thou speakest not of aught.  Tell me an thou have a want, that I may accomplish it unto thee;” whereupon she kissed the earth a second time and called down blessings upon him, then answered, “Ay, O King of the Age, as thy head liveth, I have indeed a want; but before all things do thou give me thine assurance, [FN#362] so I may make bold to prefer my suit to the hearing of our lord the Sultan, for that belike Thy Grace will find it a strange one.”

The Sultan, that he might learn what her suit was and for that he was of his nature exceeding clement, gave her his assurance and bidding all who were with him go out forthright, abode alone [with her], he and the Grand Vizier.  Then he turned to her and said, “Tell me thy suit, and the assurance [FN#363] of God the Most High be upon thee.”  Quoth she, “O King of the Age, I wish thy pardon also.”  And he said to her, “God pardon thee!” [FN#364] Then said she to him, “O our lord the Sultan, I have a son, whose name is Alaeddin, and one day of the days he heard the crier proclaim that none should open his shop nor show himself in the thoroughfares of the city, [FN#365] for that the Lady Bedrulbudour, the daughter of our lord the Sultan, was going to the bath.  When my son heard this, he wished. to see her; so he hid himself in a place, whence he might see her well, and this was behind the door of the bath.  Accordingly, when she came up, he saw her and viewed her well, beyond his wish; and from that time till now, O King of the Age, life hath not been pleasant to him [FN#366] and he will e’en have me seek her of Thy Grace, [FN#367] so thou mayst marry her with him, and I cannot do away this conceit from his wit, for that the love of her hath gotten possession of his vitals, so that he saith to me, ’Know, O mother mine, that, except I attain my desire, assuredly I am a dead man.’  Wherefore I crave Thy Grace’s clemency and hope that thou wilt pardon me and my son this effrontery neither be wroth with us therefor.”

When the King heard her story, he fell a-laughing, of his clemency, [FN#368] and asked her, “What is that thou hast with thee and what is that bundle?” [FN#369] Whereupon she, seeing that he was not angered at her words, but laughed, opened the handkerchief forthright and proffered him the dish of jewels.  When the Sultan saw the jewels (and indeed, whenas she raised the handkerchief from them, the Divan became as it were all illumined with lamp-clusters and candlesticks), he was amazed and confounded at their radiance and fell a-marvelling at their lustre and bigness and beauty; and [FN#370] he said, “Never saw I the like of these jewels for beauty and bigness and perfection, nor methinketh is one of them found in my treasuries.”  Then he turned to his Vizier and said to him, “How sayst thou, O Vizier?  Sawest thou ever in thy life the like of these magnificent jewels?” “Never, O our lord the Sultan,” replied the Vizier, “nor, methinketh, is the least of those which be here found in the treasuries of our lord the King.”  Quoth the Sultan, “Doth not he who giveth me these jewels deserve to be bridegroom to my daughter Bedrulbudour?  Marry, by what I see, meseemeth none is worthier of her than he.”