CHAPTER III.

WHAT THE GREAT KAAN SAID TO THE MISCHIEF DONE BY KAIDU HIS NEPHEW.

<+> (That were Caidu not of his own Imperial blood, he would make an utter end of him, &c.)

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE EXPLOITS OF KING CAIDU’S VALIANT DAUGHTER.

Now you must know that King Caidu had a daughter whose name was AIJARUC, which in the Tartar is as much as to say “The Bright Moon.”  This damsel was very beautiful, but also so strong and brave that in all her father’s realm there was no man who could outdo her in feats of strength.  In all trials she showed greater strength than any man of them.[NOTE 1]

Her father often desired to give her in marriage, but she would none of it.  She vowed she would never marry till she found a man who could vanquish her in every trial; him she would wed and none else.  And when her father saw how resolute she was, he gave a formal consent in their fashion, that she should marry whom she list and when she list.  The lady was so tall and muscular, so stout and shapely withal, that she was almost like a giantess.  She had distributed her challenges over all the kingdoms, declaring that whosoever should come to try a fall with her, it should be on these conditions, viz., that if she vanquished him she should win from him 100 horses, and if he vanquished her he should win her to wife.  Hence many a noble youth had come to try his strength against her, but she beat them all; and in this way she had won more than 10,000 horses.

Now it came to pass in the year of Christ 1280 that there presented himself a noble young gallant, the son of a rich and puissant king, a man of prowess and valiance and great strength of body, who had heard word of the damsel’s challenge, and came to match himself against her in the hope of vanquishing her and winning her to wife.  That he greatly desired, for the young lady was passing fair.  He, too, was young and handsome, fearless and strong in every way, insomuch that not a man in all his father’s realm could vie with him.  So he came full confidently, and brought with him 1000 horses to be forfeited if she should vanquish him.  Thus might she gain 1000 horses at a single stroke!  But the young gallant had such confidence in his own strength that he counted securely to win her.

Now ye must know that King Caidu and the Queen his wife, the mother of the stout damsel, did privily beseech their daughter to let herself be vanquished.  For they greatly desired this prince for their daughter, seeing what a noble youth he was, and the son of a great king.  But the damsel answered that never would she let herself be vanquished if she could help it; if, indeed, he should get the better of her then she would gladly be his wife, according to the wager, but not otherwise.