"That fool Husain asked me a question that brings bad luck," said Dada, "so of course I came back to start out over again. A person cannot be too careful at a time like this."
"We seem to be having bad luck about it all," replied Grandmother. "I had hoped that Kadija was the right girl, but of course, since you sneezed only once, she—"
"K'chee! K'choo!" broke in Nana.
"Praise be to God!" exclaimed Grandmother. "We were talking of Kadija, and Nana sneezed twice. You know that means the best of luck. Let us ask for her."
Shahbaz was much pleased when Mashaddi's mother told him what Abdullah was hoping for. When Abdullah learned this he sent rice and meat and butter to Shahbaz' house, and later came himself with Mashaddi and a few other friends, carrying as presents, among other things, a ring and a pair of shoes, and a large tray covered with candy, with a red handkerchief spread over the top.
"Peace be to you, my brothers," said Shahbaz.
"May you have peace," replied Abdullah. "I have come to ask whether you are willing to marry the light of your eyes, your daughter Kadija, to my son Karim."
"You show me so much more honour than I can possibly deserve in asking this," said Shahbaz, politely, "that I am too much overcome to trust myself to answer you. I must ask my mother and my brother about it."
He went in to ask them, and came back in fifteen minutes, all smiles.
"My daughter is like a pair of shoes to your son," he said.