Folk Tale	Allegorical Meaning (hyponoia)
The King	First Principle
of the East	of the spiritual realm
sends	providentially causes
a royal prince	the individual self/soul/spirit
to go by way of Mesene	to descend past the heavenly bodies
to Egypt	into life in a body within the material world/the world of the senses/of culture
to get a precious pearl	to be educated (gain salvation).
The prince	The individual self/soul/spirit
is poisoned and intoxicated	becomes unconscious and inert
by Egyptians	because of matter/the world/the senses
he is awakened	The self comes to consciousness of its true identity
by a message from the king	in response to the savior or message of wisdom
He takes the pearl	It comes to have gnosis with the true self and its experience
and returns to the East	and is spiritually reunited
where he puts on a robe of gnosis [robe = gnosis of self, 76-78]	when it gains gnosis of itself
and ascends to the king's palace	and of the First Principle
entering the realm of peace	gaining true repose within its true divine home