Once there were three brothers sitting in the street near the door of the king"s palace. One of them lifted his head to look at the palace. He looked and looked at it. His brother said, I see you are staring hard at the palace of the king.

I am wishing the king would give me one hundred dinars, said the
first brother.

The second brother said, I wish the king would give me his daughter in marriage.

The two brothers asked the third, What do you want from the king?

He answered; I don"t want anything from the king. Whatever I have should come from Allah, I want nothing else.

The king happened to be in a room just over the door of the palace. He heard what the three brothers said and he sent a servant to them who said, The king wants to see you up there.

They went up. They greeted the king and were seated. The king asked them, What are your wishes? What were you talking about down there?

The first answered, I wished that you would give me one hundred dinars.

Agreed, said the king. And you, what did you want?

The second brother said, I can"t say it.

Tell me, repeated the king.

I desired your daughter, said the second brother.

She will be yours, replied the king. What did you want, he asked the third brother.

I wanted whatever I have, to come from Allah.

Then get out, said the king. Why did you come to me?

The third brother got up and left at once.

The king took one hundred dinars and gave them to the first bro¬
ther. He ordered his daughter and all her goods and possessions to .be prepared and handed them over to the second brother. That king was very generous. Whoever asked something from him was never refused.

The three brothers spent two nights in the city preparing to return to their own people. Then they went on board a boat and set out on their journey.

The owner of the hundred dinars was sitting in the prow of the ship. He moved like this, and he fell into the river and drowned.

The husband of the king"s daughter also had bad luck. He was very much shocked by something, and he died of heart failure on the boat.

The third brother was left. The hundred dinars were now his and the king"s daughter was also his, although he had not asked anything from the king. He returned to his house where he lived alone and there was no one else at all living in his house with him. He was a very simple man. He said to the king"s daughter, You are my sister and I am your brother. So they lived together in that house.
The third brother had been the servant of a butcher all his life, so he returned to work for his master. One day his eyes became inflam¬ed and sore, so he did not go to work. The butcher sent after him say¬ing, Why don"t you come to work?

The third brother sent word, My eyes are inflamed and full of pus.

The butcher was very fond of the third brother because he was a good servant. If he had ten sheep to cut up and sell, not a bit of meat would be left unsold at the end of the day. So the butcher sent word again to ask him to come even if he only put a chair at the door of the shop and sat there. The brother replied. I can"t do it. Perhaps to¬morrow I can go out.

The servant carried the message, I can"t go today but tomorrow I may be able, Allah willing.

After delivering the message the servant was so absent-minded that the butcher asked him what ailed him. The servant answered, Master, the third brother has such a sister at home! She is very beau¬tiful. She has stolen my heart. If you search the whole city you will not find such beauty. I have never before seen such a beauty.

That"s strange. O son of flesh, you have aroused my desire. I also
want to see her. How can I do it? First I must get rid of her brother.

He sent his servant again to say, My master knows of a good medicine for inflamed eyes. You must come to the shop.

So the third brother went to the shop and his master said to him, There is a garden in a certain section outside the city. You must go to the garden, take a leaf from a certain tree, put it on your eyes and they will get better.

The third brother went as directed. That garden had long .been neglected. No one passed that way at all because any stranger who entered that garden never came out again. The third brother went toward the garden. People who met him said, Where are you going? That garden is inhabited by jinn. You don"t know what is in there.

The third brother paid no attention. He continued on his way. At the garden he met a man who took him into the garden where the leaves were lying deep on the ground. The garden was dying from neglect. The fruit had dried on the trees and no one had picked it. The man said, Where have you been all this time? Why haven"t you come to take care of your property? I have been guarding it, and, whoever has come, I have killed. Thank Allah you have come to relieve me of my duties. And he handed over the keys to the third brother.

In that garden there was a house, well-built in a grand style, and furnished with everything imaginable. The man said, Now I will show you the treasury of the house. He showed him treasures and boxes full of gold coins. I have been caring for all these things cleaning and guarding them all day long and living on fruit. Thank Allah you have come. Now I am free. I was in debt and was wait¬ing for you. I have served my time and paid my debt so now I am free. Thereupon the man vanished.

The third brother took the keys and enjoyed himself looking around. Then he locked up the place and returned to his sister. He said, O my Sister, see how generously Allah gives. Allah has given me a great blessing. Come with me and see what I have seen. The sight has completely cured my eyes. He took his sister and went to the garden. This is what Allah has given to me, and it is a very suit¬able dwelling for you. They returned to their old house, took all their belongings and lived in the house in the garden.

The third brother began to buy and sell. His good fortune became known because his old master searched to find his former servant who did not return to work because he was now busy with his own affairs.

One day the news came that a neighbouring king was coming to visit the king of that city. Wazirs and high officials were invited and the third brother also, because money raises the position of its owner. The sister reminded the third brother that the visiting king was her father, and they planned to invite him to their house.

After dinner the sister said, Don"t let the king go before I have a chance to greet him. Tell him someone wants to see him in the women"s apartment.

The third brother carried the message to the king. Someone in the women"s apartment would like to greet you.

The king was surprised and said, May this bring a blessing.

The king went to the women"s apartment where he saw a veiled woman who greeted him and asked about his health. Don"t you know who I am, 0 Father? I am your daughter, she said, removing her veil.

When he saw his daughter before him the king was very much amazed. How strange! Whatever brought you here?

Didn"t you give me to one of those brothers who sat at the door of the palace? Your host is the one who wanted whatever he had to come from Allah. The first brother who received one hundred dinars fell into the river and drowned. The second, who was my husband, had a heart attack and died. I am living now with the third who asked blessings only from Allah. He is just like my brother and I am his sister, and see what Allah has given him.

The king said to the guests, You may go, for I am going to spend the night here. He and his guards stayed for a whole week. The king decided to give his daughter to the third brother in marriage, and he made a very big wedding party for them and everyone in the city knew that the bride of the third brother was the king"s daughter and that he was now the son-in-law of the king. The bride and groom lived happily for many, many years and every year the daughter of the king visited her father.