Alaeddin waited till the three months had elapsed, after which the Sultan had promised that he would marry him to his daughter, the Lady Bedrulbudour, then despatched his mother to the Sultan to require him of the performance of his promise. So she repaired to the palace and when the Sultan came to the Divan and saw her standing before him, he remembered his promise to her, that after three months he would marry his daughter to her son, and turning to the Vizier, said to him, "O Vizier, yonder is the woman who presented us with the jewels and we gave her our word that after three months [we would marry our daughter to her son]. Bring her before me forthright." So the Vizier went and brought Alaeddin's mother before the Sultan; and when she came into the presence, she made her obeisance to him and prayed God to vouchsafe him glory and endurance of prosperity. The Sultan asked her if she had a need, and she said to him, "O King of the Age, the three months are ended, after which thou didst promise me thou wouldst marry my son Alaeddin to thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour." The Sultan was perplexed at this her claim, more by token that he saw her in poor case, as she were the meanest of the folk; but the present which she had made him was exceeding magnificent [and indeed] beyond price; [420] so he turned to the Vizier and said to him, "How deemest thou? What shall we do? [421] It is true I gave her my word, but meseemeth they are poor folk and not of the chiefs of the people."
The [422] Vizier, who was like to die of envy and chagrin for that which had befallen his son, said in himself, "How shall one like this marry the Sultan's daughter and my son lose this honour?" So he said to the Sultan, [423] "O my lord, it is an easy matter to rid ourselves of [424] this vagabond, [425] for that it would not beseem Thy Grace to give thy daughter to a man like this, of whom it is not known what he is." Quoth the Sultan, "On what wise shall we rid ourselves of this man, seeing I have given him my word and a King's word is his bond?" "O my lord," answered the Vizier, "my counsel is that thou require of him forty dishes of pure virgin gold, full of jewels, such as she [426] brought thee the other day, [427] and forty slave-girls to bear the dishes and forty black slaves." "By Allah, O Vizier," rejoined the Sultan, "'thou speakest rightly; for that this is a thing to which he may not avail and so we shall be rid of him by [fair] means." [428] So he said to Alaeddin's mother, "Go and tell thy son that I abide by the promise which I made him, but an if he avail unto my daughter's dowry; to wit, I require of him forty dishes of pure gold, which must all be full of jewels [such as] thou broughtest me [erst], together with forty slave-girls to carry them and forty male slaves to escort and attend them. If, then; thy son avail unto this, I will marry him to my daughter."
Alaeddin's mother returned home, shaking her head and saying, "Whence shall my poor son get these dishes of jewels? Supposing, for the jewels and the dishes, that he return to the treasure and gather the whole from the trees,—and withal methinketh not it is possible to him; but say that he fetch them,—whence [shall he get] the slaves and slave-girls?" And she gave not over talking to herself till she reached the house, where Alaeddin awaited her, and when she came in to him, she said to him, "O my son, said I not to thee, 'Think not to attain to the Lady Bedrulbudour'? Indeed, this is a thing that is not possible unto folk like ourselves." Quoth he, "Tell me what is the news." And she said to him, "O my son, the Sultan received me with all courtesy, according to his wont, and meseemeth he meant fairly by us, but [for] thine accursed enemy the Vizier; for that, after I had bespoken the Sultan in thy name, even as thou badest me, reminding him that the term for which he had appointed us was past and saying to him, 'If Thy Grace would vouchsafe to give commandment for the marriage of thy daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour with my son Alaeddin,'—he turned to the Vizier and spoke to him. The Vizier replied to him in a whisper and after that the Sultan returned me an answer." Then she told him what the Sultan required of him and added, "O my son, he would fain have present answer of thee; but methinketh we have no answer to give him."
