There lived once upon a time a man and wife who had a son.  The son arose from his sleep one morning and said to his mother:  “Mother dear, I had a dream, but what it was I will not tell you.”

The mother said, “Why will you not tell me?”

“I will not, and that settles it,” answered the youth, and his mother seized him and cudgelled him well.

Then he went to his father and said to him:  “Father dear, I had a dream, but what it was I would not tell mother, nor will I tell you,” and his father also gave him a good flogging.  He began to sulk and ran away from home.  He walked and walked the whole day long and, meeting a traveller, said after greeting him:  “I had a dream, but what it was I would tell neither father nor mother and I will not tell you,” Then he went on his way till finally he came to the Emir’s house and said to the Emir:  “Emir, I had a dream, but what it was I would tell neither father nor mother, nor yet the traveller, and I will not tell you.”

The Emir had him seized and thrown into the garret, where he began to cut through the floor with a knife he managed to get from some one of the Emir’s people.  He cut and cut until he made an opening over the chamber of the Emir’s daughter, who had just filled a plate with food and gone away.  The youth jumped down, emptied the plate, ate what he wanted, and crept back into the garret.  The second, third, and fourth days he did this also, and the Emir’s daughter could not think who had taken away her meal.  The next day she hid herself under the table to watch and find out.  Seeing the youth jump down and begin to eat from her plate, she rushed out and said to him, “Who are you?”

“I had a dream, but what it was I would tell neither father nor mother, nor the traveller, nor yet the Emir.  The Emir shut me up in the garret.  Now everything depends on you; do with me what you will.”

The youth looked at the maiden, and they loved each other and saw each other every day.

The King of the West came to the King of the East to court the daughter of the King of the East for his son.  He sent an iron bar with both ends shaped alike and asked:  “Which is the top and which is the bottom?  If you can guess that, good!  If not, I will carry your daughter away with me.”

The King asked everybody, but nobody could tell.  The King’s daughter told her lover about it and he said:  “Go tell your father the Emir to throw the bar into a brook.  The heavy end will sink.  Make a hole in that end and send the bar back to the King of the West.”  And it happened that he was right, and the messengers returned to their King.

The King of the West sent three horses of the same size and color and asked:  “Which is the one-year-old, which is the two-year-old, and which the mare?  If you can guess that, good.  If not, then I will carry off your daughter.”

The King of the East collected all the clever people, but no one could guess.  He was helpless and knew not what to do.  Then his daughter went to her lover and said, “They are going to take me away,” and she told him when and how.