Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

THE CONCEPTION OF BUCEPHALUS. 1
and washed therein. And one of the king's mares a mare concame
to the fountain and drank of its waters, and
she became with foal straightway: now this took
place' at the exact time when the queen, the wife
of Philip conceived.^
And on the morrow Nectanebus returned to his
place, and hid the crown in his chamber. And
when it was morning Olympias the queen rose up
[and went]^ to Nectanebus in his chamber, and
said unto him, "O noble one". Now he made as
if he had been asleep , and as if he had just risen
from his slumber, and he said unto her, "Upon thee
"be peace, O my lady. What dost thou command
"thy servant [to do].-'" And she said unto him,
"It hath happened unto me even as thou didst
"say unto me." And he said unto her, "Behold, oiympias
"I rejoice at this thing, O woman, and I am glad tanebus.
"for thee." Then she said [unto him]', "Is there
"any way by which [this god] can return to me?
"For I love him dearly, even as a woman loveth
"her husband; moreover, it is not meet that I should
"hide anything from thee, and I am sore smitten
"with love for him." Now Nectanebus rejoiced
when love for him entered into the heart of the
queen, and he said unto her, "Listen to me, O
"Olympias, I am a prophet of the god. When-
p. 7)-
^ Read ffllni '
^ This paragraph has no equivalent in the Greek or Syriac.
3 The Greek has khi eicTepxexai eii; xov KOiTUJva (Miiller,