When [429] Alaeddin heard his mother's speech, he laughed and said, "O my mother, thou sayest we have no answer to make him and deemest the thing exceeding hard; but now be good enough to rise [430] and fetch us somewhat to eat, and after we have dined, thou shalt (an it please the Compassionate) see the answer. The Sultan like thyself, thinketh he hath sought of me an extraordinary matter, so he may divert me from the Lady Bedrulbudour; but the fact is that he seeketh a thing less than I had looked for. But go now and buy us somewhat we may eat and leave me to fetch thee the answer." Accordingly, she arose and went out to buy her need from the market, so she might make ready the morning-meal; whilst Alaeddin entered his chamber and taking the lamp, rubbed it. The genie immediately appeared to him and said, "Seek what thou wilt, O my lord;" whereupon quoth Alaeddin, "I seek the Sultan's daughter in marriage and he requireth of me forty dishes of pure gold, each ten pounds in weight and full of the jewels which be in the garden of the treasure, the forty dishes to be borne by forty slave girls and each slave-girl to be accompanied by a male slave; wherefore I will have thee bring me this, all of it." "Hearkening and obedience, O my lord," replied the genie and disappearing, was absent awhile, then returned with the forty slave-girls, each attended by a male slave and bearing on her head a dish of pure gold, full of precious jewels. So he brought them before Alaeddin and said to him, "Here is that which thou soughtest. Tell me an thou need thing or service other than this." Quoth Alaeddin, "I need nothing [more]; if I need aught, I will summon thee and tell thee."
Accordingly, the genie vanished and after a little, Alaeddin's mother returned and entering the house, saw the slaves and slave-girls; whereat she marvelled and said, "All this is of the Lamp; God continue it unto my son!" Then, before she put off her veil, Alaeddin said to her, "O my mother, this is thy time, ere the Sultan enter his palace [and withdraw] to his harem. Take him what he seeketh, and that forthright, so he may know that I can avail unto that which he requireth, ay, and more, and that he was deluded by the Vizier; albeit he thought to baffle me, he and his Vizier." Then he arose and opening the house-door, let out the damsels and the slaves, pair by pair, each damsel with a slave by her side, so that they filled the street. His mother forewent them and the people of the quarter, when they saw that rare and magnificent sight, stood looking and marvelling and gazing upon the faces of the slave-girls and their grace and goodliness [and their apparel], for that they were clad in clothes all inwoven with gold and studded with jewels; nay, the least one's clothes of them were worth thousands. Moreover they looked at the dishes [431] and saw flashing therefrom a radiance that outshone the light of the sun, albeit each dish was covered with a piece of brocade, gold-inwrought and studded eke with precious jewels. Alaeddin's [432] mother fared on and the damsels and slaves followed after her, in all fair ordinance and disposition, whilst the folk stood to gaze on the beauty of the slave-girls and extolled the perfection of the Almighty Creator, till she reached the palace and entered it with them.
When the eunuchs and chamberlains and captains of the guard saw them, wonder took them and they were breathless for amaze at this sight, the like whereof they had never in their lives seen, and especially at the slave girls, each one of whom would ravish the wit of an anchorite. Withal, the chamberlains and captains of the Sultan's guards were all of them sons of grandees and Amirs; and they marvelled yet more at the damsels' costly raiment and the dishes which they bore on their heads and on which they might not open their eyes, [433] for the excess of their flashing and radiance. Then the guards [434] entered and told the Sultan, who bade bring them before him forthright into the Divan. So Alaeddin's mother entered with them and when they came before the Sultan, they all did obeisance to him with the utmost courtliness and gravity and invoked on him glory and prosperity; then, raising the dishes from their heads, they set them down before him and stood with their hands clasped behind them, after they had removed the covers.
