When Zein ul Asnam awoke from his sleep, he hastened to his mother, rejoicing, and acquainted her with his dream; whereupon she fell again to laughing at him and said to him, “O my son, indeed this old man laugheth at thee, nought else; wherefore do thou turn thy thought from him.”  But he said to her, “Nay, mother mine, indeed he is soothfast and lieth not; for that, in the first of his dealing, he tried me and now his intent is to accomplish unto me his promise.”  “In any case,” rejoined she, “the thing is not toilsome; [FN#44] so do that which thou wilt, even as he said to thee, and make proof of the matter, and God willing, thou shalt [FN#45] return to me rejoicing; but methinketh thou wilt return to me and say, ’Thou saidst sooth, O my mother, in thy rede."’ The prince accordingly took a pickaxe and going down to the palace where his father was buried, fell a-delving in the earth; nor had he dug long when, behold, there appeared to him a ring fixed in a slab of marble.  He raised the slab and seeing a stair, descended thereby and found a great vault, all builded with columns of marble and alabaster; then, proceeding innerward, he found within the vault a hall which ravished the wit, and therein eight jars of green jasper; [FN#46] and he said, “What be these jars and what is in them?” So [FN#47] he went up and uncovering them, found them all full of old gold ; [FN#48] whereupon he took a little in his hand and going to his mother, gave her thereof and said to her, “Thou seest, O my mother.”  She marvelled at this thing and said to him, “Beware, O my son, lest thou squander it, like as thou squanderedst other than this.”  And he swore to her, saying, “Be not concerned, O my mother, and let not thy heart be other than easy on my account, for I would fain have thee also content with me.” [FN#49]

Then she arose and went with him, and they descended into the vault and entered the [underground] hall, [FN#50] where she beheld that which ravished the wit and saw the jars of gold.  What while they diverted themselves with gazing upon these latter, behold, they espied a little jar of fine jade; so Zein ul Asnam opened it and found in it a golden key.  Whereupon quoth his mother to him, “O my son, needs must there be a door here which this key will open.”  Accordingly they sought in all parts of the vault and the hall, so they might see an there were a door or what not else to be found there, and presently espied a bolted lock, to which they knew that this must be the key.  So Zein ul Asnam went up and putting the key in the lock, turned it and opened a door which admitted them into a second hall, [FN#51] more magnificent than the first; and it was all full of a light which dazzled the sight, yet was there no flambeau kindled therein, no, nor any window [FN#52] there, whereat they marvelled and looking farther, saw eight images of jewels, each one piece, and that of noble jewels, pure and precious.