The Fourth Night of the Month

When the evening evened, the king sat private in his sitting chamber and bade fetch the Wazir. When he presented himself before him, he said to him, "Tell me the tale of the Richard." The Minister replied, "I will. Hear, O puissant king,

The Tale of the Richard who Married his Beautiful Daughter to the Poor Old Man

A certain rich merchant had a beautiful daughter, who was as the full moon, and when she attained the age of fifteen, her father betook himself to an old man and spreading him a carpet in his sitting chamber, gave him to eat and conversed and caroused with him. Then said he to him, "I desire to marry thee to my daughter." The other drew back, because of his poverty, and said to him, "I am no husband for her nor am I a match for thee." The merchant was urgent with him, but he repeated his answer to him, saying, "I will not consent to this till thou acquaint me with the cause of thy desire for me. An I find it reasonable, I will fall in with thy wish; and if not, I will not do this ever." Quoth the merchant, "Thou must know that I am a man from the land of China and was in my youth well favoured and well to do. Now I made no account of womankind, one and all, but followed after youths,[FN#347] and one night I saw, in a dream, as it were a balance set up, and hard by it a voice said, "This is the portion of Such an one." I listened and presently I heard my own name; so I looked and behold, there stood a woman loathly to the uttermost; whereupon I awoke in fear and cried, "I will never marry, lest haply this fulsome female fall to my lot." Then I set out for this city with merchandise and the journey was pleasant to me and the sojourn here, so that I took up my abode in the place for a length of time and gat me friends and factors. At last I sold all my stock in trade and collected its price and there was left me nothing to occupy me till the folk[FN#348] should depart and I depart with them. One day, I changed my clothes and putting gold into my sleeve, sallied forth to inspect the holes and corners of this city, and as I was wandering about, I saw a handsome house: its seemliness pleased me; so I stood looking on it and beheld a lovely woman at the window. When she saw me, she made haste and descended, whilst I abode confounded. Then I betook myself to a tailor there and questioned him of the house and anent whose it was. Quoth he, "It belongeth to Such an one the Notary,[FN#349] God damn him!" I asked, "Is he her sire?" and he answered, "Yes." So I repaired in great hurry to a man, with whom I had been wont to deposit my goods for sale, and told him I desired to gain access to Such an one the Notary. Accordingly he assembled his friends and we betook ourselves to the Notary"s house. When we came in to him, we saluted him and sat with him, and I said to him, "I come to thee as a suitor, desiring in marriage the hand of thy daughter." He replied, "I have no daughter befitting this man;" and I rejoined, "Allah aid thee! My desire is for thee and not for her."[FN#350] But he still refused and his friends said to him, "This is an honourable match and a man thine equal, nor is it lawful to thee that thou hinder the young lady of her good luck." Quoth he to them, "She will not suit him!" nevertheless they were instant with him till at last he said, "Verily, my daughter whom ye seek is passing illfavoured and in her are all blamed qualities of person." And I said, "I accept her, though she be as thou sayest." Then said the folk, "Extolled be Allah! Cease we to talk of a thing settled; so say the word, how much wilt thou have to her marriagesettlement?" Quoth he, "I must have four thousand sequins;" and I said, "To hear is to obey!" Accordingly the affair was concluded and we drew up the contract of marriage and I made the bride feast; but on the wedding night I beheld a thing[FN#351] than which never made Allah Almighty aught more fulsome. Methought her folk had devised this freak by way of fun; so I laughed and looked for my mistress, whom I had seen at the window, to make her appearance; but saw her not. When the affair was prolonged and I found none but her, I was like to lose my wits for vexation and fell to beseeching my Lord and humbling myself in supplication before Him that He would deliver me from her. When I arose in the morning, there came the chamberwoman and said to me, "Hast thou need of the bath?"[FN#352] I replied, "No;" and she asked, "Art thou for breakfast?" But I still answered "No;" and on this wise I abode three days, tasting neither meat nor drink. When the young woman my wife saw me in this plight, she said to me, "O man, tell me thy tale, for, by Allah, if I may effect thy deliverance, I will assuredly further thee thereto." I gave ear to her speech and put faith in her sooth and acquainted her with the adventure of the damsel whom I had seen at the window and how 1 had fallen in love with her; whereupon quoth she, "An that girl belong to me, whatso I possess is thine, and if she belong to my sire, I will demand her of him and detain her from him and deliver her to thee." Then she fell to summoning hand maid after hand maid and showing them to me, till I saw the damsel whom I loved and said, "This is she." Quoth my wife, "Let not thy heart be troubled, for this is my slave girl. My father gave her to me and I give her to thee:[FN#353] so comfort thyself and be of good cheer and of eyes cool and clear." Then, when it was night, she brought the girl to me, after she had adorned her and perfumed her, and said to her, "Cross not this thy lord in aught and every that he shall seek of thee." When she came to bed with me, I said in myself, "Verily, this my spouse is more generous than I!" Then I sent away the slave girl and drew not near her, but arose forthwith and betaking myself to my wife, lay with her and abated her maidenhead. She conceived by me at the first bout; and, accomplishing the time of her pregnancy, gave birth to this dear little daughter; in whom I rejoiced, for that she was beautiful exceedingly, and she hath inherited her mother"s sound sense and the comeliness of her sire. Indeed, many of the notables of the people have sought her of me in wedlock, but I would not wed her to any, because I saw in a dream, one night, that same balance set up and men and women being therein weighed, one against other, and meseemed I saw thee and her and the voice said to me, "This is such a man, the portion of such a woman."[FN#354] Wherefore I knew that Almighty Allah had allotted her unto none other than thyself, and I choose rather to marry thee to her in my lifetime than that thou shouldst marry her after my death." When the poor man heard the merchant"s story, he became desirous of wedding his daughter: so he took her to wife and was blessed of her with exceeding love. "Nor" (continued the Wazir), "is this story on any wise stranger or this tale rarer than that of the Sage and his three Sons." When the king heard his Minister"s story, he was assured that he would not slay him and said, "I will have patience with him, so I may get of him the story of the Sage and his three Sons." And he bade him depart to his own house.