There was a king of noble character who cherished a slave whose beauty had caught his eye. He was so attached to him that he could not spend a moment without attending to him. He gave him a finer robe than the other slaves, and always kept him before his eyes. When the king amused himself by shooting arrows in his palace, the slave would swoon with fear, because the king used as his target an apple which he placed on the slave’s head. Now, when the king split this apple with his arrow, the slave, from fear, turned yellow as the dye-wood called zarir.
One day, someone who knew nothing of what was happening said to the slave: “Why is your face the color of gold? Why, despite the favor you enjoy with the king, are you so pale?”
“The king,” replied the slave, “takes as the target for his arrows an apple which he places on my head. If his arrow strikes me, he disowns me, saying: ‘The slave did not hold himself properly, for I am the most skillful archer in my kingdom.’ If, on the contrary, the arrow goes straight to its mark, everyone says it is thanks to the king’s skill. As for me, caught in this cruel dilemma, I am in torment, and the king takes no heed of it.”
One day, someone who knew nothing of what was happening said to the slave: “Why is your face the color of gold? Why, despite the favor you enjoy with the king, are you so pale?”
“The king,” replied the slave, “takes as the target for his arrows an apple which he places on my head. If his arrow strikes me, he disowns me, saying: ‘The slave did not hold himself properly, for I am the most skillful archer in my kingdom.’ If, on the contrary, the arrow goes straight to its mark, everyone says it is thanks to the king’s skill. As for me, caught in this cruel dilemma, I am in torment, and the king takes no heed of it.”