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 s