The Sultan wondered with an exceeding wonderment and was confounded at the beauty of the girls and their loveliness, which overpassed description; his wit was bewildered, when he saw the golden dishes, full of jewels that dazzled the sight, and he was amazed at this marvel, so that he became as one dumb, unable to speak aught, of the excess of his wonderment; nay, his wit was the more perplexed, forasmuch as this had all been accomplished in an hour's time. Then he bade carry the slave-girls and their burdens to the pavilion of the Lady Bedrulbudour; so the damsels took up the dishes and entered; whereupon Alaeddin's mother came forward and said to the Sultan, "O my lord, this is no great matter for the Lady Bedrulbudour's exalted rank; nay, she deserveth manifold this." So the Sultan turned to the Vizier and said to him, "How sayst thou, O Vizier? He that can in so short a time avail unto riches like these, is he not worthy to be the Sultan's son-in-law and to have his daughter to bride?" Now the Vizier marvelled at the greatness of these riches yet more than the Sultan, but envy was killing him and waxed on him more and more, when he saw that the Sultan was content with the bride-gift [435] and the dowry; withal he could not gainstand the [manifest] truth and say to the Sultan, "He is not worthy;" so he cast about to work upon him by practice, that he might hinder him from giving his daughter the Lady Bedrulbudour to Alaeddin, and accordingly said to him, [436] "O my lord, all the treasures of the world were not worth a paring of thy daughter Bedrulbudour's nails; indeed, Thy Highness overrateth this upon her." [437]
When [438] the Sultan heard the Vizier's words, he knew that this his speech arose from the excess of his envy; so he turned to Alaeddin's mother and said to her, "O woman, go to thy son and tell him that I accept of him the marriage-gift and abide by my promise to him and that my daughter is his bride and he my son-in-law; so bid him come hither, that I may make acquaintance with him. There shall betide him from me nought but all honour and consideration and this night shall be the beginning of the bridal festivities. But, as I said to thee, let him come hither to me without delay." So she returned home swiftlier than the wind, [439] of her haste to bring her son the good news; and she was like to fly for joy at the thought that her son was to become the Sultan's son-in-law. As soon as she had taken her leave, the Sultan bade break up the Divan and entering the Lady Bedrulbudour's pavilion, commanded to bring the damsels and the dishes before his daughter and himself, so she should see them. So they brought them and when the Lady Bedrulbudour saw the jewels, she was amazed and said, "Methinketh there is not one of these jewels found in the treasuries of the world." Then she looked at the damsels and marvelled at their beauty and grace and knew that this was all from her new bridegroom and that he had proffered it to her service. So she rejoiced, albeit she had been sad and sorry for her [whilom] bridegroom the Vizier's son,—she rejoiced, [I say], with an exceeding joy, when she saw the jewels and the beauty of the damsels, and was cheered; whilst her father rejoiced exceedingly in her joy, in that he saw her put off chagrin and dejection. Then he said to her, "O my daughter Bedrulbudour, doth this please thee? Indeed, methinketh this thy bridegroom is goodlier [440] than the Vizier's son, and God willing, O my daughter, thou shalt rejoice with him abundantly." [441]
So much for the Sultan and as for Alaeddin, when his mother came to the house and entered and he saw her laughing of the excess of her joy, he foreboded good news and said, "To God Everlasting [442] be praise! Accomplished is that which I sought." And she said to him, "Glad tidings, O my son! Let thy heart rejoice and thine eye be solaced in the attainment of thy desire, for that the Sultan accepteth thine offering, to wit, the bride gift and the dowry of the Lady Bedrulbudour, and she is thy bride and this, O my son, is the night of your [443] bridal and thy going in to the Lady Bedrulbudour. Nay, the Sultan, that he might certify me of his word, proclaimed thee his son-in-law before the folk and declared that this should be the wedding-night; but he said to me, 'Let thy son come hither to me, so I may make acquaintance with him, and I will receive him with all honour and worship.' And now, O my son, my office [444] is ended, whatsoever remaineth is a matter for thee." [445]
Alaeddin kissed his mother's hand and thanked her amain for her kindness; [446] then he arose and entering his chamber, took the lamp and rubbed it; whereupon the genie presented himself and said to him, "Here am I; seek what thou wilt." Quoth Alaeddin, "My will is that thou take me to a bath, whose like is not in the world, and fetch me a suit of royal raiment and exceeding costly, such as no king can boast." "Hearkening and obedience," replied the Marid and taking him up, brought him intro a bath, never saw King nor Kisra [447] its like, for it was of alabaster and agate and full of marvellous limnings that ravished the sight, and therein was a saloon all embossed with precious jewels. None was there; but, when Alaeddin entered, there came in to him one of the Jinn in human semblance and washed him and bathed him to the utmost of the wish: after [448] which he went forth the bath to the outer saloon, where he found his clothes taken away and in their stead a suit of the richest royal apparel. Then sherbets were brought him and coffee with ambergris and he drank and arose; whereupon there came to him a troop of slaves and clad him in those [449] sumptuous clothes [450] and he dressed and perfumed himself with essences and sweet-scented smoke. [451] Now thou knowest [452] that Alaeddin was the son of a poor man, a tailor: yet now none had thought it, [453] but had said, "This is the chiefest of the sons of the kings," extolled be the perfection of Him who changeth and is not changed!