While she was thus bewailing herself, the grand vizier entered, and asked her if the fish were ready?  She told him all that had occurred, which we may easily imagine astonished him; but without speaking a word of it to the sultan, he invented an excuse that satisfied him, and sending immediately for the fisherman, bid him bring four more such fish, for a misfortune had befallen the others, so that they were not fit to be carried to the sultan.  The fisherman, without saying any thing of what the genie had told him, in order to excuse himself from bringing them that day, told the vizier, he had a great way to go for them, but would certainly bring them on the morrow.

Accordingly the fisherman went away by night, and coming to the lake, threw in his nets betimes next morning, took four fish like the former, and brought them to the vizier, at the hour appointed.  The minister took them himself, carried them to the kitchen, and shutting himself up with the cook, she gutted them, and put them on the fire, as she had done the four others the day before.  When they were fried on one side, and she had turned them upon the other, the kitchen wall again opened, and the same lady came in with the rod in her hand, struck one of the fish, spoke to it as before, and all four gave her the same answer.

After the four fish had answered the young lady, she overturned the frying-pan with her rod, and retired into the wall.  The grand vizier, being witness to what had passed:  “This is too wonderful and extraordinary,” said he, “to be concealed from the sultan; I will inform him of this prodigy.”

The sultan, being much surprised, sent immediately for the fisherman, and said to him, “Friend, cannot you bring me four more such fish?” The fisherman replied, “If your majesty will be pleased to allow me three days, I will do it.”  Having obtained his time, he went to the lake immediately, and at the first throwing in of his net, he caught four fish, and brought them directly to the sultan; who was so much the more rejoiced, as he did not expect them so soon, and ordered him four hundred pieces of gold.  As soon as the sultan had the fish, he ordered them to be carried into his closet, with all that was necessary for frying them; and having shut himself up with the vizier, the minister gutted them, put them into the pan, and when they were fried on one side, turned them upon the other; then the wall of the closet opened, but instead of the young lady, there came out a black, in the habit of a slave, and of a gigantic stature, with a great green staff in his hand.  He advanced towards the pan, and touching one of the fish with his staff, said with a terrible voice, “Fish, are you in your duty?” At these words, the fish raised up their heads, and answered, “Yes, yes; we are:  if you reckon, we reckon; if you pay your debts, we pay ours; if you fly, we overcome, and are content.”

The fish had no sooner finished these words, than the black threw the pan into the middle of the closet, and reduced the fish to a coal.  Having done this, he retired fiercely, and entering again into the aperture, it closed, and the wall appeared just as it did before.