The Emir Abu-Bekir lost an eye in battle against the Christians. "The
Christians shall pay me what they have taken from me," he said; and
he sent for a number of Christian captives, and had one of their eyes
taken out, in the idea of replacing his own; but it was found that
none of them agreed with his in size, and form, and colour. The Emir
Abu-Bekir was of very comely person, and his eyes had been so mild
and soft, that it was at last thought only the eye of a woman could
replace the missing one; the choice fell upon a beautiful maiden named
Sancha. Sancha was brought into the Emir's presence, and his physician
was ordered to take out her eye, and place it in the vacant socket.
Now Sancha stood trembling and wailing, and by her very crying
damaging the perfection of the coveted feature. Then there stood
up a travelling doctor who was in great fame among the people,
and begged a hearing of the Emir; for albeit he was a Turk, yet he
possessed pity and gratitude. He knew that the operation, while a
torment to the Christian maiden, would be of no service to the Emir;
and he pitied the waste of pain. It happened further, that once, when
on a journey he had sunk fainting by the way-side, this very Sancha
had comforted and relieved him; and now he determined to rescue her.
Accordingly, he stepped up to the Emir, and told him that he had
eyes made of crystal, and coloured by cunning art, which no one could
tell from living eyes, and which would be of much greater service and
ornament than those of the Christian dogs, whose eyes he might have
observed lost all their lustre and consistency the moment they were
taken from their natural place. The Emir admitted the truth of the
last statement, and being marvellously pleased with the glass eyes
the travelling doctor displayed, asked him the price.
"The maiden for a slave," replied the doctor.
The Emir gladly consented to so advantageous a bargain, and suffered
the glass eye to be fixed in his head. All the Court applauded the
appearance.
"But I cannot see with it!" cried the Emir.
"Oh! you must give it a little time to get used to your ways,"
answered the doctor, readily; "you can't expect it all of a sudden
to do as well as the other, that you have had in use so long."
So the Emir was content to wait; meantime, the doctor made off with
his fair prize, whom he conducted safely back to Spain, and restored
her faithfully to her friends and her liberty.