r his kindness, in that he had shown him the
Jew's trickery. Thenceforward, whenassoever the price of one platter was
spent, he would carry another to the old goldsmith, and on this wise he
and his mother increased in substance; but they ceased not to live at
their sufficiency, [313] midwise [betwixt rich and poor], [314] without
excessive spending [315] or squandering. As for Alaeddin, he left
idleness and the commerce of striplings and took to consorting with
grown men; [316] nay, he would go every day to the market of the
merchants and sit with the great and the small of them and question
of the ways and fashions of commerce and the prices of articles of
merchandise [317] and otherwhat. He used also to go to the market of the
goldsmiths and the market of the jewellers, and there he would sit and
look upon the different kinds of jewels and see them bought and sold;
whereby he became aware that the fruits of the trees, wherewith he had
filled the purses, [318] whenas he was in the treasure, were neither
glass nor crystal, but jewels, and knew that he had happened upon great
wealth, such as kings might nowise compass. Moreover, he noted all
the jewels that were in the jewellers' market, but saw not [among] the
biggest [of them] one to match with the smallest of those he had at
home.

He ceased not to go daily to the market of the jewellers and to clap
up acquaintance with the folk, making friends with them and questioning
them of buying and selling and giving and taking and dear and cheap,
till, one day of the days, he arose in the morning and donning his
clothes, went forth, intending, as of wont, for the jewellers' market;
but, as he went, he heard the crier proclaiming aloud on this wise, "By
commandment of the Lord of Beneficence, the king of the age and monarch
of the time and the tide, let all the folk shut their shops and stores
and enter their houses, for that the Lady Bedrulbudour, daughter of
the Sultan, purposeth to go to the bath, and whoso transgresseth the
commandment, his punishment shall be death and his blood be on his own
head." [319] When Alaeddin heard this proclamation, he longed to look
upon the Sultan's daughter and said in himself, "All the folk talk of
her grace and goodliness, and the uttermost of my desire is to see her."
So [320] he cast about for a device how he might contrive to see the
Lady Bedrulbudour and him-seemed he were best stand behind the door of
the bath, that he might see her fa