Chapter 2

CALAF.

(_Stepping in front of the footlights._) I am Prince Calaf, 'sh! Nobody must know my name. Calaf--I don't mind telling _you_. My father is Timur, once the mighty King of Astrakhan--the cruel Sultan of Taschkent drove us out of our own country. O miserable fate! O heavenly gods! I wandered for months and months with my parents in the desert. Our foe, the Sultan, sent riders after us. At the Court of Kaikobad, King of the Carcasenes, I served as a gardener. His daughter, the Princess Adelma, fell in love with me. I had to flee again, and came to Berlas. There I kept my poor parents by carrying burdens, and by begging. Then a happy chance gave me these fine clothes, a horse, and this purse of gold. I set out in quest of adventure. And here I am now in Pekin.

(_Noise behind the scenes. Enter BARAK from the city._)