and then his thoughts reverted to the possible means of escape from his
difficulties: the forfeiture of the ten purses, to say nothing of the
implacable resentment of the kazi and his relatives; and he bethought
himself how he should become the talk of his neighbourhood--how Malik
bin Omar, the jeweller, would sneer at him, and Salih, the barber, talk
sententiously of his folly. At length, finding reflection of no avail,
he arose and with slow and pensive steps proceeded to his shop.

His marriage with the kazi's deformed daughter had already become known
to his neighbours, who presently came to rally him upon his choice of
such a bride, and scarcely had they left when the young lady who had so
artfully tricked him entered with a playful smile on her lips, and a
glancing in her dark eye, which speedily put to flight the young
merchant's thoughts of revenge. He arose and greeted her courteously.
"May this day be propitious to thee!" said she. "May Allah protect and
bless thee!" Replied he: "Fairest of earthly creatures, how have I
offended thee that thou shouldst make me the subject of thy sport?"
"From thee," she said, "I have received no personal injury." "What,
then, can have been thy motive for practising so cruel a deception on
one who has never harmed thee?" The young lady simply pointed to the
inscription over the shop front. The merchant was abashed, but felt
somewhat relieved on seeing good humour beaming from her beautiful eyes,
and he immediately took down the inscription, and substituted another,
which declared that "TRULY THERE IS NO CUNNING LIKE UNTO THE CUNNING OF
WOMEN, SEEING IT SURPASSES AND CONFOUNDS EVEN THE CUNNING OF MEN." Then
the young lady communicated to him a plan by which he might get rid of
his objectionable bride without incurring her father's resentment, which
he forthwith put into practice.

Next morning, as the kazi and his son-in-law were taking their coffee
together, in the house of the former, they heard a strange noise in the
street, and, descending to ascertain the cause of the disturbance, found
that it proceeded from a crowd of low fellows--mountebanks, and such
like gentry, who had assembled with all sorts of musical instruments,
with which they kept up a deafening din, at the same time dancing and
capering about, and loudly felicitating themselves on the marriage of
their pretended kinsman with the kazi's daughter. The young merchant
acknowledged their compliments by throwing ha