldsmiths, who worked day and night until many very beautiful things were ready. When all had been placed on board a ship, the faithful Jose put on merchant’s clothes and the king likewise so that they might travel quite unknown. Then they sailed over the wide sea and sailed away until they came to the city where the daughter of the King of the Golden Palace lived.
Faithful Jose told the king to remain in the ship and wait for him. “Perhaps”, said he, “I shall bring the king’s daughter with me…therefore take care that all is in order and set out the golden vessels and adorn the whole ship.”
Thereupon, Jose placed in a napkin some of the golden cups, stepped upon the land and went straight to the king’s palace. When he came into the castle-yard, a beautiful maid stood by the brook, 12 qa which had a golden pail in her hand drawing water and when she had filled it and had turned round, she saw a strange man and asked who he was.
Then Jose answered, “I am a merchant”, and opening his napkin, he showed her its contents. Then she exclaimed, “Oh! What beautiful golden things!” and she looked at the golden cups one after another and said, “The king’s daughter must see these. She is so pleased with anything made of gold that she will buy all these.” And taking him by the hand, she led him in for she was the lady’s maid.
When the king’s daughter saw the golden cups, she liked them all and said, “They are finely made. I will purchase them all.” But faithful Jose replied, “I am only the servant of a rich merchant; “What I have here is nothing compared to what is there in our ship. Nothing more delicate or costly has ever been made in gold.”
Then the king’s daughter wished to have them all bought…but he said, “It would take many days and so great is the quantity that your palace has not halls enough in it to place them around.”
Then her curiosity and desire were still more excited and at last she said, “Take me to the ship. I will go myself and look at your master’s treasure.”
Faithful Jose took her to the ship with great joy and when the king he saw her, her beauty was still greater than the picture had represented and thought that his heart would jump out of his mouth. When she stepped on board and the king conducted her below, faithful Jose remained on the deck by the steersman and told him to unmoor the ship and put on all the sails he could that it might fly like a bird through the air.
Meanwhile the king showed the princess all the golden treasures – the dishes, the cups, the bowls, the birds and the wild and wonderful beasts. Many hours elapsed while she looked at everything and in her joy she did not remark that the ship sailed on and on. As soon as she had looked at the last and thanked the merchant, she wished to depart. But when she came on deck, she perceived that they were upon the high sea, far from the shore and were hastening on with all the sails. “Ah”, she exclaimed in fright, “I have been betrayed. I am carried off and taken away in the power of a strange merchant. I would rather die!”
But the king taking her by the hand said, “I am not a merchant…but a king and equal to you in birth. It is true that I have carried you off. But that is because of my overwhelming love for you. When I first saw the portrait of the beauteous face, I fell down in a swoon before it.”
When the princess heard these words, she felt reassured and her heart was inclined towards him and so, she willingly became his bride.
While they thus went on their voyage on the high sea, it so happened that faithful Jose sitting on the deck of the ship, playing music, saw three cranes in the air who came flying towards them. He stopped playing and listened to what they were saying to one another for he understood them perfectly.
