A Certain rich merchant had a beautiful daughter, who was as the full moon, and when she attained the age of fifteen, her father betook himself to an old man and spreading him a carpet in his sitting chamber, gave him to eat and conversed and caroused with him. Then he said to him, "I desire to marry you to my daughter." The other drew back, because of his poverty, and said to him, "I am no husband for her nor am I a match for you." The merchant was urgent with him, but he repeated his answer to him, saying, "I will not consent to this till you acquaint me with the cause of your desire for me. If I find it reasonable, I will fall in with your wish; and if not, I will not do this ever." the merchant said, "You must know that I am a man from the land of China and was in my youth well favoured and well to do. Now I made no account of womankind, one and all, but followed after youths, and one night I saw, in a dream, as it were a balance set up, and close by it a voice said, 'This is the portion of Such an one.'

I listened and presently I heard my own name; so I looked and behold, there stood a woman loathly to the uttermost; whereupon I awoke in fear and cried, 'I will never marry, lest Perhaps this fulsome female fall to my lot.' Then I set out for this city with merchandise and the journey was pleasant to me and the sojourn here, so that I took up my abode in the place for a length of time and gat me friends and factors. At last I sold all my stock in trade and collected its price and there was left me nothing to occupy me till the folk should depart and I depart with them. One day, I changed my clothes and putting gold into my sleeve, sallied forth to inspect the holes and corners of this city, and as I was wandering about, I saw a handsome house: its seemliness pleased me; so I stood looking on it and beheld a lovely woman at the window. When she saw me, she made haste and descended, whilst I abode confounded. Then I betook myself to a tailor there and questioned him of the house and anent whose it was. He said, 'It belongs to Such an one the Notary, God damn him!'

I asked, 'Is he her sire?' and he answered, 'Yes.' So I repaired in great hurry to a man, with whom I had been wont to deposit my goods for sale, and told him I desired to gain access to Such an one the Notary. Accordingly he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to the Notary's house. When we came in to him, we saluted him and sat with him, and I said to him, 'I come to you as a suitor, desiring in marriage the hand of your daughter.' He replied, 'I have no daughter befitting this man;' and I rejoined, 'Allah aid you! My desire is for you and not for her.' But he still refused and his friends said to him, 'This is an honourable match and a man yours equal, nor is it lawful to you that you hinder the young lady of her good luck.' he to them, said, 'She will not suit him!' nevertheless

The Tale Of The Richard And His Daughter. 149 they were instant with him till at last he said, 'truly, my daughter whom you seek is passing ill favoured and in her are all blamed qualities of person.' And I said, 'I accept her, though she be as you say.' Then said the folk, 'Extolled be Allah! Cease we to talk of a thing settled; so say the word, how much will you have to her marriage settlement?' He said, 'I must have four thousand sequins;' and I said, 'I hear and I obey!' Accordingly the affair was concluded and we drew up the contract of marriage and I made the bride feast; but on the wedding night I beheld a thing than which never made Allah Almighty anything more fulsome. Methought her folk had devised this freak by way of fun; so I laughed and looked for my mistress, whom I had seen at the window, to make her appearance; but saw her not. When the affair was prolonged and I found none but her, I was like to lose my wits for vexation and fell to beseeching my Lord and humbling myself in supplication before Him that He would deliver me from her.

When I arose in the morning, there came the chamber woman and said to me, 'Have you need of the bath?' I replied, 'No;' and she asked, 'Are you for breakfast?' But I still answered, 'No;' and in this way I abode three days, tasting neither meat nor drink. When the young woman my wife saw me in this plight, she said to me, 'O man, tell me your tale, for, By God, if I may effect your deliverance, I will assuredly further you thereto.' I gave ear to her speech and put faith in her truth and acquainted her with the adventure of the damsel whom I had seen at the window and how I had fallen in love with her; whereupon She said, 'An that girl belong to me, whatever I possess is yours, and if she belong to my sire, I will demand her of him and detain her from him and deliver her to you.' Then she fell to summoning hand maid after hand maid and showing them to me, till I saw the damsel whom I loved and said, 'This is she.' my wife, said, 'Let not your heart be troubled, for this is my slave girl. My father gave her to me and I give her to you: so comfort yourself and be of good cheer and of eyes cool and clear.'

Then, when it was night, she brought the girl to me, after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said to her, 'Cross not this your lord in anything and every that he shall seek of you.' When she came to bed with me, I said in myself, 'truly, this my spouse is more generous than I!' Then I sent away the slave girl and drew not near her, but arose immediately and betaking myself to my wife, lay with her and abated her maidenhead. She conceived by me at the first bout; and, accomplishing the time of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear little daughter; in whom I rejoiced, for that she was beautiful exceedingly, and she has inherited her mother's sound sense and the comeliness of her sire. Indeed, many of the notables of the people have sought her of me in wedlock, but I would not wed her to any, because I saw in a dream, one night, that same balance set up and men and women being within it weighed, one against other, and meseemed I saw you and her and the voice said to me, 'This is such a man, the portion of such a woman.'

Why I knew that Almighty Allah had allotted her unto none other than yourself, and I choose rather to marry you to her in my lifetime than that you should marry her after my death." When the poor man heard the merchant's story, he became desirous of wedding his daughter: so he took her to wife and was blessed of her with exceeding love. "Nor" (continued the Wazir), "is this story on any wise stranger or this tale rarer than that of the Sage and his three Sons." When the king heard his Minister's story, he was assured that he would not slay him and said, "I will have patience with him, so I may get of him the story of the Sage and his three Sons." And he bade him depart to his own house.

The Fifth Night of the Month

When the evening evened, the king sat private in his chamber and summoning the Wazir, required of him the promised story. So Al-Rahwan said, "Hear, O king,